Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Western New Mexico University volleyball team came close to winning both of their opening matches of the 2016 season. After a hard-fought 3-1 loss to Cal Baptist, the Lady Mustangs regrouped to sweep Cal State Dominguez Hills, 3-0, Friday in the Point Loma Seaside Invitational.

In the first match, the Lady Mustangs stayed right with Cal Baptist. The Lancers, who were receiving votes in the latest AVCA Poll, were able to escape with the four-set win (22-25, 25-23, 15-25, 22-25). Cal Baptist started strong in the opening frame quickly moving out to a 9-2 lead. WNMU began to work their way back into the set with junior Morgan Lyneis (Victorville, CA/Apple Valley) tallying a kill and a service ace by freshman Cristal Carrizoza (Phoenix, AZ/North) had the deficit trimmed to four, 9-5. Lyneis and freshman Hannah Tishlarich (Elk Grove, CA/Pleasant Grove) combined for a double-block midway through the set that had WNMU down just two, 16-14. That would be as close as the Lady Mustangs could get the rest of the way, as they pulled back to within two a few more times, with the last coming at 24-22 on a solo block by Shannon Rich (Folsom, CA/Folsom) before the Lancers sealed the set with the next point for the 25-22 win.

WNMU came out strong in the second set after taking advantage of a few Lancer errors, Rich delivered a kill off an assist by junior Melanie Hughes (Riverside, CA/Martin Luther King Jr.) for the early 3-0 advantage.  The lead reached four at 9-5 on a kill by Lyneis. The lead grew to eight at 18-10 with Rich and junior Heather Verrill (Barstow, CA/Barstow ) coming away with kills. Cal Baptist refused to go away, fighting back to tie the set at 22. With the set tied again at 23, WNMU made the plays to come away with the set win as Rich tallied a kill and then another by Verrill for the 25-23 second set win to tie the match at one.

The third set was right where WNMU wanted it early on posting a 4-1 lead with Carrizoza, Lyneis, Rich and Verrill contributing points. Ahead 5-2, the Lancers went on a big run of 9-0 to open an 11-5 lead. Cal Baptist rode the momentum from their scoring stretch to take the third set, 25-15.

The Lancers looked ready to run away with the fourth set after starting with a 7-3 lead. WNMU wasn't about to go away, as the Lady Mustangs fought back from down eight twice to pull to within one at 22-21. Down 21-15, Verrill helped ignite a 6-1 run with a kill. Junior Kalie Lyle (Phoenix, AZ/Sandra Day O' Connor ) added a kill and around three more kills by Verrill, freshman Elizabeth Robinson (Sacramento, CA/Christian Brothers) and Verrill recorded a double-block. Verrill added one last kill at 23-22 before the Lancers were able to just pull away with a kill and service ace for the 25-22 fourth set win and 3-1 match victory. Verrill moved back to her natural position of middle for the fourth frame and caught fire with seven kills.

Cal Baptist held the 52-46 edge in kills, assists (50-38) and digs (57-39). WNMU posted six blocks and added nine service aces. Verrill ended up leading the team in kills with 13, while Lyneis added 12. Rich posted eight and hit well coming away with .467 (8-1-15) clip. Hughes added 19 assists to 16 from Carrizoza. On defense, junior Ashley Mataele (Laie, HI/Kahuku) collected 11 digs and Rich sent back four blocks.

Lauren Hackett led the Lancers with 16 kills, as they had three players reach double-digits in kills. Hackett also led the team in digs with 10.

To close the day, WNMU rolled to a sweep over Cal State Dominguez Hills, although the final set was close (25-19, 25-14, 28-26).

The Lady Mustangs built a 4-1 lead behind a solo block from junior Samantha Haupeakui (San Mateo, CA/Aragon) and a service ace from Hughes. Still in front 8-5, WNMU began to pull away thanks to a 5-0 run started on a kill by Rich. Rich would add a few more kills and around an error, Carrizoza spun in a service ace for the 13-5 lead. The Toros would get no closer than five the rest of the set with WNMU taking the 25-19 first set win on a kill by Lyneis.

The Lady Mustangs wasted little time breaking open the second set. With everything knotted at two, Rich and Robinson combined for a double-block to trigger a 5-0 run. Lyneis added a kill and after some attack errors, Mataele added a service ace for the 7-2 lead. The lead grew to nine at 13-4 following a double-block by Lyneis and Rich and a bad set by the Toros. WNMU remained in control the rest of the set cruising to the 25-14 second set victory.

The third set was completely different. Cal State Dominguez Hills moved out to a 13-10 lead and the teams would trade ties and leads throughout the set. With the teams knotted at 18, WNMU looked ready to seal the deal scoring the next four points. But, the Toros weren't about to go away, coming back to tie the set once again at 22. Following several more ties, WNMU finally broke free thanks for a kill by Lyle and then attack error for the 28-26 third set win and 3-0 match victory.

The Lady Mustangs controlled most of the categories including kills (36-31), assists (32-28), service aces (8-6) and blocks (9-5). Individually, Lyneis led with nine kills, while Verrill added eight. Verrill hit .353 (8-2-17). Hughes dished out a team-best 16 assists, with Carrizoza adding 12. Defensively, Mataele had eight digs and Rich posted five blocks.

Off to a 1-1 start to the season, WNMU will be back in action Saturday with two more matches. First against former RMAC opponent Chadron State at 8:30 a.m. and then against host Point Loma at 1 p.m. Both matches are Pacific Time. Live video and stats will be available for both.