Although the Western New Mexico University volleyball team was close in each set, they couldn’t quite break through as the Regis University Rangers claimed the 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 28-26) Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference victory Saturday night. It’s the first home loss for the Lady Mustangs this season after winning the first seven.
In a rarity this season, WNMU (15-6, 10-3 RMAC) was outhit by their opponent. RU (13-9, 10-3 RMAC) collected a .261 percentage (43-14-111), while holding WNMU to a .186 (42-21-113) clip.
Neither team was able to get much breathing room in the first set. The Lady Mustangs held an early 6-4 lead on a kill by Kelli McGhiey, just to watch the Rangers answer back to take their own two-point lead at 8-6. The teams would stay within two points of each other until RU strung together a run ahead 19-18 as they posted the next four points to open a 23-18 advantage. Sheila Menezes and Leeta Grap answered with kills and a RU attack error had WNMU back to within two at 23-21. The Rangers regrouped and tallied two out of the next three points for the 25-22 set win.
The Rangers came out strong in the second set, jumping out to an 11-4 lead. A Heather Verrill kill helped ignite a 4-0 run with points by Chyler Imai and McGhiey to pull back to within three at 16-13. WNMU would keep at it getting to within one following kills by Menezes and Imai, before a double-block by Shannon Rich and Menezes had the RU lead down to just one at 18-17. The Rangers kept their cool and after answering with the next two points, they would lead by at least two the rest of the way in claiming the 25-20 set win. RU hit .424 for the set with 17 kills.
The third set was controlled throughout by the Lady Mustangs until the very end. Points from Morgan Lyneis, Verrill, Grap and Barbara Soranzao had WNMU in front 5-2. Following a run by the Rangers, a Grap kill, followed up by a service ace from Menezes had WNMU back in front by five at 15-10. Still ahead 20-17, the Rangers made their move to comeback and tie the set at 20 forcing a WNMU timeout. The Lady Mustangs responded out of the break getting kills from Menezes and Verrill, around an attack error by the Rangers to move to set point at 24-21.
RU then came back out of nowhere as a pair of attack errors by the Lady Mustangs and a service ace by the Rangers knotted the set at 24. Grap moved WNMU to set point with a kill on the next point, just to watch RU respond with the next two points to move to match point at 26-25. Grap again had an answer on the next point with a kill to knot the set at 26, but the Rangers were ready to end the night. They came back with a pair of kills to win the set, 28-26, and the match, 3-0.
Regis held the slight edge in kills (43-42), aces (6-4), blocks (9-5), while WNMU led in assists (41-39) and in digs (46-43).
Grap led the way with nine kills, while Menezes and Verrill added eight apiece with Verrill posting a .313 hitting percentage. McGhiey had six kills and hit .667 as she had no errors in nine swings. Imai led in assists with 21, while on defense Ashley Mataele and Grap had 10 apiece and in terms of blocks Verrill had three.
Katie Klein led the Rangers with 12 kills and hit .300, while Maggie Steward added 10 and hit .286. Diamond Ridley-Pierce created havoc at the net as she had seven blocks, with three coming solo.
WNMU will hit the road this coming weekend as they will play at nationally ranked and RMAC top-seed Colorado School of Mines on Friday at 7 p.m. before finishing the trip on Saturday night at 6 p.m. at Colorado Christian.