Volleyball Comes Up With Big Win Over Eastern New Mexico

Box Score Silver City, N.M-- It was a fight to the finish as East met West tonight in a conference match-up, with the Western New Mexico Mustangs coming up with a big win over the Greyhounds.

It took all five sets, but in the end it was the Mustangs who took home the 3-2 win and bring their win streak to two.

Set one saw the Mustangs take a 16-9 lead, before the Greyhounds charged back to tie the score at 20. The teams went back and forth for the last few points before a Jennifer Martinez kill, and a Mustang attack error saw the Greyhounds come from behind to take set one.

Set two saw multiple runs by both teams, going up by as many as five points before the other team would answer with a run of their own. Eastern took a 19-16 lead before back-to-back attack errors by the Greyhounds forced a timeout. A Eastern kill, and Western attack error put the Greyhounds within four points of taking the set, and a 2-0 lead, but the Mustangs refuse to lose attitude took them on a 5-0 run to take the second set 25-22.

Set three saw the teams neck and neck, but eventually saw Eastern win 25-23. The excitement continued through the fourth set as the Mustangs would have to win to force a deciding set. Similar to set two, the teams would go on runs before the other would climb their way back. The Mustangs took a 19-16 advantage,and continued to maintain the lead going up 23-18. The Greyhounds would score two more before powerhouse Bria Augustine (Bell Flower, CA/Mayfair High School) smashed down back-to-back kills to take the set 25-20.

The winner-take-all set saw the fans on the edge of their seat, as Eastern took a 8-6 lead going into the side change. Eastern would commit four errors in a row to put the Mustangs ahead 10-8. A kill by Erin Moss (Kailua, HI/University Laboratory School), an ace by Hannah Tishlarich (Elk Grove, CA/Pleasant Grove High School) and a Eastern ball handling error put the Mustangs within two points of taking the match. A kill by Eastern would get them to ten, but Deyzha Samuelu (Garden Grove, CA/Edison High School) would follow up with a exclamation point of her own on a quick set in the middle bringing the Mustangs to match point. The Greyhounds would score one more before committing a service error to end it all in favor of the Mustangs.

Despite a slow start, Bria Augustine (Bell Flower, CA/Mayfair High School) led the Mustangs offense finishing with 18 kills on 55 attempts and 8 errors to hit .200 on the night. Erin Moss (Kailua, HI/University Laboratory School) contributed 18 of her own, followed by Samuelu with 10.

Sarah Campoli (Weatherford, TX/Azle High School) led with 29 assists, followed by Madelynn Culp (Vancouver, WA/Union High School) with 21.

An exciting highlight of the night, saw libero Gabi Lau (Kailua, HI/University Laboratory School) switch roles midway through the game to take on an outside hitting role. In addition to her 25 digs, she finished the match with 7 assists, 3 kills and 1 block assist.

The Mustangs improve to 9-15 overall and 5-10 in conference and look to continue their win streak and get back in the conference tournament. They hit the road for three games, taking on Texas A&M- Commerce, Texas Woman and UT- Permian Basin.

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Players Mentioned

#6 Erin Moss: OH/OPP; 5' 6"; Junior

#18 Deyzha Samuelu: MB; 6' 2"; Redshirt Junior

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

#2 Gabi Lau: L; 5' 3"; Junior

#12 Sarah Campoli: S; 5' 8"; Junior

#5 Bria Augustine: OH; 5' 10"; Freshman

#1 Madelynn Culp: S; 5' 3"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#6 Erin Moss
: 5' 6"; Junior
: OH/OPP

#18 Deyzha Samuelu
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Junior
: MB

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

#2 Gabi Lau
: 5' 3"; Junior
: L

#12 Sarah Campoli
: 5' 8"; Junior
: S

#5 Bria Augustine
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: OH

#1 Madelynn Culp
: 5' 3"; Freshman
: S