TexAnns sweep Hounds

PORTALES — Friday’s home opener for Greyhound volleyball was a confidence booster, as Eastern took Angelo State down to the wire in a loss. A key injury forced coach Sia Poyer and company to switch up their lineup, but yet, the Greyhounds managed to hang tough again on Saturday afternoon against 20th-ranked Tarleton State.

ENMU (4-8, 2-3) took some of the momentum it had gained from the previous night and applied that to Saturday’s match with Tarleton State (11-2, 5-0). The Hounds kept the TexAnns on their heels all day long, but came up just a little bit short in each set. Ultimately, TSU extended its winning streak to eight games, sweeping ENMU 25-20, 27-25, 25-20.

“With not having Sarah (Tuioti-Mariner), it changes a lot. Just kind of scrambling to find a lineup that will work. It makes our offense more predictable when they know we’re gonna set Jasmine (Gannon),” Poyer explained. “She still did well, but we got to get some production from other players, too.

“I thought we serve-received a lot better, for sure, than we did the first two sets (Friday night). But Tarleton’s a good team and it’s back to the drawing board. We’re just trying to find a lineup that will work. I’m sure it will be multiple lineups.”

Unlike Friday night’s opening set, in which Eastern got clobbered, 25-7, the Hounds stormed out of the gate on Saturday. ENMU held a 13-10 lead midway through the set before it became a back and forth affair. However, TSU went on a run down the stretch, as multiple blocks from Sofia Tonga and Carmen Kinsey allowed the TexAnns to pull ahead and hang on for the victory.

The second set, meanwhile, especially appeared to be Eastern’s for the taking. Tarleton was in control with a 17-12 lead, until the Greyhounds’ offense came alive.

Kills from Gannon, Jaedynn Devoux and Julie Tucker, coupled with a Gannon service ace, cut the deficit to 17-16. At 23-all, Eastern went ahead on yet another Gannon kill, before TSU’s Alexis Applewhite answered right back.

However, another Greyhound match point, at 25-24, was followed by kills from Elizabeth Muliaga, Tonga and an attack error from Devoux to close out the set. In the third and final set, Eastern stayed within striking distance, and even took the lead a couple of times. But once again, another late Tarleton run sealed the deal.

Gannon finished with a match-high 13 kills, while Kaitlyn Kluna had 16 assists. For TSU, Blanca Izquierdo had 12 assists, while Adrianna Knutson had 11 digs.

“Everybody we play against — big blocks. That’s just how it is in the Lone Star,” Poyer said. “Tarleton plays defense. It’s one thing to get a swing past the block, but it’s another to get it to the floor and not have one of their players dig the ball. When they’re playing defense, it extends the rally and makes it a little more challenging.”

The Hounds, whose five-game homestand extends through the end of next weekend, now hosts arch-rival West Texas A&M on Tuesday. Poyer says that while the Buffs aren’t a strong offensive team, they surely play quite a bit of defense.

As for his team, he says that all of his players — including newcomers — are excited for this matchup. However, he says the key to winning isn’t complicated, if team execution is there.

“(West Texas) serve-receives really well, which is hard to play against, because they’re passing the ball well — which means they’re gonna run multiple hitters. There’s no magic formula, we just gotta play well,” Poyer explained. “Our game is all about long rallies, and it’s whoever’s gonna outlast, outwork the other team.”