SILVER CITY, N.M. – The home cooking has been good to the Western New Mexico University volleyball team all season and it continued Friday night as the Lady Mustangs rolled to a sweep over Chadron State College (25-22, 25-15, 25-19) in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action.

WNMU (15-5, 10-2 RMAC) recorded a season-high .347 hitting percentage (40-6-91) on their way to dominating the match. The defense was once again solid limiting yet another team to less than .100 as CSC (5-15, 4-8 RMAC) hit at a .093 clip (35-26-97).

Following a slow start in the opening set, the Lady Mustangs found their groove at seven-all. Shannon Rich (Folsom, CA/Folsom) ignited the run with a kill, then Sheila Menezes (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Escola Estadual Prof. Antonio Ablas Filho) had a pair of kills around an ace by Kelli McGhiey (Pearl City, HI/Sacred Hearts Academy ) for the 11-7 lead. Although WNMU led the rest of the set, the Eagles refused to go away. They fought back to within one at 16-15 and then to within two at 24-22 when a double-block by Heather Verrill (Barstow, CA/Barstow ) and Leeta Grap (Kamuela, HI/Hawaii Preparatory Academy) sealed the set for WNMU at 25-22. The strong hitting showed up right out of the gate for the Lady Mustangs as they connected on .371 with 17 kills.

CSC hung tough early in the second set fighting their way back to within two at 13-11. Just like the previous set, WNMU found their stride and never looked back. McGhiey helped get the Lady Mustangs going with a kill on the next point and five points followed with Barbara Soranzo (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil/Mestre Santa Barbara) serving as Rich and Menezes combined for a block and then four attack errors by the Eagles stretched the WNMU lead to 19-11. Another McGhiey kill helped get WNMU the service game back and they would finish the set off with Ashley Mataele (Laie, HI/Kahuku) serving as she spun in an ace before an Eagle attack error gave WNMU the 25-15 set win. While the solid hitting percentage in the first set was strong, the second set was even more impressive with WNMU hitting a sizzling .435 with 11 kills and just one error in 23 attempts. The Lady Mustangs held the Eagles to a .000 percentage, their lowest in any set on the night.

In the third set, WNMU broke open a close 12-10 set with Morgan Lyneis (Victorville, CA/Apple Valley) drilling a kill, which was followed by a kill from McGhiey and later after a pair of CSC errors, Rich and Menezes combined for a block to quickly open a 17-11 WNMU lead. The Eagles would make a late run scoring four of five points down the stretch, but it wouldn't be enough with Verrill and Lyneis collecting kills to take the set, 25-19, and the match, 3-0.

In addition to a strong offensive and defensive night, WNMU also led in aces (4-3), blocks (8-3) and assists (38-32). McGhiey and Rich led the offense with eight kills apiece. Both had terrific hitting nights with McGhiey posting a .318, to a .636 for Rich. Rich's hitting percentage is a season-high and the second time she has hit over .600 collecting a .611 against Black Hills State. Grap, Verrill and Lyneis also added seven kills apiece with Grap hitting .353, Verrill at .400 and Lyneis at .263. Taimane Passi (Honolulu, HI/Iolani) led in assists with 19, while Chyler Imai (Kapaau, HI/Kohala) added 17. On defense Grap tallied 10 digs to nine for Mataele, while in terms of blocking both Rich and Verrill came away with four apiece and each had a solo block.

Rudy Leasau and Gaby Varela led the Eagles in kills with 10 apiece, while Madison Webb added 25 assists.

WNMU remains in first also tied with MSU Denver and Colorado School of Mines. The Lady Mustangs will host Regis on Saturday night beginning at 6 p.m. The Rangers defeated New Mexico Highlands, 3-1, earlier tonight.