WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Eastern New Mexico Volleyball faced a pair of tough matches to begin the 2023 season. First, ENMU played Western Colorado in a five-set thriller with the Mountaineers coming out on top 3-2, then Eastern battled in another five-set battle with Southwestern Oklahoma State, finishing on the wrong end. Eastern start the season at 0-2, while Western Colorado move to 1-0 and SWOSU improve to 2-0.

GAME ONE: WCU 3, ENMU 2

Mikaela Garvin led the Hounds attack with 19 kills and seven total blocks, adding up to 25.5 points in the match. Gracelyn Stubbs and Kayla Ison each posted 20+ assists in the match, with 24 assists and 20 assists, respectively. At the service line, Garvin, Rylee Mapes, and Stubbs all had three service aces.
 
Defensively, Getsemani Carrasco led the team with 26 kills over the five sets, with Ison (nine digs) and Halle Sanders (eight digs) being the next best for ENMU. Eastern finished with 12 total blocks during the match, with Garvin leading the way with seven block assists and Stubbs adding seven total block (one solo, six assists).
 
Overall, the Greyhounds out matched the Mountaineers for kills (52-43), service aces (10-8), blocks (12-6), and digs (61-59).

GAME TWO: SWOSU 3, ENMU 2

Against the Bulldogs, Stubbs covered the entire floor for ENMU in the defeat. The Albuquerque, N.M. native finished just one dig short of a triple-double, and narrowly missing a quadruple-double (15 kills, 20 assists, nine digs, and six total blocks). Garvin led all hitters with 17 kills in the match with a .333 hitting percentage (17 kills / four errors /39 total attempts).
 
Both Stubbs and Ison combined for 39 assists in the match (Stubb: 20, Ison: 19), while Carrasco, Mapes, and Sanders all hit double figures for digs in the five-set match. At the net, Stubbs led ENMU with six total blocks, while Deziree Flowers, Garvin, and Sanders had four total blocks each.
 
In the tightly contested match, the Bulldogs supplied more kills (55-49), while ENMU posted a superior hitting percentage (.114-.089). The teams were even for blocks, 11-11, ENMU holding the edge in digs (79-77).

FROM THE SOURCE

"We gave ourselves many chances to win, we just couldn't get it done. Tomorrow is another opportunity," said Head Volleyball Coach Sia Poyer.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• During the first match, Garvin set a career high for points (25.5) and tied a personal high for total blocks (seven). Stubbs set a new best for assists (24) with the previous career best being just two assists.
• Along with the double-double superlative for Stubbs, the senior set a new career best for digs during a match with nine.
• Flowers recorded a personal best three kills and 4.5 points against Western Colorado, while setting a new high for total blocks (four) versus Southwestern Okla.
• Garvin surpassed half of century for career kills during the first match against Western Colorado.
• Several Greyhounds played their first match for the Green and Silver: Darcy Dodd, Sanders, and Sophia Valdez.
• ENMU looks to bounce back tomorrow against West Alabama and (RV) Central Oklahoma when they face both programs to conclude the Midwestern State Invitational. The Greyhounds will face West Alabama at 12 p.m. (MST) and the tangle with Central Oklahoma at 4 p.m.