PORTALES, N.M. – Texas A&M International University volleyball fell to Eastern New Mexico in straight sets Friday evening at the Steve Loy Family Foundation Arena.
The Greyhounds defeated the Dustdevils 25-17, 25-14, 25-19, moving TAMIU to 6-7 overall and 0-2 in Lone Star Conference play.
TAMIU opened the match with 10 kills in the first set, but Eastern New Mexico hit .448 with 15 kills and just two attacking errors to take the opening frame, 25-17. The Greyhounds carried the momentum into the second, holding the Dustdevils to a .034 hitting percentage on their way to a 25-14 victory.
The Dustdevils put together their strongest offensive performance of the match in the third set, recording 14 kills and hitting .167. The frame featured nine ties and two lead changes as TAMIU kept pace with Eastern New Mexico before the Greyhounds pulled away late for the 25-19 win to complete the sweep.
Andrea Nunez led the TAMIU attack with nine kills on a .263 hitting percentage while adding the Dustdevils' lone block for a team-high 10 points. Jaylah Lumar delivered an efficient performance with six kills on 10 attacks, hitting a team-best .300 among players with at least 10 attempts. Mia Molina and Sierra Sanchez each added seven kills.
Deanna Montgomery and Giulia Gainelli split the setting duties, finishing with 18 and 13 assists, respectively. Defensively, Mia Perez led the Dustdevils with 10 digs, while Gainelli collected six and Molina and Sanchez added five apiece.
TAMIU finished the match with 32 kills, 32 assists and 32 digs while hitting .118 as a team. Eastern New Mexico totaled 44 kills and hit .372 for the match.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT:
Andrea Nunez led the Dustdevils offensively with a team-high nine kills, hitting .263 on 19 attacks. She also recorded TAMIU's lone block and finished with a team-high 10 points.
Nunez is a sophomore right-side hitter for Texas A&M International University and is currently pursuing a degree in Public Health. A native of Laredo, TX, Andrea is the daughter of Lizette Gutierrez and Pablo Nunez and was born on July 13, 2006.
