WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Eastern New Mexico Volleyball concluded it's time at the Midwestern State Invitational with a split of two matches. First, ENMU swept West Alabama to record its first win of the season. Then, the Greyhounds faced a tough matchup with (RV) Central Oklahoma, falling to the Brochos 3-0. Eastern moved to 1-3 on the season, while West Alabama still seek its first win (0-4), and UCO are undefeated after the first weekend (4-0).

GAME ONE: ENMU 3, UWA 0

The Greyhounds were strong on both ends of the floor, recording a hitting percentage of .236 and holding West Alabama to .042 on the attack. ENMU captured a tight first set, 25-20, then blew open the match with a 25-11 second set victory. In the second frame, ENMU rattled off a 17-2 run to go from a 6-6 tie to a 23-8 advantage. ENMU finished the match with a 25-11 win in the third set.
 
Mikaela Garvin led the offense with 12 kills and 15.5 points, while Kali Nelson added eight kills to the effort. Kayla Ison (14 assists, 11 digs) and Getsemani Carrasco (13 digs, 11 assists) both paced a double-double. Sophia Valdez and Gracelyn Stubbs finished with a team best four total blocks, while Stubbs added nine assists and seven kills.
 
Statistically, the Greyhounds bested the Tigers in kills (39-28), blocks (9-6), assists (36-26), and digs (46-40).

GAME TWO: UCO 3, ENMU 0

In the match against the Bronchos, Eastern battled closely in all three sets but could not catch UCO (18-25, 17-25, and 16-25). Central Oklahoma recorded 45 kills with just 15 errors, hitting .240 in the match, while the Greyhounds posted 32 kills with 18 errors for a .124 hitting percentage.
 
Halle Sanders paced the Greyhounds offense with nine kills. Stubbs led the team with 16 assists and added nine kills. Carrasco added 18 digs in the defensive effort, with Darcy Dodd posting 11 digs in three sets. Ison reached double-figures for assists in the match with 12 assists.

FROM THE SOURCE

"Not the record we wanted for the first weekend, but we improved from our scrimmage one week ago," said Head Volleyball Coach Sia Poyer. "We could've been 3-1 if it wasn't for some untimely unforced errors and were working on our lineup. We know what to work on and are looking forward to next weekend," said Poyer.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Greyhounds played West Alabama for the first time in program history, with ENMU moving to 1-0 in the all-time series.
• Over the weekend, Carrasco surpassed 500 digs as a Greyhound.
• Valdez posted a personal high of four total blocks during the victory over West Alabama (one solo, three assists). The 11 assists from Carrasco against the Tigers was a career best.
• The Greyhounds now have a week to regroup before they head to Odessa, Texas for the UTPB Invitational. Eastern will face Sul Ross State and UT Permian Basin on Friday, Sept. 8, then play Minnesota Crookston and Southwest (N.M.) on Saturday, Sept. 9.