ODESSA, Texas – Eastern New Mexico Volleyball closed out its trip to Texas with a 3-0 sweep of Southeastern Oklahoma State, on Saturday afternoon at the Falcon Dome as part of the Dr. Steve Aicinena "Iceman" Tournament. Prior to the win, ENMU dropped a five-set thriller with Augustana, 3-2. 

GAME ONE: AUG 3, ENMU 2

Augustana captured the first set 25-18 but Eastern evened the score a 1-1 with a 25-19 win of the second set. The Vikings started in front early but six straight points from the Greyhounds put them ahead 9-6. In the streak, Gracelyn Stubbs found three kills and Anjolina Perez contributed a kill of their own. Eastern kept the slight cushion as the set carried on, but secured the set with three straight kills (two from Mikaela Garvin and one from Kali Nelson).
 
Eastern asserted themselves early in the third set taking an early 7-3 lead. However, Augustana brought the scored tied at 11-11 and took the lead 13-11 shortly after. However, ENMU jumped back in front, 18-13, thanks to four errors from the Vikings and kills from Jordan O'Connor-Dempsey and Garvin. The Greyhounds closed out the set 25-22 after two kills from Nelson at the end of the set.
 
The match was destined for a fifth set after Augustana captured the fourth frame (25-21). The Vikings jumped out early and didn't look back, taking the fourth set. The decisive set started back and forth, but the Greyhounds used three straight points to move ahead, 6-4. After an Augustana timeout, the Vikings supplied five consecutive kills to take a 9-6 lead. The Greyhounds brought the score to 10-9 AUG, but the Vikings finished the match on 6-2 run, 15-10, and winning the match 3-2.

NOTABLE STATS

• The Vikings bested the Greyhounds in kills, 57-53, and digs, 64-59.
• Nelson provided a team best 14 kills, with Garvin adding 12, and Stubbs suppling nine.
• Jaylynn Nihipali paced the group with 18 assists, with Qitana Sapiga contributing 10, and Kayla Ison chipping in with nine.
• Getsemani Carrasco raked up 19 digs, with Adriana Puni and Perez providing 11 digs.
• Stubbs finished with six total blocks (six block assists), while O'Connor-Dempsey and Garvin finished with five total blocks each (one solo block, four block assists for both).

GAME TWO: ENMU 3, SEOK 0

Eastern quickly jumped out to a 9-4 lead, with Garvin posting two kills in the run. A back an forth ensued, but ENMU opened a 7-1 streak to build some separation, 22-13. The run saw the Savage Storm make three attack errors, while Garvin gathered two kills and O'Connor-Dempsey posted a kill and a solo block. The Greyhounds held on to win the set 25-20.
 
The second frame saw the Hounds jump ahead early again, this time holding a 15-7 lead. At that point a back and forth began, with Eastern picking up the majority of the points. Garvin picked up five kills in the set on six swings, while Puni, Nelson, Stubbs, and Perez each added two kills in the second frame. The Hounds jumped to a 2-0 lead after winning the set 25-13.
 
The final set would prove to be the closest of the three. With Southeastern Okla. leading 15-14, the Greyhounds strung together eight points to open a sizable lead, 22-16 ENMU. The run featured kills form Nelson and Stubbs, along with two blocks from the latter. Eastern completed the sweep of SEOK winning the final set 25-17, and the match 3-0.

NOTABLE STATS

• The Hounds dominated in kills (32-24), digs (41-33), and blocks (13-5).
• Garvin led the offense with 11 kills, with Stubbs and Nelson providing six kills.
• Running the offense, Ison provided a team best 16 assists.
• Defensively, Puni provided 13 digs during the match, with Carrasco adding 10 digs.
• Up front, O'Connor-Dempsey totaled seven blocks (one solo, six block assists) and Perez finished with five blocks (all block assists).

FROM THE SOURCE

"This weekend was a really exciting start, showing real promise for what the remainder of the season will hold," said Assistant Volleyball Coach Katie Burnett.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Nelson had a career match against Augustana, setting a personal best in kills (14), hitting percentage (.458), and points (15.5). Perez also achieved a career high 11 digs, 10.5 points, and eight kills.
• Nihipali set a season high for assists (18) and Carrasco had a personal best with the Greyhounds for digs (19).
• Against SEOK, Puni notched a season's best 13 digs, while O'Connor-Dempsey tied a career best seven total blocks.
• Ison played their first game for the Greyhounds.
• The Greyhounds travel to Plainview, Texas for its next match, facing Wayland Baptist on Tuesday, Aug. 30, with the first serve at 5 p.m.