September 15, 1997
For Immediate Release
Contact: Judy Willson, SID
505.562.4309 or 356-4755

Tuesday, September 16
West Texas A&M University vs Eastern New Mexico 7:00 pm
Greyhound Arena, Portales, New Mexico

Saturday, September 20
Texas A&M University-Kingsville vs Eastern New Mexico Noon
Greyhound Arena, Portales, New Mexico

Zias (8-3, 1-1 LSC South) Had A Rough Weekend...following their revenge match with Western New Mexico on Wednesday night. The Zias handled WNMU, 15-0, 15-5, 15-8, to redeem themselves from an earlier loss to the Lady Mustangs. However, the quick one hour and five minute match did not prepare them for the 5-game matches they would endure over the weekend.

Friday night saw ENMU play for three hours before succumbing to the Angelo State Rambelles, 13-15, 15-11, 18-20, 18-16, 8-15 in San Angelo, Texas. Senior setter Stacey Estlund (Clarkston, Wash.) matched her season-high assist total of 50. Junior outside hitter Charlene Hunt (Folsom, Calif.) was the leading hitter with 21 kills, followed by junior middle blocker Tina Wehrli (Visalia, Calif.) with 19. Tara Dougherty (Sr., OH) and Jessica Crawford (Fr., OH) of Clovis had 15 and 12 kills, respectively. Crawford is playing in place of the injured Irma Cobos (So., OH, Kermit, Texas). Cobos is day-to-day with an ankle injury suffered at the Missouri Southern Invitational.

Saturday afternoon was not much better for the Zias at Abilene Christian. For a five-game match, players on either team did not want to record any offensive statistics. The Zias won the match, 8-15, 9-15, 15-10, 15-13, 15-9. The Wildcats held Estlund well below her season assist average with only 4 assists per game. She had 23 assists, while Wehrli was the only Zia to record double-figure kills with 10. Defense was the order for the day. Hunt had 20 digs, while the team recorded 9 solo blocks and 10 block assists.

This Week...the Zias host #4 in NCAA Division II West Texas A&M. The Lady Buffs come into the first half of the annual border war with a 9-1 overall record, 2-0 in the LSC-South. The team features four NCAA Division I transfers, including 1996 Big 12 Freshman of the Year Sarah Butler of Amarillo, Texas. Another transfer, Lady Buff defensive specialist Amy Jeffres, is the younger sister of Greyhound linebacker Jason Jeffres of Albuquerque.

On Saturday the Zias will host Texas A&M University-Kingsville at noon. The Lady Javelinas were selected above the Zias for second place in the LSC-South Division Pre-season Poll. Brand new head coach Donna Alva took over the program in August.

Record watch...Stacey Estlund added 101 assists to her collection this weekend, bringing the grand total to 1,556. She remains in fourth place on the Zias' all-time career assist list. She needs 113 assists to move past Tina Mayo (1991-92, 1,668) into third and 122 to move into second ahead of Robin Whitfield (1989-90, 1,677). Sitting on top of the list is Barbara Lynn (1983-86) with 2,165. Estlund needs 610 to top Lynn.

Quotes from Maguire..."I was happy to come home with the split this weekend. I hope those were our bad matches of the season. Against Angelo State, neither team played very well. We committed a lot of little mistakes. Abilene Christian - I was glad to see us come back from being down 2-0."

The New LSC...the 1997 season begins expanded conference competition with 13 schools competing for the Lone Star Conference title. ENMU will compete in the South Division with Abilene Christian University, Angelo State University, Midwestern State University, Tarleton State University, Texas A&M University-Kingsville and West Texas A&M University. The Zias were picked third in the 1997 LSC-South Division Pre-season Volleyball Poll with 174 points behind West Texas A&M and Texas A&M-Kingsville. They will play each team in the South Division at home and on the road, with four matches thrown in against North Division opponents. ENMU will play Cameron University, University of Central Oklahoma, Texas A&M University-Commerce and Texas Woman's University. North Division schools Harding University and Ouachita Baptist University are not on the 1997 schedule. The top three teams from each division will advance to the LSC Post-season Tournament on November 11, 13 and 15.

Coming Up for the Zias...will be three weeks of road trips. Next week the Zias will travel to Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas to play the TexAnns on Sept. 26 at 6:00 pm. The next day ENMU will play Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas at 1:00 pm.

Admission...is free to all Zia regular season home volleyball matches.

Domino's Pizza Giveaway...occurs between the second and third games of every home Zia volleyball match. Fans are invited down to the court to try their luck at serving for pizzas.