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Box Score 2 ADA, Okla. – The Cowgirls wasted no time Friday afternoon (Sept. 12), trailing only early in the second and third set as New Mexico Highlands (4-3) took out Texas A&M International (0-5) 25-16, 25-16, 25-20. Earlier in the day, Highlands fell in three sets to Missouri Southern (2-3) 25-21, 26-24, 25-13.
Hitting only .038 against Missouri Southern, the Cowgirls rebounded by hitting .275 against Texas A&M International. Highlands took advantage of a 9-2 advantage in aces against the Dustdevils – including a 5-0 edge in the second set alone.
The Cowgirls rattled off a 9-2 run in the first set against International after both teams were tied at eight. Freshman
Katie Trammel put the Cowgirls on serve with a kill and an ace off the net from junior
Miranda Arredondo. The Dustdevils sided out, but Highlands pushed the lead to three on kills from senior
Alicia Moreno and freshman
Tianna Matthews. After another sideout, Highlands pushed the lead to 17-10 on four International attack errors and an ace from freshman
Shayli Schulz. The Dustdevils pulled within 19-14, but a 4-0 run all but ended the set. Freshman
Marissa Hoffman – who had 11 kills in the match alone after only having five spikes total on the season prior – sandwiched a couple of kills around an International hitting error. Trammel provided the exclamation point with a kill before both teams sided out to end the frame.
Texas A&M International actually outhit Highlands .379-.357 in the second set, but the Dustdevils left eight points out on the court off of the serve. Highlands trailed 4-2 but a service error – the first of four for the Dustdevils – put the Cowgirls on serve and ignited a 6-0 run. It was all Highlands in the spurt as Hoffman had a trio of kills, sophomore
Andrea Nunez found the court on an attack and Matthews added an ace.
Texas A&M International pulled within 16-14, but Highlands got four aces to pull away. Arrendondo tallied the first one before Piper entered into the service area for three-straight. Piper's first serve struck the net but fell in for the ace. The Dustdevils were scrambling as a pair of aces put the Cowgirls on set point. Both teams sided out to end the frame.
Highlands struck five aces in the set compared to none for International.
Tied at 15 in set three, another 5-0 run by Highlands proved to be the final margin. Sophomore
Tarissa Mellin, who came off the bench to lead the team with 14 assists, put the Cowgirls on serve on a kill. Moreno and Trammel teamed up for a pair of assisted blocks and a pair of International errors put Highlands up five. After a sideout, Moreno bookended a pair of kills around a Matthews spike.
International rallied to cut the deficit to four, but it could not climb any closer as Highlands claimed the frame by five.
In the first match of the day, Missouri Southern only hit .189 but held Highlands to only .038 hitting, including negative in the first set. The Lions took set one and gave Highlands three set points in the second frame, but Missouri Southern tallied five straight.
The final set was all the Lions as they won by 12. Missouri Southern scored the last six points of the set – four of which came on solo blocks.
In the match, Nunez narrowly missed the double-double with 12 digs and nine aces.
The Cowgirls return to action early tomorrow morning, taking on Southern Nazarene at 7 a.m. and Central Oklahoma at 1 p.m.
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