SILVER CITY, N.M. – The Western New Mexico University volleyball team used strong play down the stretch in all three sets to pull away from New Mexico Highlands University, 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-21) to record the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference win Friday night inside Drag's Court.


The opening set was a solid one for Western New Mexico University (WNMU) as they jumped out to an early 5-0 lead with Ziona Verhulsdonk (Kailua, HI/Hawaii Preparatory Academy), Seluia Falealili and Shelley Wermuth (San Diego, CA/Mt. Carmel) posting kills. The lead would reach seven, 14-7, on a kill by Angelina Pulu (Long Beach, CA/Robert A. Millikan High School). New Mexico Highlands University (NMHU) refused to go away, battling back a number of times and eventually they trimmed the deficit to two, 23-21. WNMU (6-9, 3-2 RMAC) came through after that, getting a service error and then Falealili ended the set with a kill on an assist from Alyssa Meihack (Fallon, NV/Churchill County High School) to take the set, 25-22.


The second set belonged to NMHU (6-9, 2-4 RMAC) early on as they raced out to a 14-9 lead. The Lady Mustangs would come back as they would tie the set at 19 on a kill by Pulu. It would remain tight over the next few points with the set tied at 22. WNMU would then seal the deal scoring the final three points, with Verhulsdonk recording a solo block and after a service error, Pulu ended the set with another kill for the 25-22 set win and 2-0 match lead.


The third set looked to be a runaway early on for WNMU. The Lady Mustangs opened up an early 13-4 lead, as they reeled off seven straight points at one point. NMHU made a comeback getting back to within two, 23-21, but a service error and an attack error gave WNMU the 25-21 set win and 3-0 match victory.


Pulu once again dominated in kills with 17, posting a .323 hitting percentage. She also had five digs. A trio of Lady Mustangs, Verhulsdonk, Heather Rux (Cottonwood, AZ/Mingus Union High School) and Falealili tallied nine kills apiece. Meihack once again dished out the most assists with 44, while Kassie Kagawa (Hilo, HI/Waiakea High School) led in digs with 19. Pulu, Verhulsdonk and Rux all recorded solo blocks, as the Lady Mustangs had four total. WNMU tallied 49 kills to 30 for NMHU, while the hitting percentages for both teams were close with NMHU hitting at a .181 clip and WNMU at a .200 percentage. Darian Mullen led the Cowgirls with 10 kills to just four errors (.250).


WNMU will have a quick turnaround as they will host CSU-Pueblo at 7 p.m. Saturday night inside Drag's Court.

 
  Western New Mexico def. New Mexico Highlands 25-22,25-22,25-21
 
  New Mexico Highlands (6-9, 2-4 RMAC) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Dairan
  Mullen 10-0-6; Marina Samoa 6-0-0; Sarah Dirmeyer 5-0-7; Andrea Nunez
  4-0-5; Mariah White 3-0-5; Ashley Nugent 2-0-2; Rae Mulitalo 0-2-1;
  Totals 30-2-15.0. (Assists) - Rae Mulitalo 26. (Dig leaders) - Marina
  Samoa 10; Erin Lopez 6
 
  Western New Mexico (6-9, 3-2 RMAC) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Angelina Pulu (Long Beach, CA/Robert A. Millikan High School)
  17-1-1; Ziona Verhulsdonk (Kailua, HI/Hawaii Preparatory Academy) 9-0-1; Heather Rux (Cottonwood, AZ/Mingus Union High School) 9-0-1; Seluia Falealili
  9-0-1; Shelley Wermuth (San Diego, CA/Mt. Carmel) 4-0-0; Alyssa Meihack (Fallon, NV/Churchill County High School) 1-2-1; Chyler Imai (Kapaau, HI/Kohala) 0-1-0;
  Kassie Kagawa (Hilo, HI/Waiakea High School) 0-1-0; Totals 49-5-4.0. (Assists) - Alyssa Meihack (Fallon, NV/Churchill County High School) 44.
  (Dig leaders) - Kassie Kagawa (Hilo, HI/Waiakea High School) 19; Chyler Imai (Kapaau, HI/Kohala) 9
 
  Site: Silver City, NM (Drag's Court)
  Date: Sep 28, 2012   Attend: 265   Time: 1:25