PORTALES, N.M./CANYON/ODESSA, Texas – It was a short lived homestand for the Western New Mexico University volleyball team as they return to the road playing three matches in four days, all Lone Star Conference matches.
The trip begins Wednesday in Portales at Eastern New Mexico at 6 p.m. Then on Friday night at 6 p.m. (Central Time) versus West Texas A&M before closing the trip on Saturday afternoon in Odessa against UT Permian Basin at 2 p.m. (Central Time).
WNMU (10-4, 2-1 LSC) is on a four-match winning streak, with the last three coming as sweeps including two conference wins over Cameron and Midwestern State. Junior Heather Verrill (Barstow, CA/Barstow ) leads the team with 136 kills, followed by 108 from junior Morgan Lyneis (Victorville, CA/Apple Valley), 100 from senior Shannon Rich (Folsom, CA/Folsom) and 85 each from juniors Kalie Lyle (Phoenix, AZ/Sandra Day O' Connor ) and Samantha Haupeakui (San Mateo, CA/Aragon). The team is hitting a solid .240, while holding opponents to a .173 average. Junior Melanie Hughes (Riverside, CA/Martin Luther King Jr.) leads the team in assists with 253 and also has 23 service aces. Junior Ashley Mataele (Laie, HI/Kahuku) is up to 227 digs, with Hughes next on the list with 106. Three have at least 37 blocks in Rich with 54, Haupeakui with 44 and Verrill with 37. WNMU has 109 blocks to allowing just 66.
The Lady Mustangs are ranked high in several national and conference categories, as well as individually. The team is in the top-five in the LSC in aces per set, second and 38th nationally at 1.88, blocks per set, fourth and 31st with 2.22, hitting percentage, second and 26th with .240, match win-loss percentage, fourth and 60th with .714, opponent hitting percentage, fifth and 120th at .173, team service aces, second and 23rd with 92 and team total blocks, third and 24th with 109.
Individually, several rank in the top-10 in the conference including Hughes fourth and 66th nationally in aces per set at .47, freshman Cristal Carrizoza (Phoenix, AZ/North) is eighth and 175th at .38, Lyle is 10th and 258th at .35, Rich is third and 40th in blocks per set at 1.10, Haupeakui is eighth and 99th with .98, Mataele is fourth and 96th in digs per set with 4.63, Rich is fourth and 51st in hitting percentage at .342, Verrill is sixth and 129th at .306, Hughes is fourth and 25th in service aces with 23, Mataele is eighth and 142nd with 17, Hughes is 10th and 214st in total assists with 253, Rich is fifth and 30th in total blocks with 54, Haupeakui is ninth and 82nd with 44 and Mataele is third and 63rd in total digs with 227.
WNMU opens against the Greyhounds of Eastern New Mexico on Wednesday. ENMU is 6-7 overall and 1-2 in the league. They split this past weekend falling in a tough five-setter to Midwestern State, before coming back with a 3-1 win against Cameron. The Greyhounds hit .199 as a team and opponents are at .205. Lauren Frye leads the offense with 238 kills, averaging 4.41 per set. Brooklyn Biel is second with 172, while Courtney Lawson adds 128. Alexis Aguirre has dished out 381 assists. Lawson leads the way in digs with 385, while Frye has 37 blocks and Biel with 33.
On Friday, WNMU will head to Canyon, Texas to go against West Texas A&M. The Lady Buffs are 8-5 overall and 4-1 in the league after battling back to defeat UT Permian Basin in a five-set thriller Tuesday night. That marks the third straight match in which West Texas A&M has gone five sets after battling Tarleton State to a tough five-set loss and then defeating then ranked No. 8 Angelo State in five sets this past weekend. The Lady Buffs are hitting .215 as a team and opponents are at .195. Cori Haley leads the offense with 132 kills, followed by 127 from Elisa Bentsen. Selensa Batiste sets the table with 335 assists. On defense, Lauren Britten has 206 digs and in blocks, Bentsen has 67.
To close the weekend, WNMU will play in Odessa on Saturday afternoon against UT Permian Basin. The Falcons are 5-9 overall and 1-4 in the conference with their conference win coming at Cameron. Everyone of their conference matches have been either 3-0 wins or losses until they went five with West Texas A&M Tuesday night. They hit .118 as a team and opponents are at .201. Caitlyn Guajardo leads in kills with 137, while Mallory Nicholson has 276 assists. Sarah Vasquez has 168 digs, while Travanna Matthews has 32 blocks.
Live video and stats will be available for all three matches with links available on the wnmumustangs.com athletic page.
