DENTON, Texas (Oct. 7, 2017) - Three Pioneers tallied double-digit kills in a four-set win (15-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-14) over Eastern New Mexico Saturday afternoon inside Kitty Magee Arena to record their longest win streak of 2017 with four in a row.
 
Miri Shade posted a match-high 14 kills, Makayla Mayfield notched her fourth double-double of the season with a dozen kills and 10 digs, and Courtney Noel registered 10 kills. Katy Ranes dished out a match-high 47 assists, and Bailey French tallied a match-high 25 digs.
 
The Pioneers (8-9, 5-3 LSC) struggled in set one and quickly fell into an 8-4 deficit. The Greyhounds (7-11, 4-4 LSC) doubled up TWU at 14-7 following a 4-0 run before cruising to the set win.
 
A kill by Shade in set two put the Pioneers up 7-6, and a rare triple block by Shade, Noel and Ranes extended the lead to 16-13. A TWU service error and a Greyhound kill tied the set at 20-all, and final kills by Shade and Noel tied the match at one game apiece.
 
The Pioneers came out strong in the third set to produce a 12-4 advantage after Mayfield hit a kill off of an ENMU block attempt. Briley Cole-Lewis smacked back a Greyhound return, and Caroline Noel added a kill from the middle for a 21-13 lead. Cole-Lewis then found the opposite corner for set-point, but ENMU battled back with four straight before Cole-Lewis and Courtney Noel recorded a block for the last point.
 
The Greyhounds went up 4-1 in set four before Mayfield tossed over two aces for an 8-7 lead, and Caroline Noel had a kill to put the Pioneers 13-0 to prompt a 10-0 run. ENMU grabbed two points to pull within 23-13, and Cole-Lewis and Mayfield put down the final kills for the match victory.
 
Head Coach Jeff Huebner said, "I'm proud of our kids for winning a messy match. We demonstrated maturity and put ourselves in a situation to win and handled ENMU in the third and fourth set. Miri was lights out for us, and Katy ran unbelievable offense. The gym was great today with all of the kids here."
 
The Pioneers travel to UT Permian Basin Oct. 13 for a 6 p.m. match and West Texas A&M Saturday for a 2 p.m. contest.