LAREDO, TEXAS – Eastern New Mexico Volleyball were given a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Texas A&M International on Friday evening at TAMIU Kinesiology and Convocation Building. Eastern slip to 12-11 overall, and 3-8 in conference play, with the Dustdevils shifting to 15-5 on the campaign, with a 6-1 LSC record.
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After ENMU grabbed the first point, Texas A&M International scored 11 straight points to go up 11-1. Another small stretch of 4-2 improved the Dustdevils lead to 15-3, then another strong streak moved the lead to 19-6. TAMIU finished the set with a 25-11 win.
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TAMIU continued their success from the first set, taking a 14-9 advantage in the second set. However, the Greyhounds tied the set at 17-17 ending with a 4-0 run. From then, an 8-2 run from the Dustdevils tipped the set in their favor, 25-19.
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Like the first two sets, the Dustdevils started with a 6-0 run and 9-5 lead to start the third frame. ENMU fought back with 6-1 run, with two kills from
Mikaela Garvin and a kill from
Rylee Mapes. From then both teams went back and forth, with the home team holding a slim 20-16 lead. The Greyhounds took the lead over TAMIU with five straight points, with
Adriana Puni's kill giving Eastern a 21-20 lead. However, the Dustdevils closed the match on a 5-2 stretch, ending the set at 25-23.
NOTABLE STATS
- Texas A&M International finished with more kills (44-32), assists (37-25), and digs (60-55) in the match, while Eastern posted more blocks, 5-3.
- Puni paced the attack with eight kills, while Mapes finished with seven kills.
- Kayla Ison dished out 11 assists, and Qitana Sapiga added 10 assists in the match.
- In digs, Puni supplied 12 digs with Ison chipping in with 10 digs.
- Puni and Anjolina Perez finished with two total blocks each.
FROM THE SOURCE
"Our service reception tonight was sub-par tonight and we need to be better on serve receive to be successful. We were playing catch-up the whole match," said Head Volleyball Coach Sia Poyer.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Eastern faced the Dustdevils for just the third time in program history, and the second time in Laredo, Texas.
- Ison recorded their fourth double-double of the season, gathering 11 assists and 10 digs in the match.
- The Greyhounds look to bounce back against Texas A&M-Kingsville tomorrow, Oct. 15, with first severe set for 12 p.m.