Sept. 17, 2005
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The New Mexico volleyball team claimed the Hilton Albuquerque Classic championship today with a 3-2 win over Syracuse. The win gives UNM back-to-back weekend tournament titles and a six-game win streak, which ties for the program’s ninth longest. The last time UNM won two consecutive tournaments was in 1994.
With the win, New Mexico improves to 8-2 overall. It is the best start through 10 games under head coach Kelley McKee and ties with the 1994 team for the fifth best start in the program’s history. Only the 1983 (9-1), 1986 (10-0), 1988 (10-0) and 1990 (10-0) teams have started better.
The Lobos opened game three with an 8-3 lead before Syracuse’s Aila Dommestrup sparked a comeback to tie the game at 13 with a kill, two assists and two forced attack errors on her serve. The Orange built a five-point lead (21-16) on five kills from Jen Malcom. Two kills from senior Chelsea Sondrup, two kills from junior Kelly Therkelsen and one ace from freshman Sarah Kwasigroch even the game at 25 but Syracuse refused to surrender, getting the 32-20 win on a kill and a block from Kelly Duan.
Eight Syracuse errors, three kills from senior Nicole Ryan and two kills from freshman Michelle Miller gave UNM a 15-6 advantage to start game two. Syracuse widdled away at the lead, getting to within five but the Lobos were hitting .350 for the game, cruising to a 30-20 win.
Game three replicated game two with the Lobos attacking the Orange non-stop. Syracuse could not handle the Lobo offense, committing 12 errors with only 13 kills for a .026 hitting percentage. Miller and Sondrup each put down four kills in game three and the Lobos stuffed back four blocks, winning 30-21.
Syracuse looked like a completely different team in game four, taking a 30-14 victory. The Orange out-hit UNM .281 to -.206 and had eight of their 15 total blocks in the game.
The fans were on their feet to start game five, getting louder and louder, forcing Syracuse to buckle under the pressure. The Orange committed five errors after taking a 2-0 lead and found themselves down 8-4 as the teams switched sides. An ace from Therkelsen and an attack error pushed the Lobo lead to six. Syracuse tried to build some momentum for a comeback but were denied on a rocketing kill from sophomore Samie Weber for a 13-10 advantage. The Orange committed an attack error putting UNM at game point. Ryan won the match two serves later with a kill.
Sondrup led the team with a .300 hitting percentage (13K-4E-30TA) and tied for a team high in blocks (6). Ryan put down a team-high 18 kills while Miller added 11. Kwasigroch dished out 56 of UNM’s 60 assists and led the team in aces with three. Sophomore Kim Cox had a team-high 15 digs.
Oral Roberts placed second in the tournament, finishing 2-1. Syracuse was third (1-2) and Delaware State took fourth (0-3).
Sondrup was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player while Kwasigroch and Therkelsen made the all-tournament team. ORU’s Jacki Oliveira and Maja Devic also made the all-tourney team along with Syracuse’s Katie Allen and Delaware State’s Michael-Ann Gunsten.
The Lobos return to the court Friday night in Johnson Gym, taking on Mountain West Conference rival BYU. Gametime is slated for 7 p.m.