Sept. 16, 2005
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Lobos rallied from a 2-1 deficit to Oral Roberts in match four of the Hilton Albuquerque Classic, winning 3-2. The UNM volleyball team (7-2) is now the only undefeated team in the tournament, winning its fifth straight match.
The Golden Eagles and Lobos battled evenly well into the first match with six lead changes and 11 ties. New Mexico was trailing 24-25 when senior Nicole Ryan put down a kill to even the score. Ryan, senior Chelsea Sondrup and freshman Sarah Kwasigroch stuffed back two blocks that gave UNM the momentum it needed to put away Oral Roberts. Sophomore Samie Weber recorded two service aces to increase the Lobo lead to 29-25 and won the game (30-25) on a ball handling error from ORU.
Kwasigroch and junior Kelly Therkelsen came out firing to start game two, giving UNM a five-point lead (10-5) behind two Kwasigroch kills and one Therkelsen kill and ace. The Lobos held the five-point lead to 13-8 before Oral Roberts put together a run sparked by Ori Zuzic’s three kills. The score remained even at 28-28 when the Eagles blocked two of UNM’s attempts for the 28-30 win.
Game three did not have a lead by more than two points for either team until the Lobos rattled off three consecutive points for a 24-20 advantage. Zuzic and Nicole Weis drove the Eagles back to a tie at 29 with two kills apiece. Oral Roberts served for game point three times but were denied by the Lobos who were feeding off a roaring crowd of 301. ORU finally took the game 35-33 on a kill and an ace by Maja Devic.
Oral Roberts took charge of game four, jumping out to a 4-0 lead and holding it to 7-4. The Lobos chipped away at the lead, pulling even at 12-12. Sophomore Kim Cox and Therkelsen each recorded an ace and a kill to give UNM a 19-14 advantage, but Oral Roberts’ Jaqueline Oliveria put down three kills and a block to even the score. Neither team would hold more than a one-point advantage until the winning point of the game. With the score even at 29, Ryan slammed down a kill and Weber served for an ORU error, winning 31-29.
The Golden Eagles started out with a 2-0 lead but commited three straight errors to go down a point. Oral Roberts went up 7-8 when Weber drove two solo blocks back in the grills of ORU to bring the crowd to their feet and take a 9-8 lead. A kill by Ryan put UNM up 13-10 and Kwasigroch closed it out on her serve, getting an attack error for the 14th point and a block from Therkelsen and Sondrup for the match-clinching point.
Several personal bests were set or tied in the game. The win marked the Lobos’ fifth in a row, tying the longest win streak under coach Kelley McKee, dating back to 2002. Therkelsen, with a team-high 21 kills, 45 attempts and four service aces, set her season high in kills and aces and broke her career high in attempts. Freshman Sarah Kwasigroch broke her career/season high for assists with 59 of the UNM’s 61, set a new personal best for digs with 18 and tied her high for kills (5) and blocks (3). Freshman Michelle Miller set her career/season high in total attempts (37), digs (6) and blocks (2) and recorded her first collegiate ace. Sondrup put down a team and season-high 12 blocks, missing her career record and program best by two. Cox led the team in digs with 23, also a season and career high.
The Lobos will play Syracuse (7-3) in the final game of the Hilton Classic tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. Syracuse is 1-1 in the tournament after beating Delaware State, 3-0. Oral Roberts and Delaware State will kick off tomorrow’s action at 12 p.m.