New Mexico Lobos Volleyball – Traveling to Wyoming & No. 9 Colorado State
Thursday: New Mexico at Wyoming, 7 p.m. MT
Saturday: New Mexico at No. 9 Colorado State, 1 p.m. MT
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico volleyball team is on the road this week, heading to Wyoming and Colorado State for its second to last road trip of the season.
Wyoming is current third in the Mountain West with a 9-4 record. With a win the Lobos will take over third place. Overall, Wyoming has a 20-6 record with only two losses at home.
For the season, the Cowgirls are hitting .276 and averaging 13.50 kills per set, 12.56 assists per set, 13.38 digs per set and 2.59 blocks per set. Bridget Shanahan is leading the squad with 338 kills at 3.45 per set. Laura Beach is averaging 2.60 kills per set but is hitting .409 for the season. She is also block 1.09 per set. Courtney Chacon is the Cowgirls setter. With a total of 1,058, she is averaging 10.80 per set.
The No. 9 ranked Rams are at the top of the Mountain West with a 12-1 record, their only conference loss coming from UNLV. They are 24-2 on the season with the only other loss coming against Wisconsin in nonconference action.
The Rams are hitting .286 on the season, averaging 14.29 kills per set, 13.30 assists per set, 14.77 digs per set and 2.74 blocks per set. Leading the Rams is Marlee Reynolds with 268 kills and a .239 hitting percentage. Kelsey Snider is also a threat for the Lobos as she is averaging 1.06 blocks per set and 2.95 kills per set with a .375 hitting percentage. Deedra Foss is the quarterback for the Rams and is averaging 11.63 assists per set.
The Lobos went 1-1 at home last week, falling to UNLV on Thursday by scores of 30-28, 25-20, 21-25, 24-26, 10-15 and defeating San Diego State by scores of 25-18, 25-17, 23-25 and 25-21. For the week, the Lobos hit .233, averaging 15.00 kills per set 14.33 assists per set, 19.78 digs per set and 2.33 blocks per set. On the season, the Lobos are hitting .215, averaging 12.82 kills per set, 11.92 assists per set, 15.43 digs per set and 3.06 blocks per set.
CAREER-HIGH NIGHT… Despite falling to UNLV on Thursday, the Lobos had five career-high performances. Hannah Johnson recorded her 14th double-double of the season with career-high of 65 assists and career-high 18 digs. Chantale Riddle has a career-high of 24 digs while Cassie House had a career-high of 21 kills and Julia Warren, a career-high of 32 digs. Warrens 32 digs is the 3rd in UNM history for most digs in a singe match.
RIDDLE BECOMES ALL-TIME POINTS LEADER…With her first kill against San Diego State on Saturday, Chantale Riddle became UNM Volleyball’s All-Time Career Points Leader. She was just one point away after her big performance against UNLV. She passes up 2014 UNM Hall of Honor inductee Tania Gooley, who was at the match to see it happen. Riddle has a total of 1,838 points with four matches left at UNM. Riddle is the all-time attempts leader and points leader and is still chasing the kills record. She is within reach of Gooley’s all-time kill record, just 23 kills away. She is also just 64 kills away from the Mountain West record. She has a total of 1,557 kills in her career and 375 this season.
LOBOS IN THE NATION…For the season, the Lobos are hitting .215. The Lobos are fifth in the nation in blocks per set at 3.06. They also rank fourth in total team blocks with 302.5 blocks this season. The other top 10 category for the Lobos is opposing hitting percentage. The Lobos rank 10th as they hold their opponents to a .146 hitting percentage per match. Senior Chantale Riddle had been a huge threat in the national ranks as well as she is in the top 50 of three different categories. She ranks 34th in blocks per set at 1.32, 24th in total blocks with 128 and 40th in points per set at 4.70.
LOBOS IN THE CONFERENCE…In the conference the Lobos are ranked in the top 2 in two categories. They are ranked second with a .146 opposing hitting percentage and second in blocks per set at 3.06. In conference matches only, the Lobos rank first in digs per set with 16.54, second in blocks with 3.07per set and second in opposing hitting percentage at .157. Riddle is ranked in two categories for all matches. She is first in points with 4.70 per set, second in kills with 3.87 kills per set. Johnson is first in double-doubles with 15. For conference matches only, Riddle is first in two categories with eight double-doubles which also ties with Johnson. She is first with 4.80 points per set. She is first in kills per set with 4.07.
JOHNSON MOVES UP TO 6TH ALL-TIME IN CAREER ASSISTS…With a total of 983 assists on the season, Hannah Johnson is now 8th on the all-time career assists lists. She has a career total of 2,849 assists. She passed up Karen Saavedra-Warnock (1985-88).
ALL ABOUT THAT DOUBLE-DOUBLES…Junior Hannah Johnson has been a double-double machine this season with a total of 15 which ranks first in the MW. Last week, she recorded two more. Against UNLV, she had ca career-high of 65 assists and career-high of 18 digs. Against San Diego State, she had 50 assists and 16 digs.