NMMI Sports Press

The New Mexico Military Institute Lady Colt volleyball team picked up its first win of the young season, defeating the Loving Lady Falcons in straight sets Tuesday (Aug. 30) night at the Godfrey Athletic Center. The set scores were 25-17, 25-12 and 25-23.

It was also first-year head coach Chantale Riddle’s first victory at NMMI after losing the first match of the year on the road.

“It felt great,” Riddle said. “We got our first game jitters out of the way last week and we weren’t as nervous. I think the girls came out strong, they served and passed well. We were focused, and we had a few moments where we lost focus and that’s when we’d give up points, but as a whole I think we did pretty well.”

Riddle was pleased with the performance of her senior leaders, especially middle blocker Emily Spaniel and outside hitter Chimemerile “Olive” Amechi.

“Emily did great and until the end, she didn’t make one error,” Riddle said. “I think she scored on just about every ball she touched, which is great.”

“Olive served amazing, she had at least five aces, which helped us out a lot in that tight third set.”

Riddle said despite the Lady Colts being a month behind other squads that started working out together during the summer, she sees good things on the horizon as her team gels.

“We’re getting more comfortable with our rotation and what we’re doing and I think every week we will get better. A lot of the girls hit well, which I was really excited about,” she said. “I think we will continue to grow and hopefully shock some people, but not ourselves.”

The Lady Colt JV volleyball team also won their first match of the season, defeating the Loving JV 2-0.

Lady Colt Volleyball will be back in action on Friday (Sept. 2) and Saturday (Sept. 3) as they compete in the Warrior Invitational at Gateway Christian School. Pool play begins with NMMI facing the host Warriors at 8:30 a.m. Friday, then Hondo at 11:30 a.m. and Legacy at 1:30 p.m. Pool matches consist of two games to 25 with a cap of 27. After pool play concludes, the bracket will be set with the first matches beginning at 2:30 p.m. Friday. The championship will take place at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.