The Skyline Newspaper

Seniors Lyndi Cypher, Jennifer Harder, and Stacy Macias say goodbye to their home court at Thursday's closing game with Concordia. Photo by Jason Hennington

Volleyball Pulls 3-1 Win But Drops Closer To Concordia

Thursday, October 25, Melanie Valenciana's 15 kills fueled Sully's momentum as the Lady Lobos took a 3-1 ASC victory over visiting Howard Payne Thursday evening at the Gallego Center.

Sul Ross fell in game 1, 30-25, then rebounded with 30-26, 30-25 and 30-20 wins in games 2, 3 and 4.

Howard Payne outmatched the Lady Lobos 56-44 in team kills, but 35 attack errors crippled the Lady Jacket effort while Sul Ross finished with 18 errors. Sully won the attack percentage battle at .162 while HPU finished at .127.

Seniors Stacy Macias and Jennifer Harder supplied additional boost with 11 and 10 kills respectively in the win with setter Bianca Espinoza sporting 38 assists. Harder added 12 digs for her double-double with senior Lyndi Cypher adding 12 more stops. Elfida Olivas led defenders with 15 digs.

Howard Payne was led by Sydney Bryant with 15 kills followed by Katy Preuss, Megan Pick and Jessica Hutton with 13, 12 and 10 kills respectively. Libero Melissa Dennis tacked on 37 digs. Hutton, Mattingly, Pick and Bryant added 16, 14, 13 and 11 digs respectively in the effort.

Friday, October 26, Stacy Macias finished her collegiate career at the Gallego Center with a team high 14 kills in Sully's 3-2 conference loss to Concordia-Texas. The Lady Tornadoes took a 30-22 win in game 1.

The Lady Lobos stretched wide to take a 33-31 victory in game 2. Sul Ross put up an 8-1 run in game 3 to take a 5-point 30-25 victory. Concordia ran away with games 4 and 5 with 30-15 and 15-7 wins.

Melanie Valenciana tallied 13 kills with defensive support from freshmen Elfida Olivas and Carin Stocks with 13 and 12 digs respectively. Bianca Espinoza added 40 assists.

Concordia's Michelle Heckman posted a team best 17 kills with Sarah Geyer and Kaedy Hermes adding 14 kills each in the win. The Lady Tornadoes showed four players in defensive double figures as libero Sara Keithley tacked on 32 digs. Jackie Gerard, Valerie Martinez and Geyer added 17, 15 and 12 stops respectively.

Concordia took a .224 attack percentage while holding Sul Ross to .124.

The Lady Lobos finish at 6-21 for 2007 and 3-14 in American Southwest Conference action.

Lobos Face Homecoming Heartbreak; Score 46-36

A 28-point second half surge by Hardin-Simmons gave the Cowboys a 46-36 ASC win over Sul Ross as the Lobos celebrated homecoming Saturday at Jackson Field.

The Cowboys rattled off 554 yards of total offense with 201 of those yards coming off the feet of Quinton Jones.
Sully mustered 459 yards. Lobo senior T.J. Barber netted 73 yards off of 18 rushes without seeing the end zone.
Austin Davidson connected on 20 of 37 passes for a pair of scores while being picked off twice. Freshman Carlo Dominguez finished with 5 receptions for 122 yards and a touchdown.

Johnnie Williams led Lobo defenders with 11 tackles with Randy Enriquez, Fernie Acosta and Nathan Graham supplying 10 stops each. Graham also saddled an interception for the afternoon.

Hardin-Simmons began the day's scoring session with a 49-yard haul by Jones at the 5:17 mark in the opening period. Colt Williamson's extra point kick missed with the Cowboys sporting a 6-0 advantage.

The Lobos answered with 36 seconds left in the first as Carlo Dominguez scored off a 6-yard trot after 10 plays and 76 yards. Michael Van Wagner's kick missed to the right with the game tied at 6 heading to the second period.

Hardin-Simmons took the lead early in the second as Justin Feaster found Travis Watson on a 16-yard scoring strike ending a 6-play, 80-yard drive. Williamson's kick was blocked as the Cowboys took a 12-6 go ahead with 12:54 left until the break.

HSU spread the gap with 2:06 remaining in the half as Mychal Carrillo scored on a 16-yard toss from Feaster. The 2-point pass failed but Hardin-Simmons held an 18-6 margin.

Dominguez reached pay dirt again, this time off a 44 yard pass from Davidson off of 6 plays and 73 yards with 13 seconds left in the quarter. Van Wagner nailed the extra point to pull the Lobos to within 5 points, trailing 18-13 at intermission.

Sul Ross took the go ahead in the third as Jamal Johnson returned the second half opening kick 86 yards into the HSU end zone. The 2-point extra try failed off an attempted pass with Sully leading by a slim 19-18 margin.

The Lobo lead was lost with 7:17 left in the third as Jones scored again on a 1-yard hopper finishing a 16-play, 70-yard scoring drive. The Cowboys bingoed on the 2-point conversion as Feaster connected with Watson, giving Hardin-Simmons a 26-19 lead.

Sul Ross drove inside the Cowboy 25 on the ensuing march which set up a 34-yard field goal by Van Wagner to pull the Lobos within 4, trailing 26-22 with 4:07 left in the third.

Hardin-Simmons put up the last two scores of the quarter with 2 scoring strikes from Feaster to Carrillo. The Cowboys went with Williamson on the extra point kicks to give HSU a 40-22 lead heading to the fourth quarter.

Sully went with the pass early in the final period as Davidson found Jeremy Cartwright on a 29-yard pass ending a brief 2-play, 60-yard march. Van Wagner's kick was good and pulled the Lobos to within 11, trailing HSU 40-29.

The Cowboys scored for the final time of the afternoon as Jones capped his 2-touchdown performance with a 31-yard pass from Feaster following 8 plays and 67 yards. Williamson's kick missed with the Cowboys on top 46-29 with 10:17 left in regulation.

Sully pulled within 10 at the 9:52 mark as Dominguez trotted on a 1-yard score after a 3-play, 53-yard drive. Van Wagner's kick was good with Hardin-Simmons sporting a 46-36 lead and the eventual final.

Sul Ross drops to 5-3 for 2007 and 3-3 in league action while the Cowboys improve 4-4 and 3-3 in ASC play.

The Lobos will make the long trek to Pineville, Louisiana next weekend for a 1:00 p.m. contest with Louisiana College.

Runner Lovato Qualifies For Cross-Country Regionals

Sul Ross wrapped up the 2007 cross country season at the American Southwest Conference meet hosted by McMurry University.

Men's action saw Larry Lovato as the top Sul Ross runner placing 7th with a time of 27:04.81 in the 8k. Lovato's finish places him as a qualifier for Division III's South/Southeast regional meet, hosted by Christopher-Newport, Va., on Nov. 10.

Crispin Salais placed 17th with a time of 28:15.94, while Peter Ojeda finished at 31st at 31:38.37. Other men runners included Jose Luna, 42nd, 33:02.20, and David Torres, 43rd, 33:18.34.

The Lobo men finished 4th out of 9 teams in competition. The nationally-ranked Texas-Tyler men won their third straight ASC Cross Country championship with a perfect team score.

In women's competition, Adriana Ramirez placed 32nd with a time of 28:28.87 in the 6k. Christina Solis and Stephanie Gutierrez finished at 34th and 35th with times of 28:41.62 and 28:44.42, respectively. Karen Hancock grabbed the 39th slot with a time of 29:16.69.

The Lady Lobos finished 6th out of 8 teams competing at the annual meet.

Mississippi College took the women's crown -- the Lady Choctaws' second title in three years and seventh overall.