DURANT, Okla. --- The New Mexico Highlands volleyball split its two matches Saturday at the East Central Classic, defeating East Central 3-1 (25-22, 25-18, 21-25, 25-18) and falling to Washburn 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-14).
In its second match of the day, the Cowgirls (2-6) trailed the opening set 16-13 before a 7-0 run that included a pair of kills each from
Julie Staffler and
Stacy Johnson and catapulted NMHU past East Central for a 20-16 lead. The Cowgirls hung on for the 25-22 victory – capped by a
Tiffany Matchett kill.
Another long run – this one 8-0 – in the second turned a 7-7 set into a 15-7 lead as the Cowgirls cruised to the 25-18 win. After dropping the third set, NMHU closed things out in the fourth by ending the set and the match on a 6-1 run capped by a Matchett kill.
Matchett finished with a game-high 16 kills to go along with 14 digs while
Camryn Nelson had 13 kills and 10 digs,
Celina Naranjo and
Samantha Sjogren had 23 assists apiece and
Taley Ferrari had six blocks and five kills.
In the early game of the day, NMHU won the opening set 25-22 before dropping the next three. Staffler had a team-best 12 kills while Norris added eight with six blocks, Naranjo had 19 assists, Sjogren had 15 assists and
Elena Rivera had a team-best 30 digs and three aces.
The Cowgirls open RMAC play on the road next week as they take on Western State Colorado Friday and Colorado Mesa Saturday.
