Nov. 11, 2005
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The New Mexico volleyball team earned its 14th win of the season Friday night. The Lobos rallied after falling 25-30 in the first game to take games two, three and four (30-27, 30-20, 30-24, respectively), improving to 14-11 overall and 6-8 in the Mountain West Conference.
The Lobos scored the first point of game one but the Falcons rallied behind Carly Siefken’s serve with a 5-0 run. New Mexico pulled within one at 12-13 but that was as close as they could get. When AFA reached game-point, the Lobos also turned out a 3-0 run, cutting the deficit to five.
The roles reversed in game two with the Falcons scoring first, but the Lobos quickly rebounded to take a 10-3 lead. The Lobos put together a 12-2 run and never looked back.
New Mexico scored the first four points en route to a 13-5 advantage. Air Force couldn’t pull within fewer than five points before a long serving set from the Lobos sealed game.
Air Force struck first in the fourth game, but the Lobos quickly responded and grabbed the lead. Down 15-5, Air Force pulled within six, before tying the score at 17. Following another tie at 19, the Lobos went on a 5-1 run to take a 24-20 advantage. They outscored Air Force 11-4 to end the match.
Junior Kelly Therkelsen and senior Nicole Ryan put down a match-high 12 kills apiece. Freshman Sarah Kwasigroch hit a team-best .300 (3K-0E-10TA) while dishing out a team-high 41 assists, slipping in a match-high four aces and a team-high five blocks with seven digs. Ryan, senior Chelsea Sondrup and sophomore Samie Weber also stuffed back five. Freshman Gayle Tripp led New Mexico with 17 digs.
Air Force’s Kristin Hamlett and Rebecca Gallegos tied for the match lead with 12 kills apiece. Jasamine Pettie recorded a .467 hitting percentage, backed by nine kills on 15 attempts, with just a pair of errors. Siefken recorded 41 assists and 10 digs, while leading the team with three aces. Freshman Kristina Stewart (Glendale, Ariz.) topped the Falcons with 11 digs, while Hamlett claimed eight blocks, including two solo stops.
The Lobos conclude the regular season at Colorado State and Wyoming next Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m.