PHOENIX — The University of New Mexico beach volleyball team splits its slate of matches on Sunday, falling 4-1 to No. 10 Grand Canyon before bouncing back with a 4-1 victory over San José State at the GCU Beach Courts.
The Lobos (4-3) put together solid results against the Lopes (6-1) and the Spartans (3-7) as Eastyn Baleto & Marisa Doran remained unbeaten and the Lobos recorded the most wins in a single season in the program’s two-year history.
“I’m really proud of our team effort and the great culture we are building with the sand team,” New Mexico head coach Jeff Nelson said. “The expectations are higher with each match.”
The Lobos, who went 3-11 in their inaugural season, surpassed their win total from 2016 behind solid play across the board, with Baleto & Doran providing more consistency from the No. 4 spot.
Overall, that duo has started 7-0 in 2016, setting the longest pairs winning streak in program history.
But they weren’t the only tandem to have success for the Lobos, who are receiving votes in the first regular-season DiG Magazine Beach Volleyball Poll.
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The pair of Hannah Johnson & Julia Warren moved to 4-3 on the season and UNM’s top two pairs switched partners en route to a pair of victories against the Spartans.
Ashley Kelsey & Cassie House, playing together in the No. 1 spot, and Devanne Sours & Lise Rugland, playing together in the No. 2 spot, helped power UNM vs. SJSU.
The Lobos round out their road trip Monday with a pair of matches against Irvine Valley College and MiraCosta College at the Newland Street Courts in Huntington Beach, Calif.
Match 1: No. 10 Grand Canyon 4, New Mexico 1
Grand Canyon, ranked 10th in the NCAA in the DiG Magazine poll, came into the match riding a three-match win streak, with their only loss coming to a top-five team in Florida State.
And while the Lobos gave the Lopes a battle, the more experienced hosts topped New Mexico 4-1.
Baleto & Doran put New Mexico on the board first, winning 25-23, 21-15 against Grand Canyon’s Brooke Razo & Kami Dickerson. It was their fourth straight-set sweep of their opponent to start 2016, and helped them claim the longest win streak by a pair at UNM.
Baleto and Warren teamed up to win five in a row to open last year.
The Lobos came close to going up 2-0 before the switch to the top courts, but Maddie Mayfield & Carson Heilborn couldn’t close out Chloe Jenkins & Rebecca Conrad on court five, falling 16-21, 21-13, 16-14.
New Mexico also had its chances in the No. 3 court as Johnson & Warren dropped a couple of exceptionally close sets, 21-19, 22-20, to Jordyn Sanchez & Emilee Erichsen.
On the top two courts, UNM tried out some new pairings, swapping the pairs from the opening weekend. After having both positions go 1-4 in the Lobos’ first five games, Nelson and his staff decided to shake things up vs. GCU.
The new tandems showed some promise, especially as House & Kelsey dueled the Lopes’ vaunted top pair of Mackenzie Phelps & Shannon Dugan en route to a 21-13, 21-19 loss.
Sours & Rugland fell 21-11, 21-10 to Aleksandra Wachowicz & Molly Turner in the No. 2 position.
Chloe Crappell & Sami Reynolds won on the exhibition court, beating Brandy Grant & Maggie DeMore 19-21, 21-13, 13-7.
Match 2: New Mexico 4, San José State 1
New Mexico didn’t have much time to regroup after falling to Grand Canyon as its match vs. San José State started right after.
But the Lobos rebounded quickly, defeating the Spartans in their first matchup against a fellow Mountain West program.
Although the MW doesn’t sponsor beach volleyball, Sunday’s match was the first chance for New Mexico to see where it stacks up against a peer institution. winning convincingly as the top four courts all went in UNM’s favor.
“It was a great match,” Nelson said. “We competed well and showed some great intensity versus a conference rival.”
Baleto & Doran got the Lobos off to a fast start as usual, topping the Spartans’ Julie Sam & Julia Golbeck 21-13, 21-15 on the No. 4 court.
With their second win of the day, the pair moved to 7-0 and is just one win from matching the most wins by a pair in an entire season. Baleto and Warren went 8-6 last season.
San José State managed to even up the match at 1-all after Giulia Gavio & Luiza Andrade beat Carson Heilborn & Maddie Mayfield 21-14, 21-15 at the fives position.
But after the switch to the top courts it was all New Mexico.
On the No. 2 court, Sours & Rugland has little problem with Allison Meehan & Jamie Hirai, winning 21-6, 21-16, while Johnson & Warren blew by Tyanna Roy & Lyndi Scholl 21-15, 21-10 on the No. 3 court.
On the exhibition court, SJSU’s Nandyala Gama & Mariana Mantellato defeated Allie Askew & Keaton Alley.