Hounds turn back Sul Ross State

Suffice it to say, Eastern New Mexico University’s volleyball team has turned it around against Sul Ross State over the years – and the Greyhounds are glad to now see the Alpine, Texas-based Lobos in the Lone Star Conference.

ENMU earned just its second win of the campaign on Friday night, rallying past Sul Ross 21-25, 25-22, 26-24, 25-18 at Steve Loy Family Foundation Arena on the second night of an LSC Volleyball Challenge event. It was the Hounds’ 23rd consecutive win in the series, which dates to the late 1970s.

Sul Ross won its first 11 matches against ENMU, all between September 1977 and September 1980, but starting with a 3-0 win at home against the Lobos on Sept. 2, 1982, the Greyhounds have thoroughly dominated. In the 23 matches since then, the Lobos have won a total of just 10 sets.

ENMU (2-8) was slated to face Western New Mexico in its weekend finale on Saturday.

Against Sul Ross, the Hounds rode a solid defensive performance to victory, collecting 86 digs and a season-best 11 total blocks. Junior libero/defensive specialist Imahni Brown had 24 digs while senior outside hitters Darcy Dodd (21) and Halle Sanders (16) were also in double digits.

Dodd also notched a team-high 14 kills, while freshman setters Cayla Reyes and Abigayle Falefia had 23 and 20 assists, respectively.

Sophomore Natalie Hernandez had 16 kills, junior Miranda Acosta posted 23 digs and sophomore Eliana Mata had 36 assists for the Lobos (0-5).

Midwestern State 3, ENMU 0 (Thursday) – The Mustangs (5-5), who swept Western New Mexico on Friday, ended a five-match losing streak on the opening night of the event with their 25-16, 25-20, 25-21 victory over the Hounds.

MSU, which never trailed in either of the first two sets, rode 12 kills from sophomore middle hitter Isabelle Dickens to the victory. Meantime, three players were in double digits in digs, led by sophomore defensive specialist Jenna Redding’s 18, while senior setter Brooke Parker collected 19 assists.

For ENMU, Dodd earned another double-double with a match-high 14 kills and 13 digs, while Brown paced the Hounds with 19 digs and Reyes and Falefia added 14 and 13 assists, respectively.

ENMU begins its LSC slate with a 5 p.m. (MDT) matchup at Texas-Permian Basin on Thursday.

Men’s soccer – At Wichita Falls, Texas, ENMU dropped the first of two matches hosted by Midwestern State, falling to 17th-ranked Southern Nazarene 4-0 on Thursday night. The Hounds were back at it on Saturday against another ranked foe, No. 14 Fort Hays State.

The Bethany, Okla.-based Storm (3-1-1) got a couple of early goals from senior forward Cesar Solis and made that stand up the rest of the way.

In the second half, senior forward Unaiz Shajani put a pair of balls into the net to help Southern Nazarene pull away. The Crimson Storm held a 6-0 margin in shots on goal and posted five corner kicks to three for ENMU (1-2-2).

ENMU returns to action on Saturday with a non-league matchup against Sul Ross State at Steve Loy Family Foundation Stadium. The Hounds then open LSC play in a 1:30 p.m. home tilt against St. Mary’s on October 5.