Eastern upsets West Texas A&M in straight sets

SPORTS EDITOR

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It wasn’t easy, but despite trailing by as many as five points in two separate sets, the Eastern New Mexico volleyball team beat West Texas A&M in straight sets Tuesday night, 25-20, 26-24 and 26-24.

Lauren Frye had a stellar night, turning in one of her best performances on the year while recording 25 kills and a .500 attack percentage. Brooklyn Biel added 11 kills while freshman Sarah Tuioti-Mariner had nine.

The win marks the second time in two years the Greyhounds (11-10, 6-5 LSC) have beaten the Lady Buffs (12-9, 7-4 LSC) at home. Last year’s win was the first time ENMU had beaten WT in over a decade.

When asked if this win signifies an overall improvement and progress for the program, ENMU coach Sia Poyer said, “We are playing really well . . . I hope it is. This is what we’ve been looking for. We were great defensively, I mean, just in the zone tonight.”

In the zone they were, as they had to claw back from large deficits in both the second and third sets. The third set saw the Hounds down big when they came charging back, tying the match at 24 apiece to eventually take the match.

“We’ve done it before, but it was just nice to see us win those. We have done it before where we come back and get close, but to actually do it and win is great,” said Poyer.

This group of seniors now enters an elite group in the ENMU history books, being only one of two senior classes to have beaten West Texas two consecutive years. The last class to do it was the 2004 team, a group that went deep into the LSC tournament.

Also on the night, Alexis Aguirre led the team with 28 assists while Kaitlyn Kluna added 20. Andrea Aguilar and Talaitupu Faumui finished with 17 and 13 digs, respectively.