ENMU falls in five at NM Highlands

LAS VEGAS, N.M. — The Eastern New Mexico University volleyball team was out of Lone Star Conference play for an evening, but still had a chance to do something it hadn’t accomplished yet in this early season — win consecutive matches, started by a spirited four-set win Friday over Texas A&M-Kingsville.

It’s back to the drawing board on that idea, as a trip to Las Vegas was derailed by New Mexico Highlands. The host Cowgirls rallied from a 2-1 game deficit and won 22-25, 25-22, 19-25, 25-18, 16-14 Tuessday night.

Senior Brooklyn Biel finished with a team-high 13 kills while sophomore Sarah Tuioti-Mariner had 12 and freshman Jasmine Gannon had 11. Setters Kaitlyn Kluna and Alexis Aguirre combined for 43 assists and both totaled at least 20 in the match. Kluna and Tuitoi-Mariner recorded double-doubles while Andrea Aguilar picked up 17 digs.

After getting off to a slow start in the opening set, Eastern came alive late to take a 1-0 lead in the match. As a team, the Greyhounds hit .333 and forced seven errors by Highlands. Individually, Gannon and Tuioti-Mariner notched four kills while hitting .429 and .333, respectively.

The Greyhounds continued to ride the hot start through the early goings of the second set. Sadie Phimmasone picked up three blocks to spark the Hounds, but a late surge by the Cowgirls evened the match at one, 25-22.

In the third, ENMU rode Biel's five kills and .333 attack percentage to a 25-19 advantage.

The Green and Silver committed 10 attack errors in the fourth set, leading to a 18-25 setback, forcing a decisive fifth-set.

The Greyhounds resume Lone Star Conference play Friday at Cameron, with first serve scheduled for 5 p.m.