ENMU Rallies Past Lubbock Christian for 3-2 Win
Schiely Leads the Way with 24 Kills

Box Score

PORTALES, N.M. — Eastern New Mexico University rallied from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to win 3-2 against Lubbock Christian University on Tuesday, Oct. 4 at Greyhound Arena. The Zias improved their overall record to 5-9 in the 25-30, 30-27, 24-30, 30-25, 15-12 victory. The Lady Chaps dropped to 14-7 overall.

With the win, ENMU avenged a 3-0 loss at Lubbock Christian on Sept. 6. The Lady Chaps won the first meeting, 30-19, 30-22, 30-19.

In the first game of the rematch, Lubbock Christian recorded a 9-0 lead before Eastern went on a 12-5 run to get within two points at 14-12. The Zias were able stay within five points, and got within three points at 27-14, but were outscored 3-1 down the stretch to fall behind 1-0 in the match.

The Zias led 8-7 and 13-12 in the second game, but gave up five consecutive points to trail, 17-13. After trailing 21-17, Eastern began to slowly catch up to LCU, beginning with a kill by Rhea Wortman (Fr., OH, Prineville, OR/Crook County HS) off an assist from Amber Davis (Sr., MB, Colorado Springs, CO/Dodge City CC).

ENMU tied the score, 25-25, following a hitting error by the Lady Chaps plus three kills by Kristi Britain (Sr., OH, fort Sumner, NM/Fort Sumner HS), two more kills by Wortman and a kill by Grace George (Jr., MB, Kaaawa, HI/Kahuku HS). The game continued going back and forth until a service ace by Wortman gave the Zias the lead for good at 28-27. Lindsay Schiely’s (Sr., MB, Portland, OR/Clackamas CC) kill moved Eastern to game point and a ball handling error by LCU tied the match at one game apiece.

In game three, Eastern had the early lead, but LCU caught the Zias at 9-9. Eastern gave up the lead for good at 14-13, with the Lady Chaps extending the lead to 27-20 with a 13-7 run.

Following the loss in Game #3, the Zias found themselves in a must win situation. Schiely opened the fourth game with a kill in another seesaw game. Eastern trailed 13-11, but moved in front for good at 14-13 on an assisted block from Davis and Shiely. Neither team led by more than two points until ENMU built a 16-13 advantage. The Zias also led 22-18 before the Lady Chaps pulled within one points at 25-24. Back-to-back kills by Schiely and George gave Eastern a 27-24 lead, as the Zias went on a 5-1 run to tie the match at 2-2.

The fifth and deciding game was tied at 4-4 when the ENMU offense began to dominate at the net. Three consecutive kills by George, Wortman and Marcie LeGrand (Jr., RS, Amarillo, TX/Randall HS) gave Eastern a 7-4 lead. Following an ENMU attacking error, the Zias scored the next three points on kills by George and LeGrand and a passing error by the Lady Chaps.

Eastern allowed LCU to get within two at 11-9 before once again hitting three consecutive kills, two by Davis and one by Britain. The Zias were at match point, but had to use a timeout after two ENMU kill errors pulled the Lady Chaps with 14-12. After the timeout, Schiely took a pass from Kathryn McCannell (S, Jr., Brandon, MAN, Canada/Bemidji State Univ.) and dinked the ball across the net and to the floor for the victory. ENMU kills were responsible for 12 of the Zias’ 15 points in the fifth game.

Schiely tied her season high with 24 kills during the match, equalling her output in a 3-2 victory over Texas Woman’s University on Sept. 16. Against LCU, Schiely led the team with 53 total attacks and a .340 hitting percentage. McCannell had her best day in a Zia uniform, as she provided 37 assists. Freshman Kara Killian (S, Amarillo, TX/Randall HS) also had a career-best match, recording 31 assists. Eastern’s 77 kills and 75 assists were season highs.

George recorded 15 kills and Britain, Davis and Wortman each added 11 kills. Schiely led the Zias with six block assists. George provided one block solo and five block assists, while LeGrand earned five block assists. Both teams blocked well, with LCU claiming 16.0 team total blocks and the Zias accumulating 12.0 team total blocks.

Britain and Vanessa Wilcox (Fr., LIB, Houston, TX/Kempner HS) tied for the ENMU lead with 21 digs apiece. The Zias registered 86 digs overall, while LCU earned 80 digs.

The Lady Chaps were led by Denise Brensing and Meagan Kamplain, each with 15 kills. Kenee Carter contributed 14 kills and 17 digs, while Kayley Whiteside provided a match-high 23 digs. Noelle Christensen achieved 52 assists and Brittany Hix led all players with nine total blocks.

ENMU will be on the road for its next two matches after playing the past four matches at home. On Thursday, Oct. 6, Eastern travels to Abilene Christian University for a Lone Star Conference South Division match. The Zias will be at Angelo State University on Saturday, Oct. 8, for another LSC South match. Eastern will host LSC South rival West Texas A&M University on Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. MST.