Hounds earn tie in soccer finale

TYLER, Texas — Most times, a tie might feel like kissing your sister. For the Eastern New Mexico University women’s soccer team, though, it had to feel more like a victory at the end of a tough season.

ENMU wrapped up its 2021 campaign on Saturday, battling Texas-Tyler to a 1-1 Lone Star Conference standoff. It was the Greyhounds’ second tie in 15 matches — both in coming in road conference tilts — after a 2-1 start to the campaign.

Outshot all day by the Patriots, ENMU (2-14-2, 0-11-2 LSC) forged in front in the 62nd minute when freshman defender Elita Casias collected a long cross on a corner kick by junior midfielder Tori Galindo and sent the ball past Patriots netminder Victoria Turner for her second goal of the season.

About 12 minutes later, Tyler sophomore midfielder Jordan Colbert tied it, scoring on a penalty kick.

In two 10-minute, sudden-death overtime periods, neither team could find the mark again.

The Patriots (5-9-1, 3-8-1) kept the pressure on throughout the match, outshooting the Hounds 32-6 overall and 12-4 on goal. But senior goalkeeper Whitney Dockweiler was equal to the challenge, notching 11 saves.

No. 6 Rambelles top ENMU — The ENMU volleyball team took advantage of a schedule of mainly teams in the bottom half of the LSC to put together a late-season, five-match winning streak.

That came to an end over the weekend, but the Hounds showed they’ve made progress.

Facing two of the top four teams in the conference on the road, ENMU won the first set against both before losing in four, including a 19-25, 25-15, 25-22, 25-17 decision on Saturday at sixth-ranked Angelo State.

Senior outside hitter Kailyn Gilbreath had 14 kills, 11 digs and 30 set assists for the Rambelles (21-3, 14-1 LSC), while senior middle blockers Baleigh Allen and Grace White each finished with 11 kills. Senior defensive specialist Chloe Patton posted a match-high 30 digs.

Senior outside hitter Jasmine Gannon and freshman outside hitter Kali Nelson both posted 11 kills for the Hounds. Junior setter Rae Sapiga had 16 assists and 11 digs, while sophomore libero Daejia Rodriguez notched 13 digs.

ENMU never trailed in the opening set after a 4-0 run put the Hounds in front 7-4. Angelo (21-3, 14-1) tied it 16-16, but ENMU finished off the set with a 9-3 surge that featured a couple of blocks and kills from junior middle blocker Adriana Puni and freshman outside hitter Mikaela Garvin.

In Game 2, the Rambelles took control early and tied the match, but ENMU hung around in the third. Trailing 24-18, the Hounds spoiled four consecutive set points with the help of kills from Garvin and Gannon before the Rambelles were finally able to close it out.

Game 4 seesawed early before Angelo went on a 5-0 run to lead 16-11. The Hounds scored the next three points, but couldn’t get any closer.

Still in line for an LSC postseason tournament berth, ENMU completes its regular season this weekend with matches against Dallas Baptist (11-6, 8-6) at 6 p.m. on Friday and Texas Woman’s (10-16, 5-10) at noon on Saturday at Greyhound Arena.

Hounds struggle in regional meet — ENMU’s cross country squads were unable to get anyone qualified for NCAA Division II national competition in Saturday’s South Central Region meet, hosted by Lubbock Christian.

The Greyhounds were 13th out of 25 full squads in women’s competition while the men had just three runners competing and thus did not compile a team score.

As usual, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference dominated the event, earning the top four team spots for the women and the top five on the men’s side. Colorado School of Mines edged RMAC rival Adams State 52-53 for the men’s team title while Adams State posted a 67-point margin (30-97) over the Orediggers on the women’s side.

Perhaps the highlight for ENMU was a 47th-place finish by junior Kelvin Kipkembo in the 10-kilometer men’s race. His time of 31 minutes, 46.22 seconds was the 10th-fastest at that distance in the history of the program.

Leading the way for the women was senior Aminata Kenyawani, who ran a personal-best 6K time of 21:59.30 to notch 43rd place. Also, sophomore Dorcas Kosgie placed 57th in a personal-best time of 22:26.70.

Both team champions had the individual winner as well. Mines’ Dillon Powell ran 29 minutes, 15.35 seconds to take the men’s race, while Adams State’s Brianna Robles captured women’s honors with her time of 20:24.30.