The Mustangs started off the 2009 homecoming weekend with a bang. They defeated Western State College in five thrilling sets (25-27, 25-20, 27-25, 18-25, 18-16). The Mustangs are now 10-12 overall and 8-6 in conference play. The Mountaineers drop to 4-18 overall and 4-10 in the RMAC. WNMU hopes to continue their winning attitude tomorrow night when they face Fort Lewis College.

Set one found the teams tied at 14 apiece, but two Western State service aces and a few WNMU attacking errors gave Western State the 20-15 advantage. Junior Schalicia Degase (Truth or Consequences, NM, Hot Springs High School) tried to put a rally together after a Western State service error. She served four in a row. It still wasn't enough as the Mountaineers ended the match with a block on WNMU's Natali Murdock (Phoenix, AZ, Pinnacle High School).

WNMU tied the match at one thanks to solid blocking by Ellen East (Pomerene, AZ, Benson High School, Yavapai Community College) and Jovan Falemalu (Laie, HI, Kahuku High School). The Mustangs' front row limited Western State to a .050 hitting percentage and forced nine hitting errors in the second set. Between the first two sets, the Mustangs posted eight team blocks.

WNMU had a difficult time stopping Western State's Cecelia Vollmer in set three. Her solid hits gave the Mountaineers the 15-9 lead, but WNMU did not quit. They pecked away at the six point lead and tied things up at 24. Freshmen Heather Rux (Cottonwood, AZ, Mingus Union High School) and Ziona Verhulsdonk (Kailua, HI, Hawaii Preparatory Academy) finished the set with a kill each. Both sets were from East.

Western State forced a fifth set because of solid hitting (.256) and a large block in the fourth. Western State recorded four blocks in the set to take the game easily.

After the coin flip, the Mustangs took the 5-2 lead to force a Western State timeout. Marilee Frost (Long Beach, CA, Robert A. Millikan High School) continued to rattle the Mountaineers with her serves and defense to jump ahead, 7-2. Just as WNMU pecked away at the lead in set three, Western State chipped away at the Mustangs' lead.

Eventually, the Mountaineers tied things up at 14. A WNMU blocking error forced the Mustangs to take a timeout. The timeout proved to be successful. Natali Murdock (Phoenix, AZ/Pinnacle High School) smashed the ball cross court. The game was tied at 15. The next WNMU server, East, could not hold her serve, however, as the Mountaineers tallied a kill. A Western State service error tied the game once again. The Mustangs finally took the lead after Western State was called for a controversial ball handling error. Falemalu finished the match with a kill.

Murdock finished the night with 19 kills and only four errors. Verhulsdonk followed with 13 kills.

The Mustangs played solid defense in the back row and up at the net. Christine Pina (Glendora, CA, Glendora High School) was credited with seven block assists. Frost had 30 digs. East had 23 digs to go along with her 48 assists.

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