Sept. 19, 2008
ARLINGTON, Texas — The University of New Mexico volleyball team looked sluggish but pulled through to beat Sam Houston State, 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-21) in the Lobos first match of the UT Arlington Holiday Inn Invitational on Friday afternoon. UNM, now 9-2 on the season, will face host UTA in the final match of the tournament on Saturday, Sept. 20, at 6 p.m. (MDT).
In the first set, Sam Houston State took a 7-4 lead and battled to stay with the Lobos up until 17 all. Sarah Kwasigroch served the Lobos to a 21-17 lead. SHSU closed to within one at 23-22 before Jeanne Fairchild pounded two kills to seal the win for UNM.
The second set saw the teams go back and forth until 11 all when the Lobos gradually pulled away. Kwasigroch had back-to-back service aces to put UNM ahead 20-16. Miscues by the Bearkats ended the set for a UNM win.
The Lobos were down 17-8 in the third set but battled to outscore Sam Houston 17-4 to win the set. After tying the set at 21, a kill by Rose Morris, a service ace by Amy Wong and three kills by Taylor Hadfield wrapped up the match for UNM.
Fairchild led the Lobos with 14 kills, while Hadfield and Morris recorded six each. Gayle Tripp and Allison Buck led the defense with 12 and 10 digs, respectively. Kwasigroch finished the match with four service aces.