Athletic Report
November 10, 2001

WEST TEXAS DEFEATS EASTERN NEW MEXICO TO WIN LONE STAR CONFERENCE TITLE
Zias Finish Season at 22-14 after 0-7 Start
CANYON, TX — West Texas A&M University, ranked #1 in NCAA Division II, earned a .324 team hitting percentage on its way to a 3-0 victory over Eastern New Mexico University in the Lone Star Conference championship match, Saturday, Nov. 10 at the WTAMU Fieldhouse.

The Lady Buffs won the match, 30-21, 30-15, 30-23, to improve to 30-2 on the season. West Texas A&M, which won the LSC South title during the regular season, not only added the overall LSC title to its list of accomplishments, but also received the LSC’s automatic berth into the NCAA Division II National Tournament.

The Lady Buffs will begin NCAA postseason play next weekend. NCAA Regional pairings will be announced on Sunday, Nov. 11. ENMU concluded its season at 22-14. The Zias went 22-7 in their final 29 matches, after starting the season 0-7. Eastern also achieved an 11-3 record in its last 14 matches, with two of the losses coming against WTAMU.

The Lady Buffs took control of the match with a 9-0 run midway through the first game. Eastern led 16-15 after a kill by junior right-side hitter Courtney Wallenborn (Camas, WA/Mt. Hood C.C.).

WTAMU tied the game on a serving error by the Zias, then reeled off 8 straight points with Shannon Stroud serving to take a 24-16 lead. Stroud recorded 5 service aces during the run, including 4 in a row. The Lady Buffs added just one more ace the rest of the match.

ENMU was unable to overcome the 8-point deficit and dropped the opening game, 30-21. West Texas maintained its momentum in the second game, building leads to 5-1 and 14-5.

Eastern New Mexico got as close as 17-9 on a kill by Christabell Mariner (Jr., MB, Pago Pago, Amer. Samoa/Tafuna H.S.), but WTAMU went on a 9-2 run and led 26-11. Jess Anne Fernandes registered 4 kills for the Lady Buffs during the run. Mariner broke her own school record for kills in a season when she pounded the ball down for Eastern’s 10th point. She finish the match with 575 kills during the year, breaking her record of 567 kills set in 2000. She led all Zias with 13 kills in the championship match.

Eastern never pulled closer than 13 points the rest of the way in Game #2. The Lady Buffs won the game, 30-15, for a 2-0 lead in the match. ENMU led 6-4 and 7-6 in the third game. The Lady Buffs answered with three consecutive points for a 9-7 advantage. Eastern eventually tied the score at 15-15, and took an 18-17 lead on a kill by Raina Pilon (Jr., MB, Eagan, MN/Pasco-Hernando C.C.).

The game was tied 18-18 and 19-19 before WTAMU won three rallies in a row for a 22-19 lead. The Zias were as close as two points, 22-20 following a kill by Mariner, and 24-22 on a kill from Wallenborn, but ENMU was unable to complete the comeback. West Texas A&M won the game, 30-23.

WTAMU’s powerful offense was led by Shannon Stroud with 13 kills, 15 digs and 5 aces. Stroud hit .400 during the match. Cabanilla added 11 kills and a .333 hitting percentage, while Fernandes contributed 10 kills, hit .417, and led the Lady Buffs with 5 block assists.

Setter Kendra Morgan achieved 33 kills and 13 digs. The Lady Buffs also played quality defense, limiting ENMU to a .081 hitting percentage. West Texas also achieved 1 block solo and 16 block assists, compared to 1 block solo and 2 block assists for the Zias.

Mariner not only provided 13 kills, but also earned 7 digs for ENMU. Pilon supplied 9 kills and 8 digs. Shannyn De Arman (Jr., MB/OH, Chandler, AZ/Glendale C.C.) produced 8 kills and a .500 hitting percentage. Jessica Rowley (Sr., OH, Dallas, OR/Clackamas C.C.) led the Zias with 14 digs. She also earned 6 kills.

Setter Margie Goble (So., San Antonio, TX/Holmes H.S.) recorded 33 assists and 7 digs for the Zias. She achieved 1,374 assists during the season. She set the school record for career assists during the LSC championship match, as she finished with 2,910 assists in two seasons at ENMU.

The old record of 2,905 was set by Lindsey Davison in 1998 and 1999. Although Eastern did not win the LSC title, the Zias achieved a dramatic comeback from their 0-7 start. The Zias took second place in the LSC South with a 7-3 record, then defeated TAMU-Commerce, the third place team in the North Division, 32-30, 25-30, 32-30, 30-28 in the first round of the LSC Tournament.Eastern upset North Division champion Central Oklahoma in the semifinals, defeating the Bronchos, 30-28, 23-30, 24-30, 31-29, 15-13.

Head Coach Mike Maguire guided the Zias to a winning record for the 13th consecutive season. The Zias won more than 20 matches for the fourth year in a row. Maguire concluded the year with an all-time record of 317-187 (.629) in 15 seasons at ENMU.