Hounds beat St. Ed's, Western State

Staff report

PUEBLO, Colo. — The Eastern New Mexico University volleyball team swept a pair of matches in Friday’s Steel & Silver Classic, hosted by Colorado State-Pueblo.

The Greyhounds opened with a 20-25, 25-14, 25-9, 23-25, 15-11 win over St. Edward’s before coming back to beat Western State 17-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-22, extending its winning streak to three matches.

ENMU (4-2) will complete play in the event with matches today against Missouri Western at 2 p.m. and Colorado-Springs at 7:30 p.m.

The Hounds rebounded from a first-set loss to control the next three sets against the Mountaineers (2-6). Junior middle blocker Laura Landreth of Fort Sumner led ENMU in kills with 11, her first double-digit outing of the season, while junior outside hitter Lauren Frye and senior middle blocker Brooklyn Biel added eight apiece.

Biel also had five total blocks (one solo), while sophomore libero Andrea Aguilar of Clovis finished with 23 digs.

ENMU 3, St. Edward’s 2 — The Hounds dominated Games 2 and 3, then pulled away late in the fifth set after an ace by junior Lindsay Bost put them in front for good 6-5.

Frye collected 18 kills in the match, including seven in the third set. She had three in a row to end the set and put ENMU in front in games 2-1.

Junior outside hitter Courtney Lawson had nine kills, 13 digs and six aces in the match, including three aces in a row to stake the Hounds to an 8-1 lead in the third set. Freshman setter Alexis Aguirre posted a double-double with 26 assists and 18 digs.

For the Hilltoppers (3-4), Mikayla Grill had a team-high 12 kills to go with 12 digs.