Hounds go 2-2 at UTPB tournament

ODESSA, Texas — Eastern New Mexico University’s volleyball team finished with a 2-2 split in Friday and Saturday’s season-opening Iceman Invitational, hosted by Texas-Permian Basin.

The Greyhounds posted a 25-5, 25-10, 25-13 rout of Hobbs-based University of the Southwest in Friday’s first match, then lost to the host Falcons 25-18, 25-19, 19-25, 25-19. On Saturday, ENMU dropped a tight 25-18, 19-25, 22-25, 25-21, 15-10 decision to Augustana (S.D.) before blitzing former Lone Star Conference member Southeastern Oklahoma 25-20, 25-13, 25-17 in their finale.

The Hounds were slated to face Wayland Baptist at Plainview on Tuesday night. On Friday and Saturday, they will be in Denton, Texas for four matches in Texas Woman’s Denton Volleyfest.

In Friday’s matches at UTPB:

ENMU 3, University of the Southwest 0 — The Hounds quickly expanded a 7-1 lead to 21-4 in the first set and never looked back.

ENMU set a program record for hitting percentage against the Lady Mustangs at .431, including a .714 mark in the opening game. The previous record (.411) came against Denver-based Johnson & Wales in September 2010.

The Hounds had a relatively modest 13-8 lead in Game 2 before finishing it off with a 12-2 surge. In the final set, they erased an early 3-2 deficit with six consecutive points and steadily pulled away.

The Hounds held whopping advantages of 38-9 in kills and 45-20 in digs. Senior middle blocker Adriana Puni tied a personal best with eight kills, junior middle Getsemani Carrasco had 18 digs and junior setter/outside hitter Jaylynn Nihipali collected 15 assists.

UTPB 3, ENMU 1 — The Falcons pulled away late in each of the first two sets before ENMU got on the board in the third, taking the lead 13-7 with seven consecutive tallies that included two kills and a block assist from senior middle Gracelyn Stubbs and two aces from freshman outside hitter Anjolina Perez. A late 4-0 run all but put it out of reach.

ENMU led 9-3 early in Game 4, but the Falcons rallied back and took command with a late 7-2 surge. Junior outside hitters Kali Nelson and Mikaela Garvin paced ENMU in kills with 10 and nine, respectively, while Carrasco led the team in digs with 14 and Nihipali (17) and junior setter Qitana Sapiga (15) combined for 32 assists.

On Saturday:

Augustana 3, ENMU 2 — After taking a 2-1 lead with wins in the second and third sets, the Hounds couldn’t hold on as the Vikings led early in Game 4 and kept ENMU at bay. Augustana then converted five consecutive kills to erase a 6-4 deficit in the fifth game before pulling away with a match-ending 5-1 run.

Nelson provided 14 kills and Garvin 12 in the match, while Carrasco had 19 digs. Stubbs had nine kills and six block assists, and Nihipali posted 18 assists.

ENMU 3, Southeastern Oklahoma 0 — In the opening game, ENMU broke away from Southeastern with a 7-1 blitz for a 22-13 cushion. Garvin then had five kills in a dominating second-set victory, and the Hounds used a late 8-1 run in the third set to erase a 15-14 deficit and put the Savage Storm away.

Garvin finished with a match-high 11 kills, while Puni had 13 digs, freshman setter Kayla Ison notched 16 assists and senior outside hitter/middle blocker Jordan O’Connor-Dempsey was in on seven blocks (one solo).