PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico Volleyball dropped its conference home opener to UT Tyler, 3-0, on Friday evening at Greyhound Arena. The Greyhounds now sit at 8-8 overall, with a 0-3 LSC record. The Patriots shift to 8-6 with a 2-1 conference standing.
All three sets were close between the Greyhounds and Patriots, with UTT winning the sets 25-22, 25-20, and 25-21. Both teams were tied at 17-17 in the first set, but the Patriots supplied a 5-1 stretch to take the lead and win the opening set. The second frame was close again, but a 7-2 run gave UTT a 20-14 advantage midway through the set. During the final stanza, the Greyhounds led late in the set (18-17 ENMU), but five straight points for UTT paved the way for the Patriots to complete the sweep.
NOTABLE STATS
- Mikaela Garvin led all competitors with 13 kills, while Gracelyn Stubbs was next best with 11 kills.
- Kayla Ison and Stubbs ran the ENMU offense with 14 assists and 12 assists, respectively.
- Defensively, Getsemani Carrasco posted 18 digs, while Darcy Dodd reached double digits with 11 digs.
- ENMU had just two blocks during the match, with Garvin providing two block assists, while Stubbs and Sophia Valdez added one block assist each.
- Both teams matched each other for kills (37), assists (35), and digs (47). The Patriots had the edge for service aces, 7-3, and blocks, 4-2.
FROM THE SOURCE
"We had too many unforced errors tonight," said Head Volleyball Coach Sia Poyer. "UTT is already good enough, we don't need to help them. I thought our defense kept us close, but untimely unforced hitting errors and service errors killed us," said Poyer.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Stubbs finished the match with their 11th double-double of the season, finishing two digs shy of a triple-double.
- Next up, the Greyhounds will face (RV) DBU on Saturday afternoon at Greyhound Arena. The match is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
