Sept. 10, 2005
MISSOULA, Mont. – The New Mexico volleyball team claimed the Montana Invitational title tonight with a 3-1 win over host Montana in the final match of the tournament. Senior Nicole Ryan was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player while classmate Chelsea Sondrup and junior Kelly Therkelsen were named to the all-tournament team.
The Lobos found themselves in a seven-point deficit (14-7) to start game one before pulling even on five consecutive serves from sophomore Kim Cox. Three kills from Therkelsen, two from sophomore Samie Weber and one kill from both Sondrup and Ryan gave the Lobos the lead. New Mexico never looked back, going on to win 30-26.
Once again the Lobos were trailing to start game two, this time falling behind 14-10 on four consecutive errors. Freshman Michelle Miller and Ryan would put down three and two kills, respectively, pulling the Lobos even at 21. After trading a few points, Montana’s Claudia Houle would serve six times, resulting in three kills and a block from Jessica Petersen for the 30-27 UM win.
Freshman Sarah Kwasigroch served 10 consecutive times in the early stages of game three to give New Mexico a 14-6 lead. Kwasigroch’s serves resulted in three kills and a block from Therkelsen and one kill and three blocks from Sondrup. The Lobos forced nine errors after that, including one to end the game in New Mexico’s favor (30-22) with a block by Weber and Kwasigroch.
For most of game four, Montana held the lead, looking like it would force a game five. But Therkelsen killed the Grizzlies momentum, evening the score at 23 with three kills. A flustered Montana then committed three errors, including two service errors to end the match with a 30-27 UNM win.
Therkelsen posted a double-double with 17 kills and 12 digs. She also hit a team-high .424 (17K-3E-33TA) with four blocks and two assists. Weber added 13 kills, three blocks and one dig, hitting .348 (13 K-5E-23TA). Miller chipped in with 12 kills and one dig, hitting .360. Sondrup just missed a double-double with 10 blocks and nine kills. Kwasigroch notched two kills, two blocks and 12 digs while dishing out 49 of the team’s 54 assists. Cox recorded a team-high 19 digs.
The Lobos, 5-2 overall, return home to host the Hilton Albuquerque Classic, Friday, Sept. 16-Saturday, Sept. 17. The Lobos will open with Deleware State on Fri. at 10 a.m. followed by Oral Roberts at 7:30 p.m. They will wrap up the tournament with Syracuse on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.