Oct. 20, 2005
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Wyoming volleyball team held on for a five-game win over New Mexico Thursday night despite being out-hit by the Lobos. UNM hit .263 with 32 blocks compared to Wyoming’s .210 and just 12 blocks.
The Lobos grabbed game one, 30-23, on an 8-2 run for the final thanks to six Cowgirl attack errors, an ace from freshman Gayle Tripp and a kill from junior Kelly Therkelsen. Therkelsen had six kills in the first game, hitting .625 (6K-1E-8TA) and sophomore Samie Weber hit .750 (3K-0E-4TA) with four blocks.
The Cowgirls maintained a four-point lead late in game two before UNM tied it at 28 on three kills from Weber and one from Cox and Ryan. But Wyoming’s Rachel Smith put down three of her six kills for the final three points, giving UW a 30-28 win. Weber hit .444 (5K-1E-9TA) with a block in game two while senior Chelsea Sondrup was a perfect 4K-OE-4TA with five blocks.
Smith, Kelsey Loop and Andrea Seele stepped up to give Wyoming a 30-20 game three victory. Loop hit .750 (6K-0E-8TA) with a block, Smith had six kills and Seele hit .600 (4K-1E-5TA) with a block. Senior Nicole Ryan and Sondrup led New Mexico, hitting .667 (4K-0E-6TA) and (2K-0E-3TA), respectively.
A 6-0 run on Ryan’s server got the Lobos running to a 30-16 win. Therkelsen had five kills, hitting .364 (5K-1E-11TA) with three blocks while Sondrup hit .375 (4K-1E-8TA) with three blocks. Weber hit .600 (3K-0E-5TA) and freshman Michelle Miller chipped in with four kills. Smith led Wyoming hitting .750 (3K-0E-4TA).
The teams traded points back and forth with the final tie at 10. Wyoming took a 12-10 lead but two kills from Weber pulled UNM within one (12-13). UW’s Angie Hellbaum put down a kill for game point which was matched by Ryan to keep the Lobos alive. But New Mexico couldn’t hold off Wyoming as Loop put down the game-winning kill for a 15-13 win. Seele led Wyoming in the final game, hitting 1.000 with three kills while Hellbaum and Smith also added three kills apiece. Weber hit .500 (2K-0E-4TA) and Therkelsen hit .333 with three kills.
Therkelsen put down a team-high 18 kills with 10 blocks, an assist and an ace, hitting .317 (18K-5E-41TA). Weber hit a team-best .481 (15K-2E-27TA) with six blocks. Ryan recorded a double-double with 12 kills and 15 digs w hile Sondrup hit .409 (11K-2E-22TA) with a team-high 11 blocks. Freshman Sarah Kwasigroch dished out 55 of New Mexico’s 59 assists.
The Lobos fall to 11-8 overall and 3-6 in the Mountain West Conference while Wyoming improves to 6-12 overall and 1-6 in the MWC.
New Mexico returns to the court on Saturday night, hosting Colorado State at 7 p.m. Saturday is Jam Johnson, sponsored by the UNM Bookstore, Big Oldies 98.5 and 106.3 Talk FM.