Nov. 19, 2005
LARAMIE, Wyo. – The New Mexico volleyball team ended the regular season in Laramie, Wyoming tonight with a 3-0 loss to the Cowgirls. The Lobos fall to 14-13 overall and 6-10 in the Mountain West Conference after losing 30-21, 30-18, 30-22, respectively.
Wyoming jumped out to a quick 9-2 lead in game one. Junior Kelly Therkelsen put down a kill and then stepped back to serve, getting an ace, two UW errors and a kill from freshman Michelle Miller to pull the Lobos within two at 10-8. Therkelsen then slammed down another kill to pull the team within one (15-14). Miller ended a 6-0 Cowgirl run with a kill to make the score 21-16. But it wasn’t enough as UW’s Kelsey Loop recorded three kills to cap an 8-5 run to end the game.
New Mexico couldn’t catch the quick-starting Cowgirls in game two as Wyoming took an early 10-5 lead and held it for the remainder of the game. Sophomore Samie Weber led the team with three kills in game two while Therkelsen and seniors Nicole Ryan and Chelsea Sondrup chipped in with two apiece.
The Cowgirls held a 10-point lead (21-11) when the Lobos put together a 9-2 run sparked by freshman Tanna Taylor’s serve and two kills from Sondrup. Wyoming got back on track, outscoring the Lobos 7-2 to end the match.
Weber led the team with eight kills while Therkelsen, Sondrup and Ryan each added seven. Therkelsen hit a team-best .583 (7K-0E-12TA) while Sondrup hit .438 (7K-0E-16TA). Sondrup had a team-high four blocks while Taylor dished out a team-high 31 assists and freshman Gayle Tripp had a team-high 14 digs.
Loop topped Wyoming with 15 kills while Rachel Smith added 13. Tasha Weishahn led the team in assists with 41.
New Mexico heads to Las Vegas, Nev. for the Mountain West Conference Championships starting Tuesday, Nov. 22 with the first round match. Gametracker will be available for all games at the Mountain West Conference’s official website. The quarterfinal, semifinal and championship matches, starting Thursday, Nov. 24, will be broadcast by CSTV.