Sept. 25, 2008
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The University of New Mexico volleyball team evened up its Mountain West Conference record tonight with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-22, 25-12) win over San Diego State. Peterson Gym sounded a lot like the Johnson Center with a crowd of Lobo fans making the trek to San Diego. The Lobos improved to 11-2 overall and 1-1 in MWC action, while SDSU dropped to 4-8 and 1-1.
UNM won the first set with solid .480 hitting. The Aztecs took a 5-1 lead, but the Lobos battled back to take an 8-7 lead and never let it go. Six Lobos combined for 14 kills to secure the win.
Senior Jeanne Fairchild had six kills in the second set to bring the Lobos back from a 5-2 deficit. After trading points, Lisa Meeter got two kills and the Aztecs had two errors to build the Lobos lead to 16-13. The Lobos gradually pulled away to 24-18, but SDSU held off set-point until Meeter picked up her eighth kill of the match to win the set.
In the third set, the Lobos jumped out to an 8-1 lead on the serve of Meeter. Taylor Hadfield had two kills and a block assist during the run. UNM never allowed the Aztecs to get back in the set. Gayle Tripp served the Lobos on a 4-0 run to 18-5. Rose Morris had two kills and Hadfield had two more blocks as UNM build the lead to 13 points. Morris had three kills down the stretch, including the match winner.
Fairchild and Morris led the Lobos with 10 kills each, while Hadfield led with seven blocks. Jade Michaelsen had 36 assists and Gayle Tripp led the back row defense with 15 digs.
The Lobos return to action on Saturday, Sept. 27, at UNLV. Match time at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas is set for 2 p.m. (MDT).