Sept. 27, 2008
LAS VEGAS — The University of New Mexico volleyball team picked up their first win in Las Vegas since 2000 today by dropping UNLV, 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-22) to improve to 12-2 overall and 2-1 in the MWC. The win against the Rebels also ended an 8-match losing streak going back to the 2004 season. UNLV dropped to 8-7 and 2-1 (MWC).
Taylor Hadfield and Rose Morris kept the Lobos in the first set, leading with four kills and .800 attack percentages. UNM had a 10-6 lead, but UNLV battled and had the lead at 23-22. The Lobos got three straight points for the win on a Rebel service error, a block by Hadfield and Morris, and a kill by Jeanne Fairchild.
The second set was similar with neither team taking more than a four-point lead at any time in the set. UNM took a 5-1 lead, but UNLV flipped the lead at 13-9. The teams evened up at 23. Anna Lehne had a kill and Hadfield and Fairchild had a block for the win. Freshman defensive specialist Allison Buck recorded her first collegiate kill in the set.
UNLV took a 12-8 lead in the third set before Lisa Meeter served the Lobos to a 9-point turnaround at 17-12. UNM capitalized on several Rebel errors and Lehne had three kills down the stretch of the turnaround. UNLV would not go away closing the gap to 22-21. Meeter had a kill and Lehne and Jade Michaelsen blocked an attack to get the lead to 24-21. UNLV got a kill, 24-22, before Lehne knocked down her 11th kill of the match for the win.
Fairchild led the Lobos with 13 kills, followed by Lehne’s 11. Lehne and Michaelsen led the front row defense with four blocks each, while Gayle Tripp led the back row with 14 digs. Michaelsen led the squad with 33 assists.
The Lobos will be at home in the Johnson Center on Thursday, Oct. 2. UNM hosts BYU at 7 p.m. on The Mtn. It will be the first home match for New Mexico since Aug. 30.