Volleyball Preps for Home Matches Against Buffs, Falcons

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SILVER CITY, N.M. – Having split the first two weeks of the Lone Star Conference season, the Western New Mexico University volleyball team returns home to face both West Texas A&M and UT Permian Basin this Friday and Saturday night inside Drag's Court with gametime set for 6 p.m. each night.

WNMU (2-10, 2-2 LSC) opened last week with a solid 3-1 win over Midwestern State and then ran into a tough matchup with Cameron falling 3-1. The Lady Mustangs are still searching for their rhythm offensively, as they have 491 kills, but are hitting just .135. Opponents counter with 581 kills and a .245 percentage.

Senior Kalie Lyle (Phoenix, AZ/Sandra Day O' Connor) has 130 kills so far this season to lead the way, followed by 100 from senior Alanna Watt (Hague, Saskatchewan/Hague). Sophomore Cristal Carrizoza (Phoenix, AZ/North) leads the way in assists with 249, while on defense senior Ashley Mataele (Laie, HI/Kahuku) has 181 digs and sophomore Hannah Tishlarich (Elk Grove, CA/Pleasant Grove) has sent back 26 blocks. Senior Heather Verrill (Barstow, CA/Barstow), working her way back into the lineup, has 16 blocks in 14 sets.

In terms of the conference rankings, Lyle is third in attacks per set (9.66), kills per set (3.71) and points per set (3.93). Mataele is eighth in digs per set (4.21) and 10^th in total digs. Carrizoza is 10^th in assists per set (5.93). As a team, WNMU is in the top-10 in the conference in assists per set (10.88) good for ninth and in digs per set (14.72) good for eighth.

West Texas A&M will come to Silver City first on Friday night. The Buffs are 8-6 overall and 3-2 in the conference. They started the LSC part of the year with three straight wins before falling to Tarleton State and Angelo State this past weekend on the road.

Last year, each team won at home with WT claiming the 3-0 win in Canyon and WNMU a tight 3-2 win in Silver City.

WT has tallied 603 kills and have hit .229, while opponents have 612 kills and are hitting .213. Three players nearly have 100 kills, with Kamille Jones leading the way with 114, followed by 112 from Erin Clark and 97 from Crystal Thomas. Selena Batiste is the main setter with 462 assists. Chandler Vogel has 161 digs and Thomas has sent back 59 blocks.

UT Permian Basin will be the next team in on Saturday night. UTPB is 4-9 overall and 1-4 in the conference. They have lost their last four matches, all LSC contests and all by 3-0 sweeps. They started the league schedule with a 3-1 win over Cameron.

The Falcons have 526 kills and hit .127, while opponents have 571 kills and are hitting .181. Rachel Dixon with 116 kills and Caitlyn Guajardo with 106 kills lead the offense. Kiera Granado sets up the offense with 367 assists. On defense, Sarah Vasquez has 244 digs and Skyler Friel has 37 blocks.

WNMU swept both meetings last season.

Live video and stats will be available for both matches.

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Players Mentioned

#1 Cristal Carrizoza: S; 5' 8"; Sophomore

#12 Kalie Lyle: OH; 5' 7"; Senior

#23 Ashley Mataele: DS; 5' 7"; Senior

#4 Hannah Tishlarich: MB; 6' 0"; Sophomore

#16 Heather Verrill: RS; 6' 3"; Senior

#13 Alanna Watt: OH; 5' 9"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#1 Cristal Carrizoza
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: S

#12 Kalie Lyle
: 5' 7"; Senior
: OH

#23 Ashley Mataele
: 5' 7"; Senior
: DS

#4 Hannah Tishlarich
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: MB

#16 Heather Verrill
: 6' 3"; Senior
: RS

#13 Alanna Watt
: 5' 9"; Senior
: OH