ARLINGTON, Texas — Devanne Sours and Victoria Spragg both posted career highs in kills and freshman Lauren Twitty added a double-double to power the University of New Mexico volleyball team to a 3-2 victory over UTEP Saturday afternoon.
After taking a 2-0 lead in the match, the Lobos (9-4) weathered a comeback attempt by the Miners (2-9), eventually prevailing in the fifth set for a 25-14, 25-21, 26-28, 23-25, 15-7 win to cap the UT Arlington Invitational at College Park Center in Arlington.
“We made some changes in game three and struggled to stay on track,” 10th-year New Mexico head coach Jeff Nelson said. “I’m glad to get the win and be moving forward.”
The Lobos finished 3-1 on the weekend and avenged their five-set loss to Samford Saturday morning with a tense but ultimately successful five-set win vs. UTEP.
Spragg and Sours both earned UT Arlington Invitational All-Tournament honors — the first such honor this season for both — and they each cemented their plaudits after leading UNM against UTEP.
Sours tied her career high with 22 kills, adding two service aces and nine digs. Spragg finished with a career-best 13 kills, hitting .522, and added three blocks.
Spragg’s .522 success rate (13 kills and one error on 23 attempts) is the best since Sours hit .536 last October against San Jose Staté.
The Lobos also received strong contributions from Twitty, who finished with 11 kills and career bests in digs (11), blocks (3) and aces (4), and Mariessa Carrasco, who logged six kills and three blocks.
“Dev, Vic and Mariessa were really good the entire match,” Nelson said. “We also got some solid play out of Lauren Twitty.”
Cassie House added nine kills and Carson Heilborn compiled 45 assists, while the defense was anchored by Ashley Kelsey’s 14 digs.
Overall, New Mexico outperformed UTEP offensively, with more kills (72 to 55), assists (65 to 53) and aces (nine to two). The Lobos also outhit the Miners, .290 to .219.
After trading points early, the Lobos took control of the first set, uncorking an 8-1 run to turn a 4-3 game into a 12-4 UNM lead lead. New Mexico would continue to build its lead up to 15-6, and endured a 3-1 UTEP spurt to take a 21-11 lead.
The Miners would take a timeout, but the Lobos continued to score, claiming the opening frame 25-14 on a House kill.
Sours and Spragg led the way in the opening frame, tallying five and four kills, respectively. UNM hit .406 in the set with just three errors, while holding the Miners to just a .143 success rate.
New Mexico came out strong in set two, jumping to a 12-4 lead behind kills by Sours, House and Spragg. The Lobos would expand their lead to nine at 18-9, but UTEP started to creep back, cutting UNM’s lead to four points at 23-19.
But a pair of late kills by Twitty and a set-winning spike by Sours gave UNM the set, 25-21.
Sours logged seven of her kills in the second set, while Twitty and House notched four apiece.
The Lobos posted another strong start in set three, scoring four straight points behind Sours and Twitty to move up 8-5. UTEP would tie the set at 12-all, but UNM retook a four-point lead at 16-12 to force a Miner timeout.
However, both teams started to play point for point, with 15 ties in the set. UNM eventually got a shot at match point, but UTEP held off the Lobos three times, scoring the final three points of the set for a 28-26 win.
UTEP’s offense started producing in the third set, hitting .349. UNM managed to produce at a .233 clip, receiving multiple kills from Sours, Spragg and Twitty.
Set four saw New Mexico take the early 6-4 lead, but the Miners rattled off a 7-1 run to seize an 11-7 lead. The Lobos would draw even with UTEP at 15-all and then again at 19-all, even taking a two-point lead at 22-20.
But the Miners responded with a 5-1 run to win 25-23. UTEP hit near .350 again, converting a .345 attack percentage. Six Lobos had a least two kills in the set, but late errors foiled UNM.
New Mexico finally decided to finish off UTEP in the fifth set, claiming a 3-0 lead after a trio of Miner attack errors. UNM would build its lead to 11-5 to force a UTEP timeout, and the Lobos would score four of the final six points to win set five 15-7 and the match 3-2.
Spragg registered three errorless kills in the final frame.
The Lobos return to action next Thursday, September 22, when they open Mountain West play against Air Force at Johnson Center in Albuquerque. The match is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Fans can follow @UNMVolley on Twitter and Instagram for information and updates on the team!