Athletic Report
October 4, 2001

ZIAS DEFEAT SE OKLAHOMA, FALL TO CAMERON AT LSC CROSSOVER TOURNAMENT
WICHITA FALLS, TX — The Eastern New Mexico University volleyball team defeated Southeastern Oklahoma State University, 3-1, and fell to Cameron University, 3-2, on the first day of the Lone Star Conference Crossover Tournament, Oct. 5 in Wichita Falls, Texas. ENMU is now 11-9 on the season. SOSU fell to 11-15 after losing to the Zias, while Cameron improved to 15-4 after slipping past Eastern.

The Zias came from behind in both matches. Against Southeastern Oklahoma, the Zias lost Game #1, but won the next three games to take the match, 26-30, 30-21, 30-22, 30-24. In the second match, Cameron won the first two games, but the Zias won the next two, forcing a fifth game. The Aggies triumphed in the final game and defeated the Zias, 30-22, 30-19, 24-30, 29-31, 15-12.

ENMU plays one more match in the LSC Crossover Tournament on Saturday, Oct. 5. The Zias and the University of Central Oklahoma will battle each other at 2:00 p.m. (MST). The LSC Crossover Tournament is a regular season event matching teams from the LSC North against ENMU and other teams from the LSC South.

In the win over SE Oklahoma, the Zias were led by Christabell Mariner (Jr., MB, Pago Pago, Amer. Samoa/Tafuna H.S.), who earned a match-high 22 kills to go with a .283 hitting percentage and 11 digs. Eastern’s Raina Pilon (Jr., MB, Eagan, MN/Pasco-Hernando C.C.) led all players with 21 digs, and also recorded 15 kills and a .242 hitting percentage. Courtney Wallenborn (Jr., RS, Camas, WA/Mt. Hood C.C.) added 12 kills and 10 digs, while Jessica Rowley (Sr., OH, Dallas, OR/Clackamas C.C.) provided 11 kills and 13 digs. Setter Lisa Flohr (Jr., Benton, WA/Mt. Hood C.C.) recorded 46 assists for the Zias, while supplying 8 digs and 2 service aces. Defensive specialist Nikki Tilton (Sr., S, Milwaukie, OR/ Alabama A&M) earned 12 digs.

The Lady Savages received 19 kills and 15 digs from Andrea Ramsay. Josalyn Samson provided 11 kills and 13 digs. Katie Harris added 43 assists and Amy Bilderback contributed 18 digs. Eastern achieved a .205 team attack percentage, while SE Oklahoma hit .179 for the match. The Zias also accumulated 71 kills, compared to just 48 kills for the Lady Savages.

Against Cameron, the Zias received another solid match from Mariner. She earned 21 kills, 21 digs, and 5 total blocks. Rowley connected for 14 kills, 13 digs and 5 blocks. Wallenborn tied for the match-high with 23 digs, and also pounded out 12 kills. Pilon supplied 11 kills and 11 digs, while Flohr was credited with 50 assists and also achieved 10 digs. Tilton added another 11 digs, giving her 23 for the day as a back-row player.

The Aggies’ top player was Kelsey Kosick, who led all players with 22 kills and tied with Wallenborn for the match-lead in digs with 23. She also registered 5 serving aces. Kim Pletcher provide CU with 13 kills, and Megan Carter chipped in 12. Megan Smith of Cameron dished out 61 assists and earned 13 digs. Cameron also received 15 digs from Jennifer Klimiuk and benefited from 14 digs by Christie Grayson.

The match was close statistically, with Cameron hitting .156 and Eastern earning a .153 hitting percentage. ENMU also totaled 97 digs, and Cameron recorded 93 digs. The Aggies gained an edge in serving, with 10 aces and 7 serving errors, compared to just 2 aces and 8 errors by the Zias.