Las Vegas, NM --- The New Mexico Highlands Volleyball team hit the road over the weekend as they traveled to South Dakota to take on South Dakota School of Mines & Technology on Friday night and Black Hills State on Saturday.
Both games were filled with intensity as the Hardrockers were able to beat the Cowgirls in 3 straight sets (25-21, 25-21, and 25-21). The Cowgirls fought hard in the contest as they had 40 kills and 46 digs on the night. The Cowgirl showed some light on defense as they were able to block the Hardrockers 6 times.
Sierra Foley found a rhythm from the outside against the Hardrockers as she led the Cowgirls in kills with 13.
Taley Ferrari and
Anissa Hernandez sparked the Cowgirls with their defense against the Hardrockers as Ferrari (6 kills) had 5 blocks and Hernandez (5 kills) with 4.
Celina Naranjo aided the Cowgirls with 18 assists and 3 digs.
On Saturday night against the Yellow Jackets of Black Hills State, the Cowgirls found themselves again in a battle that would be decided in 5 sets. The Yellow Jackets came out stinging as they were able to take the first set from the Cowgirls 25-18. The set was triggered by a 5-0 run from the Yellow Jackets early on, as the Cowgirls never seemed to comeback.
During the second set,
Celina Naranjo went flying in to the bench as she saved an attack, sparked the Cowgirls to win their first set in conference play this year.
Sierra Foley, again, was able to find a rhythm in the set, as she scored 5 unanswered points for the Cowgirls and gave them a commanding 21-14 lead over the Yellow Jackets. The Cowgirls would win the set 25-18.
The Cowgirls kept the energy in the third set as they found themselves up 4-0 to start.
Stacy Johnson would find herself serving 4 straight times in a run that would find the Cowgirls ahead 17-7. The Cowgirls would finish the set 25-17 over the Yellow Jackets.
The Cowgirls finally found themselves ahead in conference play as they went in to the fourth set up 2-1. The Cowgirls and Yellow jackets would fight the whole set as the found themselves tied at 20-20. A kill, a block, and a service ace would provide the Yellow Jackets with a 23-20 to finish out the set 25-21.
The momentum seemed to continue for the Yellow Jackets as took a commanding 4-1 lead over the Cowgirls in the fifth and deciding set. The Cowgirls would rally back to take the lead in the set 10-9, and forced the Yellow Jackets to call time-out. The Yellow Jackets would finish on a 6-2 run to win the set 15-12 and take the match, 3-2.
Sierra Foley finished with 18 kills and 4 digs on the night.
Keegan Lopez (13 kills and 12 digs),
Samantha Sjogren (29 assists), and
Taley Ferrari (5 blocks and 9 kills) would also aid the Cowgirls in the action-filled contest.
The Cowgirls will have a quick turn-around as they host Colorado State-Pueblo on Tuesday night at Wilson Complex in Las Vegas, NM.
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GO COWGIRLS!!
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