Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 CANYON, Texas – It was mixed results for the New Mexico Highlands volleyball team (1-1) on day one of the West Texas A&M Bitkare Lady Buff Classic. The Cowgirls won in the afternoon session over Texas A&M Commerce (1-1) 3-1 (25-17, 16-25, 25-19, 25-23). In the nightcap, Highlands fell to Texas Woman's (2-0) in straight sets 25-20, 25-20, 25-19.
"We are using this tournament to try and discover our strengths and weaknesses. Lots of playing time for all," head coach
Bryan Crawford said after the day. "With this many new players to the program, we need to find our strongest line up. We are just experiencing a few growing pains as we continue to grow together as a team."
Senior
Alicia Moreno and sophomore
Andrea Nunez both had 16 kills total for the day. Sophomore
Tarissa Mellin (24) and sophomore
Riley Smith (17) both added more than two assists per set while senior libero
Jessica Piper contributed 26 digs (4.33 per set).
Against Texas A&M Commerce, the Cowgirls surrendered the first four points in set one until a 17-7 run catapulted the Cowgirls to a first frame triumph. Highlands fought back for a 13-11 lead before three kills in four points by Moreno – around a Mellin ace – put the Cowgirls up six. The Falcons pulled within 19-17, but Highlands ended the set with six straight points. Nunez pushed the lead to four with a kill and solo block, freshmen
Talise Babbitt and
Tianna Matthew teamed up for a block and Nunez tallied another kill. A Piper ace, one of five in the match, and a Lions error ended the frame.
After dropping the second set and trailing 3-2 in the third, the Cowgirls scored six-straight – three of which came on aces by Piper – to take control of the frame. Commerce pulled with 22-19, but the Cowgirls again responded strong with three points to end the set. Smith cleaned up an overpass, Nunez and freshman
Katie Trammel partnered up for a block and Mellin punctuated the set with an ace.
In the last set, Highlands used a solid attack to ease by the Lions by two in the fourth for the match win. Up 24-21, the Lions fought off a pair of set points; however, a hitting error by Taryn Driver ended the match.
Moreno and Nunez had 10 kills each against Texas A&M Commerce.
In match two, Texas Woman's took advantage of runs in the middle of sets to capture the win in three. With the Cowgirls down 14-13 in set one, the Pioneers scored four straight to build a five-point lead. Highlands pulled within three, but both teams sided out the rest of the frame to end the set with the Texas Woman's win.
The Pioneers never trailed in set two and rallied from a 16-13 deficit to take the final frame.
Piper led both teams with 13 assists.
Volleyball returns to action tomorrow with another pair of matches. The Cowgirls battle Truman State at 11 a.m., before finishing the day against Eastern New Mexico at 6:30 p.m.
