Game Recap: Women’s Volleyball | 11/5/2021 7:15:00 PM | Cameron Brennan

Eastern New Mexico volleyball were handed a 3-1 defeat against Lubbock Christian University on Friday evening at the Rip Griffin Center. The loss brings the Hounds to 6-16 overall, with a conference standing of 6-8. Lubbock Christian improve its record to 17-6 on the season, with a 12-2 conference record.

The home team opened the first set with an early lead, 8-4. The Hounds jumped right back with a 6-2 run, tying the set at 10-10. The run featured a service ace from Daejia Rodriguez, along with kills from Jasmine Gannon and Adriana Puni. Each team would trade points, putting the score at 21-21 late in the set. ENMU would capture the first set, closing it out with a 4-0 run, 25-21. A Mikaela Garvin kill broke the deadlock to give the Hounds a one-point edge, then Gracelyn Stubbs had two block assists to seal the opening frame, with Kali Nelson and Jordan O’Connor-Dempsey contributing on the block assists.

Lubbock Christian responded after losing the opening set. The Lady Chaps jumped out 13-9 advantage, only for Eastern to supply a 4-0 stretch, bringing the score to 13-13. Neither team could separate themselves as each team went back and forth with each other. However, LCU would pull away at the end with a 5-1 run, taking the second set 25-22. In all, the second set saw 13 ties and five lead changes.

With the match at 1-1, Lubbock Christian used an early 8-1 run to establish themselves in the third set, 14-6 LCU. Eastern would cut the lead to as little as four points but could not bring back the deficit. The Chaparrals ended the third set 25-16 to hold a 2-1 advantage in the match.

The fourth set saw the Hounds trail early, but record a 7-1 run to build a slight lead. In the points spurt, Puni found a kill and a service ace, with Stubbs and O’Connor-Dempsey adding a kill each, 9-5 ENMU. However, Lubbock Christian were able to comeback and take a 13-11 lead midway through the set. Eastern would close the gap on Lubbock Christian, using a 3-0 run to put the score at 20-20. However, the Chaparrals closed the set on a 7-1 run, ending the set 25-21 and the match 3-1 LCU.

NOTABLE STATS

• In attack, Eastern held the edge with 49 kills over Lubbock Christian’s 48 kills, LCU had more assists than the Hounds, 47-44.
• The Chaparrals held the edge in defense, posting more digs (50-43), and more blocks (12-10).
• Gannon and Garvin paced the Hounds with 11 kills each, with Stubbs adding nine kills towards the Greyhounds effort.
• Rae Sapiga posted 26 assists on the night, while Qitana Sapiga contributed 14 assists.
• Rodriguez and Gannon led the defense, with each of them recording 13 digs during the match.
• At the net, Puni and Stubbs both had four total blocks, along with three total blocks from Nelson, Gannon, and Garvin.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Gannon posted their 10^th double-double of the season, finishing the night with 11 kills and 13 digs.
• R.Sapiga posted 20+ assists for the fifth straight match, while Mikaela Garvin has reached double-digit kills in their last four matches.
• The Greyhounds hit double-digit blocks for the seventh time this season.
• ENMU will shift its attention to nationally ranked #6 Angelo State University. The Hounds will face the Rambelles tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 6^th, at the Junell Center-Stephens Arena in San Angelo, Texas. The first set will commence at 1 p.m.