SAN ANGELO, Texas --- The New Mexico Highlands volleyball team dropped both of its matches Saturday at the Kathleen Brasfield Invitational, falling to University of Arkansas-Forth Smith 3-0 (25-16, 29-27, 25-16) and St. Mary's (Texas) 3-0 (25-17, 26-24, 25-20).
In the finale against St. Mary's, the Cowgirls (0-4) dropped the first set 25-17 and trailed the second set 10-6 before an 8-0 NMHU run – highlighted by a pair of
Soleil Gandara aces – gave the Cowgirls a 14-10 lead. The Rattlers answered with a 10-0 run before the Cowgirls – thanks to a pair of kills by
Stacy Johnson – went on a 7-0 run to take a 21-20 advantage. The Cowgirls had set point at 24-23 after a
Camryn Nelson ace, but St. Mary's scored the next three points to claim the second set 26-24.
The Cowgirls and Rattlers went back and forth in the third set before St. Mary's pulled away late for the 25-20 victory. Nelson led the Cowgirls with 10 kills while Johnson added seven. Gandara had a team-high 11 assists and four aces while
Tiffany Matchett led the team with 14 digs.
Against UAFS, the Cowgirls dropped the first set 25-16 before bouncing back early in the second set to jump out to a 9-6 advantage thanks to three kills from
Taley Ferrari and a kill and an ace from Johnson. The Lady Lions rallied, however, and went on a 5-1 run to retake the lead at 11-10. The set was close the rest of the way with the Cowgirls having set points at 24-23, 25-24 and 27-26 – only to have UAFS fight them off. The Lady Lions scored three straight points to wrap up the set at 29-27 and take a 2-0 lead.
The Cowgirls dropped the final set 25-16 to fall 3-0. Johnson led the way with eight kills (on 14 attacks with just one error) while Matchett had seven kills and Nelson had six.
Celina Naranjo led the team with 15 assists while
Trinity Saiz had a team-best 19 digs.
The Cowgirls return to action Friday when they travel to take on Southern Arkansas (11 a.m.) and Southeastern Oklahoma State (6 p.m.) in Durant, Okla. The following day NMHU plays Washburn (11 a.m.) and East Central (4 p.m.).
