Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
LAREDO, Texas — Texas A&M International used an 11-0 run to take early command and the Dustdevils went on to sweep Eastern New Mexico University 25-11, 25-19, 25-23 in Lone Star Conference volleyball on Friday night.
Senior outside hitter Megan Menchaca collected 13 kills while senior outside hitter Mackenzie Catalina notched 12 kills and 15 digs for the Dustdevils (15-5, 6-1 LSC), coming off their first loss in conference play. Meantime, freshman setter Emma Lade also had a double-double (34 assists, 12 digs).
For ENMU, which had won three of four coming in, senior middle blocker Adriana Puni finished with team highs of eight kills and 12 digs, while freshman setter Kayla Ison notched her fourth double-double of the campaign with 11 assists and 10 digs.
International put together the lengthy run after ENMU (12-11, 3-8) scored the first point of the night, and the Dustdevils dominated the rest of the set.
In Game 2, ENMU rallied from a five-point deficit, using a 4-0 spurt to pull even 17-17, but International promptly locked up a 2-0 lead with eight of the next 10 points.
The Dustdevils then scored the first six points of the third set, but ENMU rallied for five consecutive points and a 21-20 advantage on a kill by Puni. International, though, rallied back to end it with five of the final seven points.
ENMU was slated to visit Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday. The Hounds complete a six-match road trip with conference tilts at Cameron on Friday and at West Texas A&M on Saturday.
ENMU drops soccer twin bill — Say one thing for the Eastern New Mexico University women’s soccer team — the Greyhounds have been competitive most of the season.
Their problem is the margin for error is terribly small.
Wednesday night, ENMU had the better of it much of the way, but Texas-Permian Basin sophomore midfielder Laura Perez scored on a penalty kick just before halftime and the Falcons held on from there for a 1-0 Lone Star Conference victory at Greyhound Stadium.
In the men’s half of the LSC twin bill, Lubbock Christian scored twice late to put away a 3-0 victory over the Hounds.
For ENMU’s women (4-8-1, 2-4-1 LSC), it was their seventh 1-0 result of the campaign (3-4), and they were coming off a scoreless tie at home on Oct. 8 against Texas A&M International.
Just prior the goal by Perez, the Hounds thought they had tallied, but a goalline clearance by UTPB (5-5-2, 3-4-1) kept the contest scoreless.
ENMU had eight shots — all on goal — while just four of the Falcons’ 10 attempts were on frame. Falcons junior keeper Jenna McEnaney was credited with seven saves.
While the Hounds still lead the all-time head-to-head series 10-6, it was the Falcons’ first win in seven tries at Portales.
With the teams coming in tied in the standings, the result was a serious blow to ENMU’s hopes of making the LSC’s postseason tournament. Meantime, the Falcons took over the sixth and final tourney slot with a couple of weeks to go in the regular year.
The Hounds were to hit the road to face top-ranked Dallas Baptist on Saturday. Their next outing is at home on Wednesday against West Texas A&M.
In the second half of the twin bill, senior forward Tarique Bakkali posted a goal and an assist to lift Lubbock Christian (5-5-3, 2-1-1) to the win.
Bakkali scored unassisted about five minutes before halftime to break the ice, then senior forward Pablo Galietero Diez made it 2-0 about 11 minutes into the second segment. Bakkali got an assist on a goal by freshman forward Enzo Jaques with just over a minute left.
The Hounds (4-5-1, 1-3-0) were slated to play at UTPB on Saturday. Their next outing is on Wednesday at Texas-Tyler.