SILVER CITY, N.M. – After spending the first three weeks on the road, it will be a welcomed sight for the Western New Mexico University volleyball team when they return home this weekend for their home openers against Cameron University and Midwestern State University.
WNMU started the season 8-4 after traveling to California, Utah and Texas. They open the week on Friday at 6 p.m. against Cameron and then on Saturday at 3 p.m. against Midwestern State.
The Lady Mustangs opened Lone star Conference last week against Texas A&M-Kingsville and after two non-conference matches, return to a full LSC schedule from now until the end of the regular season.
Junior
Heather Verrill (Barstow, CA/Barstow ) leads the team in kills (122) and is third in blocks with 32. Five players have at least 70 kills with junior
Morgan Lyneis (Victorville, CA/Apple Valley) second with 92, senior
Shannon Rich (Folsom, CA/Folsom) with 87, junior
Kalie Lyle (Phoenix, AZ/Sandra Day O' Connor ) with 77 and junior
Samantha Haupeakui (San Mateo, CA/Aragon) with 70. Junior
Melanie Hughes (Riverside, CA/Martin Luther King Jr.) leads the team with 213 assists and in service aces with 21. Junior
Ashley Mataele (Laie, HI/Kahuku) has already racked up 197 digs, while Rich leads in blocks with 45, followed by Haupeakui's 38. Three have accounted for over 100 points in Verrill (141), Rich (118) and Lyneis (101.5).
WNMU ranks as a team nationally in the top-50 in several categories. The Lady Mustangs are 50
th in aces per set (1.77), which is second in the conference, 47
th in blocks per set (2.12) and fourth in the conference, 49
th in hitting percentage (.226) and fourth in the conference, 26
th in team service aces (76) and second in the conference and 29
th in team total blocks (91), good for third in the conference.
Individually, several rank in the top-five in the conference including Hughes fourth and 62
nd nationally in aces per set (.49), Rich is third and 66
th nationally in blocks per set (1.05), Mataele is fourth in digs per set (4.58), Hughes is fourth and 20
th nationally in service aces (21), Rich is third and 40
th nationally in total blocks (45), Haupeakui is right behind in seventh and 77
th nationally with 38, Mataele is second and 57
th nationally in total digs (197).
WNMU opens the week against Cameron. The Aggies have struggled out of the gate so far with a 2-9 record and 0-3 in the LSC. They have wins against Southern Arkansas and St. Edward's. So far in the conference they have gone against West Texas A&M, UT Permian Basin and Midwestern State.
Jenna Gillean leads the offense far and away with 167 kills, the next closest has just 79 kills. Haleigh McClain-Ward sets the play with 232 assists. On defense, Gabrielle Lerma has 157 digs to 131 for Kylee Quillin. Gillean also leads in blocks with 20. The offense is hitting .166 as a team, while opponents are at .210.
WNMU closes the week on Saturday versus Midwestern State. The Mustangs are 6-5 overall and 2-1 in the conference. They swept both UT Permian Basin and Cameron in conference, while they fell 3-1 to West Texas A&M.
Three players have at least 100 kills led by 128 from Meghan Bettis, Aerielle Edwards and Sarah Garfield add 100 apiece. Kristan Aduddell has dished out 347 assists, while on defense Bettis has 115 digs to 105 for Sabrina Angeles. In terms of blocks, Addison Semer has 23. They hit .202 as a team and hold opponents to a .173 clip.
Live video and stats will be available for both games and can be found on the WNMU athletic website at www.wnmumustangs.com
