Nov. 24, 2005
LAS VEGAS – The seventh seeded New Mexico volleyball team fell to No. 2 Colorado State, 3-0 in the second Quarterfinals match of the Mountain West Conference Championships at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas. CSU, the conference tournament’s two-time defending champions, won 30-18, 31-29, 30-13.
The Lobos got off to a slow start in game one and the Rams took advantage of it, building an eight-point lead on a 9-1 run. Senior Nicole Ryan pulled UNM back to within five at 13-8, putting down two consecutive kills after forcing three CSU attack errors.
Colorado State regrouped, putting together a 4-0 run that was ended by senior Chelsea Sondrup, who slammed down a kill in the wide open center court. The Lobos hung with CSU and were trailing by six at 23-17 when the Rams went on a 7-1 run to end the game at 30-18.
Sondrup hit .500 in game one with three kills and one error on four attempts.
Sondrup opened game two with two straight kills for New Mexico’s first lead of the match. The teams traded points until the Rams broke a 6-6 tie with a 6-2 run that was ended by Ryan’s kill to make it 12-8.
Three straight kills from Sondrup rattled the CSU defense as the Lobos trailed by just one point at 21-20. The Rams committed two errors, handing UNM a 23-22 lead. Two more CSU errors with kills from sophomores Kim Cox and Samie Weber gave the Lobos their biggest lead of the match at 27-24. But it wasn’t enough as the Rams rebounded to tie the game at 29 all before winning 31-29.
Sondrup hit .636 in game two, connecting nine kills on 10 attempts with two errors. Cox had three kills, hitting .500 (3K-0E-6TA).
Junior Kelly Therkelsen opened game three with an ace to get the Lobos on the board first. Ryan put the ball down for UNM’s third point of the match to keep them within one at 4-3.
CSU turned it up a notch, outscoring New Mexico 26-10 to clinch the match with a 30-13 win. Sondrup hit .400 in game three (2K-0E-5TA) while Therkelsen and Ryan chipped in with a kill apiece.
Sondrup led New Mexico with a match-high 14 kills, hitting .550 (14K-3E-20TA). Sondrup and Therkelsen both recorded three blocks. Cox set a personal best with three kills, hitting .286 (3K-1E-7TA). Ryan added five kills and five digs while Therkelsen posted four kills. Freshman Tanna Taylor dished out a team-high 26 assists while Weber topped the team in digs with six. Freshman Gayle Tripp added five digs.
Colorado State’s Casey Bauer and Tonya Mokelki each recorded 10 kills to lead the Rams. Ashley Fornstrom led the team in assists (36) and Katherine Whitney had a team-high 17 digs.
The Lobos finish the season 14-14 overall and 6-10 in the Mountain West Conference. The 14 wins is the most under head coach Kelley McKee and ties the program’s best since 1997, when the Lobos finished 14-15. It is the first time UNM has finished .500 or better since 1996.