New Mexico Corrals Colorado Mesa 5-0 in Home Debut
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — In their first home match of the season, the Lobos made sure to give their fans a good show.
The University of New Mexico beach volleyball team dispatched Colorado Mesa 5-0 in the team’s home debut, earning the team’s sixth sweep of the season in front of a capacity crowd at Lucky 66 Bowl in Albuquerque.
Behind a strong and cohesive attack across the board, the Lobos (9-9) had little trouble with the Mavericks (4-9), sweeping four of the five scoring courts and the exhibition court as the team registered its sixth win in its last eight matches.
“I’m really happy with the way we came out,” New Mexico head coach Jeff Nelson said. “I thought we came out and played good ball all the way through the lineup today. Last time we played them, we dropped a point, but we won all six matches today.”
After logging a 4-1 win over Colorado Mesa in the team’s first matchup of the season on March 4 in Phoenix, the Lobos managed to capture the sweep in their second encounter.
With the win, New Mexico improves to 5-0 all-time vs. the Mavericks and will look for the season sweep in Saturday’s match.
“I thought we got up and stayed up,” Nelson said of the Lobos’ performance. “Even in those few games where we were close, we stayed even and got them in the end. We never really got down. It was nice to see everyone come out and just go after it.”
Along with the strong showing in the sand, UNM also received a strong showing from its hometown fans, as the bleachers and tables at Lucky 66 Bowl were filled with supporters.
In just the ninth home match in program history, the Lobos fed off — and provided — the energy of the crowd, rolling to their seventh straight home win.
“The other thing that was great was the huge crowd,” Nelson said. “The bleachers were full, people were having a good time, a lot of cheering was really great. That part was awesome and I was happy to see that. I’m glad people got to see a lot of good ball.”
Devanne Sours & Lise Rugland provided some of that good ball for the crowd, winning the No. 2 court (the closest to the fans) 21-15, 21-6 over Erin Perez & Megan Gianinetti. With the win, the Lobo duo put UNM up 1-0 in the dual.
Sours & Rugland improved to 13-5 on the season and have won nine of their last 11 matches.
Next to finish was the tandem of Jackie Baro & Carly Beddingfield, who rallied for a 18-21, 21-16, 15-10 win over Kricket Adleman & Hana Peterman on the No. 4 court. It was the tandem’s first win since March 11, a span of six matches.
After the switch to the second flight of courts, New Mexico kept up the intensity, storming to straight-set sweeps on the 1’s, 3’s and 5’s court.
Marisa Doran & Eastyn Baleto clinched the win with a 21-14, 21-10 victory over CMU’s Hattie Gianinetti & MacKenzie Edwards on the No. 4 court, their seventh win in their last eight games.
Julia Warren & Lauren Twitty ran their winning streak to four straight with a win on the 5’s court, defeating Samantha Ritter & Katie Scherr 21-16, 21-15. Cassie House & Ashley Kelsey sealed the sweep with a 21-18, 21-15 win over Abby Ney & Taylor Woods on the 1’s court, again providing the fans with a good show.
“Devanne, Lise, Cassie and AK provided some real highlights on the first court here for people with a lot of oo’s and ahh’s for people,” Nelson said.
On the exhibition court, the Lobos’ Emily Nenninger & Chloe Crappell topped Julia Baskin & Lindy Dixon 21-8, 21-11.
The Lobos are back in action at 11 a.m. MT Saturday as they return to Lucky 66 Bowl to face Colorado Mesa.
New Mexico 5, Colorado Mesa 0
1. Cassie House & Ashley Kelsey (UNM) def. Abby Ney & Taylor Woods (CMU) 21-18, 21-15
2. Lise Rugland & Devanne Sours (UNM) def. Erin Perez & Megan Gianinetti (CMU) 21-15, 21-6
3. Marisa Doran & Eastyn Baleto (UNM) def. Hattie Gianinetti & MacKenzie Edwards (CMU) 21-14, 21-10
4. Carly Beddingfield & Jackie Baro (UNM) def. Kricket Adleman & Hana Peterman (CMU) 18-21, 21-16, 15-10
5. Lauren Twitty & Julia Warren (UNM) def. Samantha Ritter & Katie Scherr (CMU) 21-16, 21-15
EX. Emily Nenninger & Chloe Crappell (UNM) def. Julia Baskin & Lindy Dixon (CMU) 21-8, 21-11
Order of Finish: 2, 4, 3*, 5, 1
*Cinched dual win
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