The Mustang volleyball team showed a bit of nerves and a bit of perseverance in their first two games of the 2009 season. Southwest Oklahoma State University forced WNMU to play five sets, but the purple and gold prevailed and came out on top, 3-2 (15-25, 25-22, 25-23, 20-25, 15-13). Lubbock Christian University showed why they are ranked No. 15 in the NAIA as they cruised by the Mustangs in three straight sets (20-25, 24-26, 20-25).

In the second match of the day, Lubbock Christian hit a whopping .528 in the first set followed by .267 and .220 in the next two. Lubbock's Kelsey Odell and Elissa Loynes combined for 26 kills.

Freshman Heather Rux (Cottonwood, AZ, Mingus Union High School) led the way for the Mustangs. She posted nine kills while hitting .248. Junior Natali Murdock (Phoenix, AZ, Pinnacle High School) followed with seven kills.

Ellen East (Pomerene, AZ, Benson High School, Yavapai Community College) took over the setting duties and recorded 22 assists. She also led the team in service aces with four and came in second in digs with 12. JoBeth Erling (Coal Valley, IL, Moline High School, Augustana College) found her home in the back row and tallied 18 digs to lead the team.

The Mustangs will continue play tomorrow at the West Texas A&M Lady Buff Classic. The host will be WNMU's first opponent of the day at 11:00 a.m. WNMU will play the University Texas of the Permian Basin immediately following at 1:00 p.m.

Statistics for the first match versus Southwest Oklahoma State University are not available at the time of this release.

Click here for complete statistics of the Lubbock Christian match.