Nov. 4, 2005
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The New Mexico volleyball team banded together Friday night after honoring its seniors, shutting out TCU 3-0. The Lobos hit .375 (49K-10E-104TA) with five players hitting over .300 while the Horned Frogs hit a dismal .057 (33K-27E-105TA) with just three players hitting over .200.
UNM started off game one with just a slight advantage, never holding more than a three point lead. With TCU trailing 10-12, the Lobos defense came alive, forcing nine TCU errors en route to a 30-20 win. New Mexico outscored the Horned Frogs 18-10 to finish the game thanks to sophomore Samie Weber’s four kills and three kills from junior Kelly Therkelsen.
The Lobos were trailing by four (10-14) when senior Nicole Ryan put down a kill to give freshman Sarah Kwasigroch the serve. An ace from Kwasigroch, three kills from senior Chelsea Sondrup and two kills from Therkelsen sparked an 11-0 run to give New Mexico a 21-14 lead. Two quick aces by TCU’s Talaya Whitfield cut the lead to four but Sondrup, Therkelsen, Weber, Kwasigroch and freshman Michelle Miller would all put down kills to push UNM to a 30-21 win.
Therkelsen did not mess around in game three, breaking a 3-3 tie with a kill before stepping back to serve. She recorded two aces and got three TCU errors to put New Mexico ahead 9-3. Three kills from Therkelsen, Sondrup and Ryan aided in a 20-12 UNM run as the Lobos went on for a 30-16 win.
Therkelsen had a team-high 14 kills and six blocks, hitting .444 (14K-2E-27TA) with three aces and six digs. Weber hit a team-best .588 (11K-1E-17TA) with five blocks, two aces and two digs. Sondrup also put down 11 kills and six blocks, hitting .389 (11K-4E-18TA). Ryan hit .333 (6K-2E-12TA) with seven digs, two aces, a block and an assist. Kwasigroch hit .429 (3K-0E-7TA) with seven digs, three aces, two blocks and 38 of the team’s 41 assists. Sophomore Kim Cox had a team-high nine digs.
Whitfield led the Horned Frogs, hitting .250 (10K-5E-20TA) with nine digs. Nirelle Hampton and Erin Estep hit .200.
The Lobos host their final home game of the season in Johnson Gym on Monday night. UNM is hunting for revenge against New Mexico State from a 3-0 loss to open the season in August. The match is slated for 7 p.m.