KINGSVILLE, Texas — Eastern New Mexico University’s struggles in Lone Star Conference volleyball continued on Saturday as Texas A&M-Kingsville handed the Greyhounds a 25-18, 25-21, 25-20 setback.
Freshman middle blocker Ayanna Jackson posted 11 kills while junior outside hitter Jackie Alanis collected eight kills and 11 digs for the Javelinas (13-8, 5-3 LSC), who improved to 5-0 at home this season — including four sweeps.
Senior middle blocker Gracelyn Stubbs and junior outside hitter/libero Rylee Mapes each notched eight kills for the Hounds, who beat A&M-K in five sets in the LSC crossover tournament in September. Stubbs went over the 500 mark in kills for her ENMU career during a Friday night setback at Texas A&M International, and now stands at 510.
Freshman setter Kayla Ison contributed eight digs and 16 assists.
In each set, the Hounds had their moments, but they couldn’t quite get over the top.
Kingsville used a 6-1 spurt to break away from a 9-9 tie in the opening set. In Game 2, ENMU took an 11-10 lead with four consecutive tallies and was within 21-20 late before the Javelinas finished on a 4-1 run.
The third set was also tight most of the way, but Kingsville used an 8-3 surge to erase a 12-10 deficit and never relinquished the lead.
ENMU completes a six-match road swing with LSC tilts at Cameron on Friday and at West Texas A&M on Saturday.
No. 1 Patriots edge ENMU in women’s soccer — Top-ranked Dallas Baptist kept the pressure on most of the way, but the Patriots needed the first collegiate goal from freshman midfielder Joeli Benson in the 64th minute to claim a 1-0 win over the Hounds in LSC women’s soccer on Saturday in Dallas.
DBU (11-1, 7-1 LSC) outshot the Hounds 42-2 overall, including 12-0 on goal, but junior goalkeeper Samantha Jeffries and the defense were equal to the challenge. All told, Jeffries had eight saves while the ENMU defense was credited with three team saves.
They kept the Patriots away from the net after Benson’s tally, but the Hounds (4-9-1, 2-6-1) were unable to muster a challenge on offense.
Although she didn’t have to work too hard for it, senior goalkeeper Adrianna Schroeder improved to 25-2-2 in her DBU career.
ENMU returns to Greyhound Stadium today to host rival West Texas A&M in a 4 p.m. start.
Hounds fall in men’s soccer at UTPB — At Odessa, Texas, junior forward Alberto Romano had two goals and an assist and Texas-Permian Basin scored three times in the final 20 minutes of the half en route to a 4-0 LSC victory over ENMU on Saturday.
Romano broke the scoring ice in the 26th minute, assisted by senior defender Pablo Oloriz and freshman forward Gabriel Nevarez. He then assisted on a Nevarez goal before junior forward Matias Pereira found the back of the net shortly before intermission.
Romano added the final tally about 11 minutes into the second stanza.
UTPB (4-4-3, 2-2-1) only outshot the Hounds 7-4 on goal, while ENMU (4-6-1, 1-4-0) had a 2-1 edge in corners.
The Hounds return to LSC action today with a 6 p.m. (MDT) start at Texas-Tyler.
ENMU hosts cross country invite in Clovis — The Hounds hosted their first cross country meet in nine years on Saturday at Hillcrest Park, and it was essentially a dual with New Mexico Highlands. The Cowboys earned the men’s team title with 20 points for 35 for ENMU, while on the women’s side, the Cowgirls had 27 points to 28 for the Hounds.
Clarendon Junior College also brought a handful of runners to the event. Highlands had both individual winners, with John Hall running an 8K time of 26 minutes, 24.63 seconds for the men and Faith Lovato finishing the women’s 6K in 22:57.83.
Hounds sophomore Marta Pascoa was second in women’s competition, posting a time of 23:36.94, while freshman Ethan Woodrome led ENMU on the men’s side with a sixth-place showing in 30:32.92.
The Hounds will participate in Angelo State’s Blue and Gold Classic on Oct. 26 before traveling to Midwestern State for the LSC championships on Nov. 5.