PORTALES, N.M. – Freshman
Katie Trammel hit a blazing .722 (14 kills on 18 attempts with one error) as the New Mexico Highlands volleyball team (7-11) knocked off Eastern New Mexico (8-8) for the second time this season in four sets, 25-21, 23-25, 25-21, 25-19 Tuesday night (Oct. 7) in Portales, New Mexico.
Tied a set apiece at intermisson, the Cowgirls blew by the Zias in the third set to take control of the match. Highlands went up 6-2 right away in the third thanks to two kills from Trammel, a kill by freshman
Kristin Woody and three Eastern New Mexico errors. The home team fought within 17-16, but another Trammel kill started a service run by senior
Jessica Piper. Two errors and a service ace put the visitors up four and a block by freshmen
Talise Babbitt-Tianna Matthews pushed the Cowgirls up 22-16.
A Zia service error and a pair of Babbitt kills ended the frame put the Cowgirls up a set.
In the final set, senior
Alicia Moreno had four kills and no errors on 11 swings (.364 percent) to help end the match. With Highlands up 15-11, a 6-1 run effectively ended the set. A Moreno kill and a Zia error pushed the lead to six before the home team sided out. A Trammel kill and a Matthews-Woody block pushed the lead to seven. An Eastern New Mexico error and a Babbitt kill pushed the lead to 21-12.
The home team was able to repel three match points thanks to kills from Courtney Lawson and Lauren Frye around an ace from Lindsay Bost, but a Moreno kill ended the match and gave the visitors the win. Lawson had the lone double-double of the match with 13 digs and 12 kills.
The Cowgirls used a .261-.152 hitting edge in the match for the win. Individually, freshman
Shayli Schulz easily had a season-best 40 assists and added nine digs, six assists two aces and a block. Moreno added 12 kills while Matthews had five blocks.
Neither team could build more than a three-point lead in the first set before Highlands tallied the last three points of the set. Babbitt got the kill before Matthews and Schulz teamed up for a block. A Babbitt ace ended the set.
The Cowgirls went up 20-16 in set two, but a 9-3 run by Eastern New Mexico tied the match after the first two sets.
The Cowgirls return to action Friday (Oct. 10) at 7 p.m. at Fort Lewis.
