SILVER CITY, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico University came away with a big rally to claim the first set and eventually held off a furious run by the Western New Mexico University volleyball team to claim the 3-1 (23-25, 18-25, 25-15, 24-26) victory Tuesday night in Lone Star Conference action.

ENMU (17-11, 12-6 LSC) pulled through with a big two-point win in the first set and rode that momentum by hitting .484 in the second set to take the early two set lead. WNMU (16-13, 8-10 LSC) found their stride in the third set hitting .474 to force a fourth set that the Greyhounds were able to escape with the set and the win.

Lauren Frye, one of the top offensive threats in the conference, powered the Greyhounds with a match-high 23 kills. Junior Heather Verrill (Barstow, CA/Barstow ) led WNMU with 13 kills, while junior Morgan Lyneis (Victorville, CA/Apple Valley) added 11. Senior Shannon Rich (Folsom, CA/Folsom) sent back seven blocks, while junior Samantha Haupeakui (San Mateo, CA/Aragon) added six and Verrill with five. Junior Ashley Mataele (Laie, HI/Kahuku) came away with 18 digs.

The Lady Mustangs jumped out to early leads throughout the opening set before expanding to a five-point lead at 13-8 when junior Melanie Hughes (Riverside, CA/Martin Luther King Jr.) spun in one of her two service aces. ENMU came roaring back on a 7-1 run to take the 15-14 lead. The Greyhounds appeared ready to claim the set at 20-18, just to watch the Lady Mustangs come back for the 22-21 lead off points by junior Kalie Lyle (Phoenix, AZ/Sandra Day O' Connor ) and Hughes. A Rich kill tied the set at 23 and then ENMU took over with Frye tallying a kill and then service ace from Andrea Aguilar sealed the set at 25-23.

Despite the strong hitting effort from ENMU in the second set, early on the Lady Mustangs had the good start ahead at 5-2 with Verrill and Lyneis taking over. The lead moved to three at 11-8 on a service ace by Hughes leading to an ENMU timeout. The Greyhounds responded out of the break reeling off the next five points for a 13-11 lead to force WNMU into a timeout. Rich came out of the break with a kill and then combined with Haupeakui for a block to tie the match for what would turn out to be the last time at 13. ENMU ripped off an 8-1 run to put the set out of reach on their way to winning the second at 25-18.

The between sets break was vital for WNMU as the Lady Mustangs regrouped and brought the energy in the third frame. With the set tied at six, Lyneis started a 4-0 run with a kill to move the lead to 10-6. ENMU fought back to within one a couple of times, with the last coming at 14-13 before WNMU started to pull away as an attack error opened the door on a 5-0 run. During the spurt freshman Cristal Carrizoza (Phoenix, AZ/North) added a service ace, Haupeakui and Rich sent back a block and an ENMU attack error moved WNMU to the 19-13 lead. The Lady Mustangs continued with the pressure allowing just two more points over the final eight points of the set to take the 25-15 victory and force a fourth set.

ENMU tried to pull away for good in the fourth moving out to a 15-11 lead. WNMU refused to go away fighting back to tie the set at 21 on a kill by Lyneis. The Greyhounds responded taking advantage of three WNMU errors to move to match point at 24-21. Verrill kept the match alive with a kill, then a double-block by Rich and Lyle had the Lady Mustangs back to 24-23. Frye, who had been posting kills from all over the court had a chance to end the match on the next point, but her attack went wide to even the set at 24. Courtney Lawson left no doubt on the next point as she ripped a kill to move ENMU to match point, which they would get on an attack error by Verrill for the 26-24 set win and 3-1 match victory for ENMU.

ENMU ended up out hitting WNMU at 56-47 on kills and .198 to .192 in hitting percentage. They also held the edge in assists (56-45) and digs (55-41). WNMU posted the advantage in service aces (7-5) and blocks (12-5).
Carrizoza led the offense with 22 assists, while Hughes added 17.

In addition to Frye's big night, Brooklyn Biel had 13 kills, Alexis Aguirre had 35 assists and Aguilar with 17 digs.

WNMU will continue the homestand welcoming in Tarleton State on Friday night starting at 5 p.m.