SILVER CITY, N.M. – The Western New Mexico University volleyball team continued their strong play inside Drag's Court by sweeping past Black Hills State, 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 27-25) Saturday afternoon in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action.


Western New Mexico University (WNMU) improves to 5-1 now on their home floor, as they bested a pesky Black Hills State University (BHSU) squad.


The opening set was tight throughout, with BHSU (6-13, 1-9 RMAC) jumping out to the 6-3 lead. WNMU (10-11, 7-4 RMAC) would come back to take the lead at 13-11 on a kill from Lauren Buseman (Eagar, AZ/Round Valley). After the Yellow Jackets' timeout, they went on an 8-3 run to take a three-point lead, 19-16, leading to a Lady Mustang timeout. WNMU would come back to tie the set at 22 and later take the lead on the next point thanks to a double-block from Buseman and Angelina Pulu (Long Beach, CA/Robert A. Millikan High School). BHSU refused to go away, tying the set at 23 and after Pulu pounded a kill for a 24-23 lead, BHSU tied things up again at 24. This time the Lady Mustangs were able to break the tie and take the set for good with Seluia “Ria” Falealili recording a kill and then an impressive double-block from Ziona Verhulsdonk (Kailua, HI/Hawaii Preparatory Academy) and Heather Rux (Cottonwood, AZ/Mingus Union High School) sealed the 26-24 first set victory.


The second set was similar to the first early on, with BHSU jumping out to an early 13-9 lead. WNMU would come back to tie the set at 15, with Destiney Mebane (Upland, CA/Etiwanda High School) taking over with a kill and then out of a Yellow Jacket timeout, she recorded two more kills to give the Lady Mustangs a 17-15 lead. BHSU would get as close as one, 22-21, before the Lady Mustangs ran away with the set getting a kill from Pulu and then after an attacking error, Alyssa Meihack (Fallon, NV/Churchill County High School) posted a service ace for the 25-21 set win and 2-0 match lead.


BHSU wasn't about to go down quietly in the third set. WNMU jumped out early to a 9-5 lead on a double-block from Rux and Falealili and later a 14-9 advantage on a service error. WNMU seemed in great shape ahead 24-21 following a ball handling error, but the Yellow Jackets answered scoring the next four points to turn the set in their favor at 25-24 leading to a WNMU timeout. The Lady Mustangs responded, as after a decent rally, Rux tallied a kill and after BHSU had an attacking error, Pulu sealed the match with a booming kill for the 27-25 set win and 2-0 match victory.


Blocks were prevalent all night, with BHSU tallying 11 to 9 for WNMU. Pulu and Verhulsdonk each had solo blocks, while Pulu had four block-assists to three for Verhulsdonk. Buseman added three block-assists and four for Rux. Pulu was once again in double-digits in terms of kills with 13, as she tallied a .310 hitting percentage collecting just four errors in 29 total chances. Rux added eight kills and seven for Verhulsdonk. Meihack tallied 38 assists, while Pulu again led the team in digs with 14.


WNMU is now on a three-match winning streak and will look to remain hot at home when they host No. 12 Colorado School of Mines next Friday with game time set for 7 p.m. inside Drag's Court.

 
   Black Hills State vs Western New Mexico (Oct 13, 2012 at Silver City, NM)
 
  Western New Mexico def. Black Hills State 26-24,25-21,27-25
 
  Black Hills State (6-13, 1-9 RMAC) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Amy O'Neill
  11-2-0; Meghan Sipe 9-0-3; Kylee Lamb 6-0-8; Caitlin Templeton 6-0-4;
  Danielle Torpey 2-0-0; Holly Hamlin 2-0-5; Jackie Fagnant 1-0-0;
  Totals 37-2-11.0. (Assists) - Darbi Yost 13; Jackie Fagnant 11. (Dig
  leaders) - Meghan Sipe 8; Kelsey Olson 7
 
  Western New Mexico (10-11, 7-4 RMAC) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Angelina
  Pulu 13-0-4; Heather Rux (Cottonwood, AZ/Mingus Union High School) 8-0-4; Ziona Verhulsdonk (Kailua, HI/Hawaii Preparatory Academy) 7-0-4; Seluia
  Falealili 5-0-1; Destiney Mebane (Upland, CA/Etiwanda High School) 4-0-0; Lauren Buseman (Eagar, AZ/Round Valley) 3-0-3; Shelley
  Wermuth 2-0-0; Shannon Niemeier (Carlsbad, NM/Carlsbad) 1-0-0; Kassie Kagawa (Hilo, HI/Waiakea High School) 1-1-0; Reyna
  Acosta 0-1-0; Alyssa Meihack (Fallon, NV/Churchill County High School) 0-2-0; Totals 44-4-9.0. (Assists) -
  Alyssa Meihack (Fallon, NV/Churchill County High School) 38. (Dig leaders) - Angelina Pulu (Long Beach, CA/Robert A. Millikan High School) 14; Kassie Kagawa (Hilo, HI/Waiakea High School) 8
 
  Site: Silver City, NM (Drag's Court)
  Date: Oct 13, 2012   Attend: 170   Time: 1:25