September 1, 1997
For Immediate Release
Contact: Judy Willson, SID
505.562.4309 or 356-4755
Friday, September 5 - Missouri Southern State College Invitational
Truman State vs. Eastern New Mexico 9:00 am
Eastern New Mexico vs. Drury 2:00 pm
@ Robert Ellis Young Gymnasium, Joplin, Missouri
Saturday, September 6 - Missouri Southern State College Invitational
Eastern New Mexico vs. Henderson State 9:00 am
Missouri Southern vs. Eastern New Mexico 2:00 pm
@ Robert Ellis Young Gymnasium, Joplin, Missouri
Wednesday, September 10
Western New Mexico vs. Eastern New Mexico 7:00 pm
Greyhound Arena, Portales, New Mexico
Zias Off to 3-1 Start...after this weekend's triangular with intrastate rivals Western New Mexico and New Mexico Highlands. The Zias beat both teams on Friday, NMHU - 3-0 and WNMU - 3-1, but were unable to hold off the host Lady Mustangs on Saturday morning, losing 3-1. They bounced back to beat Highlands a second time, 3-0.
Solid Performances...came from several players over the weekend. Senior setter Stacey Estlund (Clarkston, Wash.) had four matches of over 30 assists to go with her strong hitting performances (.364 for the weekend). Junior outside hitter Charlene Hunt (Folsom, Calif.) posted double-figure kills in Friday's matches, 12 and 14. Hunt and junior middle blocker Tina Wehrli (Visalia, Calif.) each accumulated 39 kills in the four matches. Wehrli also connected on 10 total blocks.
Record watch...Stacey Estlund collected 149 assists this weekend, inching her closer to the top of the Zias' all-time career assist list. Estlund currently has 1,302 assists. She need 28 to move into fifth place ahead of Loretta Segura (1,329; 1979-81) and 45 to jump to fourth over Eva Chavez (1,346; 1979-84).
This Week's Opponents...include two schools from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, the Gulf South Conference defending champion and a strong Division II independent. Truman State University and host Missouri Southern State College finished last season second and third, respectively, in the MIAA behind national tournament host Central Missouri State University. TSU competed in the Texas Woman's Invitational this past weekend, while MSSC has not opened their season yet. Henderson State University won the 1996 GSC Championship and finished sixth in the South Central Region. Drury is a consistently strong NCAA Division II independent program.
Revenge factor...The Zias will open the home portion of their season on Wednesday, September 10 at 7:00 pm in Greyhound Arena against Western New Mexico University. The Lady Mustangs handed the Zias their only loss of the new season, ending WNMU's 46-match losing streak.
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...ENMU will start Lone Star Conference competition on September 12 and 13 on the road against Angelo State University and Abilene Christian University.
Admission...is free to all Zia regular season home volleyball matches.