New Mexico Sweeps Youngstown State in Toledo

TOLEDO, Ohio — Early morning matchup vs. a familiar foe? No problem for these Lobos.

Behind superb performances from its upperclassmen, the University of New Mexico volleyball team opened the Blue/Gold Invitational in Toledo with a straight-sets victory over Youngstown State, winning 25-21, 25-19, 25-18.

Against the Penguins (5-7), the Lobos (7-3) virtually duplicated their performance from two weeks ago when they swept by Youngstown State to open the Glory Road Invitational in El Paso, Texas.

However, unlike the first showdown between the two squads, different Lobos provided key results on Friday in Savage Arena.

With freshman outside hitter Hailey Rubino limited, Mariessa Carrasco led all players with 10 kills, hitting .571. Rubino was the offensive catalyst two weeks ago in El Paso, but UNM still produced on Friday, converting at a .393 clip (43 kills, 10 errors, 84 attempts).

Lauren Twitty (nine kills), Victoria Spragg (eight, .538 hit percentage), Yasmin Tan (six, .500) and Ashley Kelsey (six, .429) also contributed, with Carson Heilborn dishing out 33 assists.

For Kelsey, the Lobos’ usual libero, this was her first action at the pins in almost two years. Originally recruited as an outside hitter, Kelsey has taken over as the team’s libero with an eye on the program record in digs.

Kelsey still helped out defensively, netting nine digs, just one behind both Twitty and Pacheco for game-high honors. Overall, the Lobos tallied 42 digs, significantly more than YSU (28).

Elsewhere, Carrasco, Spragg and Heilborn each tallied two blocks, helping UNM to a 4-2 advantage in that department.

The Lobos open the Blue/Gold Invitational with a sweep, shutting down Youngstown State in straight sets! #GoLobos #UNMatched pic.twitter.com/SwbOjGCjy2

— New Mexico Volleyball (@UNMLoboVB) September 15, 2017

Both teams opened relatively evenly, with Youngstown State hanging within two points early. However, New Mexico scored four straight points to go up 14-8, a lead it would not relinquish.

The closest the Penguins would get was a point at 15-14 and 19-18, but a final 4-0 surge gave the Lobos a 23-18 lead that they rode to a 25-21 win.

Carrasco logged half of her 10 kills in the set, powering UNM to a .323 attack percentage early (14-4-31).

The second also opened with little separation between the two teams. YSU took a 6-5 lead, but a 9-3 run by UNM gave the Lobos a 14-9 advantage. The Penguins would cut the score to two points at 17-15, but New Mexico again closed strongly, scoring seven of the final 10 points for a 25-19 win in set two.

Spragg, Twitty and Carrasco each posted four kills in the set as UNM finished with just a single error in the set. The Lobos hit .519 in the second frame (15-1-27).

With the game firmly in hand, New Mexico rolled to a 7-2 lead to open set three. YSU would again draw to within two points, but the Lobos answered every Penguin point with two of their own over a stretch of 12 serves to go up 16-9.

Youngstown State would get no closer than four points, with New Mexico cruising to a 25-18 win. Kelsey finished with four kills in the set, with Spragg and Twitty adding three each. Freshman Danica Rowan also had a kill late as the Lobos closed out the match.

UNM returns to action Friday afternoon, playing tournament host Toledo at 5 p.m. MT. The match will be broadcast on ESPN3.

NOTES: Kelsey’s last action at outside hitter came at Colorado State on October 8, 2015 … Her six kills and 14 attempts were both career highs … UNM improves to 3-0 all-time vs. Youngstown State

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