Angelo State Slips Past Zias, 3-2

SAN ANGELO, TX – Angelo State University built a 2-1 lead over the first three games, then held off a rally by Eastern New Mexico University, as the Rambelles defeated the Zias, 3-2, in a Lone Star Conference South Division match, Nov. 1 at the Junell Center. ASU won 30-22, 34-36, 30-16, 26-30, 15-12 to improve to 14-13 on the season, including 2-5 in the LSC South. Eastern fell to 19-11 overall and 4-5 in the LSC South.

The Rambelles have won five of their last six matches, losing only to Texas A&M-Commerce from the LSC North Division, 3-1. ENMU has dropped five of its last six matches, with the other losses coming against teams with four or fewer losses when they played the Zias.

While ENMU and ASU were playing in San Angelo, Texas, another LSC South match was being played between West Texas A&M University and Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas. WTAMU, which had already clinched the LSC South title, improved to 9-0 in the division with a 3-0 win. ENMU’s 4-5 (.444) record gave the Zias a slim lead over ACU, 3-4 (.429), for second place.

ENMU and ACU will play each other tomorrow (Saturday, Nov. 2) in Abilene, with the winner likely to finish second in the South Division. ENMU defeated ACU, 3-2, on Sept. 20 in Portales, N.M. Tarleton State University and Texas A&M-Kingsville, both 3-5 in the LSC South, are close behind the Zias and the Wildcats. Angelo State’s 2-5 record means the Rambelles are mathematically alive for one of three LSC Tournament berths reserved for South Division teams.

Nicole Stoffel led ASU to the victory over ENMU on Friday. She earned a match-high 27 kills and recorded 20 digs. She just missed a triple-double, as she also provided eight total blocks. Lindsey Jones added 16 kills and Lindsey Van Horn contributed 14 kills for the Rambelles. Shelby Pitcock led all players with 31 digs. Nancy Reavis supplied 10 kills and 19 digs.

The Rambelles achieved a .333 hitting percentage in the opening game to claim a 30-22 win, despite a respectable .237 hitting percentage by ENMU. The Zias answered with a slim 36-34 victory in the second game, before ASU moved back in front with an easy 30-16 triumph in the third game. Eastern struggled in Game #3, hitting negative .075 with just five kills and eight hitting errors.

ENMU rebounded with a 30-26 win in Game #4, as the Zias earned a .268 hitting percentage. In Game #5, Angelo State hit .269 (9 kills, 2 errors, 26 attacks), while Eastern slipped to .067 (8 kills, 6 errors, 30 attacks). The Rambelles won the decisive game 15-12, as ENMU fell to 4-5 in matches decided in five game this season.

Senior middle blocker Christabell Mariner (Pago Pago, American Samoa/Tafuna HS) topped Eastern with 21 kills, a .348 hitting percentage and 23 digs. She also recorded two service aces and four total blocks.

Mariner now has 1,663 career kills, good for second all-time at ENMU. She needs just 24 additional kills to reach the Eastern New Mexico University record of 1,687, set by Jennifer Goble Poyer from 1991-95. Eastern has two games remaining on its regular season schedule.

Raina Pilon (Sr., MB, Eagan, MN/Pasco-Hernando CC) registered 15 kills to go with 12 digs. April Brockmann (Sr., OH/MB, Tempe, AZ/Chandler-Gilbert CC) earned 11 kills and nine digs, while junior setter Margie Goble (San Antonio, TX) achieved 49 assists, 19 digs and five kills.

Angelo State played solid defense and accumulated 103 digs. The Rambelles also finished the match with one block solo and 20 block assists (11.0 team total blocks). ENMU recorded 84 digs to go with two block solos and six block assists (5.0 team total blocks).

ASU hit .219 overall and limited the Zias to a .133 hitting percentage. The Rambelles had 82 kills, while Eastern ended up with 61 kills. Both teams had two more serving errors than service aces, as ENMU finished with five aces and seven errors and Angelo State ended the evening with 10 aces and 12 errors.