The Eastern New Mexico University volleyball team faced two defeats at the 2025 MCM Chap Invite on Friday, competing against Fort Lewis and CSU Pueblo at the Rip Griffin Center in Lubbock, Texas.
First-year head coach Karli Bustos commented on the team's progress following the matches. "We are working through the process of rebuilding and responding really well to these loses," Bustos said. "The next phase is to figure out how to play to win or inflict our will on our opponents at the end of the match. I think we are really close to our first win and the improvement and competitiveness in each match has been significant."
In a five-set contest against Fort Lewis, Eastern New Mexico fell 3-2 (27-25, 25-23, 25-17, 13-25, 14-16). Sophia Valdez led all players with 23 kills from 53 attempts and a .321 hitting percentage. Violeta Flores contributed 31 assists along with 14 digs, while Catalina Gutierrez added 12 digs. Imahni Brown tallied 23 assists and three aces during the match. Addison Bartlett finished just shy of a double-double, recording one kill away from that mark alongside her 15 digs.
Against CSU Pueblo, ENMU lost in straight sets (23-25, 24-26, 19-25). Valdez again led with 15 kills; Bartlett and Penning each added 11 kills for the Greyhounds' offense. Flores registered another strong performance with 24 assists, while Jayla Yoder provided ten assists. Defensively, Brown had a team-high of 14 digs; senior Nevaeh Rodriquez contributed twelve.
Despite being swept by CSU Pueblo, ENMU managed more total kills than their opponent (49-40). The match included several closely contested sets—there were a total of five sets across both matches that were decided by two points.
Flores became the first Greyhound since Carla Reyes in 2024 to record more than thirty assists in a single match. The contest between ENMU and CSU Pueblo featured frequent momentum shifts with thirty-one ties and fourteen lead changes over five sets.
The Greyhounds will conclude their participation at the Chap Invite tomorrow morning when they face host Lubbock Christian University at Rip Griffin Center. First serve is set for 8 a.m. Mountain Time/9 a.m. Central Time.
