ENMU Rallies Past Abilene Christian
Mariner Earns 19 Kills, Pilon Adds 18 Kills

PORTALES, NM – Senior middle blocker Christabell Mariner (Pago, Pago, American Samoa/Tafuna HS) recorded 19 kills and senior middle blocker Raina Pilon (Eagan, MN/Pasco-Hernando CC) earned 18 kills, as Eastern New Mexico University overcame a 2-1 deficit after the third game to rally past Abilene Christian University, 3-2. ENMU improved to 9-4 overall and 1-2 in the LSC South after winning 25-30, 30-26, 28-30, 30-23, 15-13. ACU fell to 7-5 on the season, including 0-1 in the LSC South.

The Zias trailed 4-1 early in the fifth game, but tied the score at 4-4, and never trailed again. ENMU led 6-4, and by three points four different times, but couldn’t pull away from ACU. The Wildcats eventually got within 12-11, only to have Pilon rip a kill after Eastern called timeout.

Abilene Christian called timeout following the kill by Pilon, and the Wildcats responded with a kill of their own to cut ENMU’s lead to 13-12. Pilon answered with a kill down the left sideline, pulling ENMU within a single point of winning the match.

The Wildcats kept themselves alive with another kill, as Eastern’s slim lead fell to 14-13. Pilon completed the match by killing an errant ACU pass. Earlier in the rally, Pilon made a defensive stop on the front row. Abilene Christian contended that a ball-handling error (two consecutive touches) should have been called, but play was allowed to continue.
ACU maintained a three-point to six-point lead during most of the first game. Eastern trailed 15-10, 17-13 and 21-15. ENMU never got closer than four points the rest of the game, as ACU claimed a 30-25 win.

Eastern trailed 6-1 at the start of the second game, after making three kill errors and one serving error. The Zias recovered with a 5-2 run that cut their deficit to 8-6. ENMU trailed by a single point seven times during the game, before finally earning a 26-26 tie. Mariner provided a kill for a 27-26 lead, then ACU was called for four hits. Eastern took a 29-26 lead when an ACU attack hit the net. Mariner ended the 30-26 win with another kill.

In the third game, the visiting Wildcats zoomed out to a 7-1 lead. Eastern rallied again, ultimately tying the game at 11-11. The scored was tied six times and the lead changed four times the rest of the way. Consecutive kill errors by the Zias allowed ACU to take a 26-25 lead. The Wildcats led 29-26, but ENMU received a kill and an ace from Pilon to pull within one point. ACU blocked a middle hit by Mariner to win the game, 30-28.

Eastern never trailed in Game #4. The Zias led 5-1 and 7-2 early, then took a 16-12 lead when a dig by April Brockmann (Sr., OH/MB, Tempe, AZ/Chandler-Gilbert CC) went over the net and eluded the Wildcats.

ACU trailed by a just one point, 19-18, before the Zias put together four consecutive points for a 23-18 lead. Abilene scored the next two points, but ENMU followed with a kill by Mariner and back-to-back blocks by Courtney Wallenborn (Sr., RS, Camas, WA/Mt. Hood CC) and Pilon to increase their lead to 26-20. The Zias won the game, 30-23.

Pilon hit .378 for the match, and had just four attacking errors. Mariner hit .295, helping ENMU finish with a .222 team hitting percentage. ACU hit .199 overall, with six players hitting from .200 to .250. Haylee Hartline led the Wildcats with 22 kills, while Michelle Bernhardt achieved 19 kills and Ashlee Motota provided 12 kills.

The middle-blocking tandem of Pilon and Mariner gave the Zias solid all-around play. Pilon added 19 digs, two block assists and two serving aces to her 18 kills. Mariner, in addition to leading the Zias with 19 kills, supplied 8 digs and four total blocks. Anya Mack (Jr., OH/RS, Cope, CO/Sheridan JC) added 17 digs and 8 kills. Brockmann chipped in 14 digs and 10 kills, while junior setter Margie Goble (San Antonio, TX/Holmes HS) contributed 54 assists, 14 digs, 5 kills and a .333 hitting percentage.

Top defensive players for ACU were libero Kellen Morrow, as well as Hartline, Lindsey Martin and Amanda Slate. Morrow registered 22 digs and Hartline earned 11 digs. Martin added 12 digs, while Slate recorded 5 digs and 4 block assists.

The Zias will remain at home tomorrow (Sat., Sept. 21) for an LSC South Division match against Angelo State University. First serve at Greyhound Arena is set for 11 a.m. (MST).