Lobos Sweep Youngstown State to Open Glory Road Invite
EL PASO, Texas — The University of New Mexico volleyball team opened the Glory Road Invitational with a sweep, defeating Youngstown State 25-19, 25-20, 25-16 Friday afternoon inside Memorial Gym.
Behind a career-high 13 kills from freshman Hailey Rubino and strong performances across the board, the Lobos (3-1) registered their third sweep and handed the Penguins (4-1) their first loss of the young season.
“We started a little slow, but by the middle of game one were firing a little better,” UNM head coach Jeff Nelson said. “After that, it was pretty solid the rest of the way. … Overall, it was a very good start to the tournament and a good morning match for us.”
Rubino paced New Mexico with 13 kills, four more than her previous career high of nine set last week at Iowa State. But she wasn’t the only Lobo producing offensively, as four other players finished with at least five putaways.
Middle blocker Mariessa Carrasco tallied nine kills on a .471 hitting percentage, while Lauren Twitty and Victoria Spragg both finished with seven kills. Spragg also had three total blocks, while Twitty notched five digs.
Carly Beddingfield rounded out the Lobos’ offense, posting a season-best five kills on 10 attempts for an even .500 hitting percentage.
Carson Heilborn finished with a game-high 34 assists and nine digs to key UNM, with Ashley Kelsey’s 20 digs leading the team’s defense.
Mercedes Pacheco also contributed with eight digs and a career-high three aces. Her previous career best in aces was one, achieved six times.
The Lobos notch their third sweep of 2017 as freshmen Hailey Rubino leads UNM over Youngstown State! #GoLobos #UNMatched pic.twitter.com/Xyg8XXYFuR
— New Mexico Volleyball (@UNMLoboVB) September 1, 2017
“Our floor defense was very good,” Nelson said. “Ashley Kelsey played very well again in the backcourt along with Mercedes Pacheco. Hailey Rubino and Mariessa Carrasco led the way offensively.”
As a team, the Lobos hit .320 (43 kills and 11 errors on 100 attempts), easily their best of the season.
The team’s .320 clip was its best since hitting .346 vs. UT Arlington last September, while the team’s 11 attack errors were the team’s fewest since posting 10 vs. San Jose State in 2015.
New Mexico also held Youngstown State to a .140 hitting percentage, while recording advantages in assists (41 to 30), aces (seven to three) and digs (52 to 39).
Both teams opened the match evenly with seven ties through 24 serves, but Youngstown State gained a three-point margin at 15-12. However, the Lobos responded with a 7-0 run fueled by multiple kills from Beddingfield and Carrasco run to take a decisive 19-15 lead.
After a 4-1 spurt, the Penguins would draw to within one point at 20-19, but the Lobos finished with the final five points of the set for a 25-19 win.
Rubino posted six of her 13 kills in the opening stanza, with Spragg and Carrasco each logging four apiece as UNM hit .356. Kelsey racked up 14 digs, as well, to open the match.
The second set also opened closely, with both teams fighting back and forth. The Lobos would draw ahead 10-7 after a Twitty kill and consecutive YSU errors, only to have the Penguins knot it up at 10.
A 6-2 run gave New Mexico an insurmountable lead at 18-13, which was enough to withstand a push by Youngstown State at 19-18. Another 6-2 stretch by UNM finished the set off in favor of the Lobos, 25-20.
Neither team hit particularly well in the frame, with UNM converting at just a .069 rate (nine kill, seven errors, 20 attacks). But Youngstown State was significantly worse, hitting -.172 (6-11-29).
With a 2-0 lead in the match, the Lobos came out firing the third set, racing to a 5-2 lead after three straight Twitty kills. A 7-2 run put New Mexico up 12-6, and the Penguins would score successive points just once more in the set en route to a 25-16 UNM win.
The Lobos finished hitting .538 in the set (15-1-26), their best single-set hitting percentage since hitting .696 last November at Wyoming. Twitty had five of her kills in the set.
New Mexico returns to action later Friday as it faces tournament host UTEP at 7:30 p.m. MT.
NOTES: This match marked the first career appearances for freshmen Yasmin Tan, Danica Rowan and Kayla Long … Freshman Nicolette Clark posted her first career kill in the third set … UNM improves to 2-0 all-time vs. Youngstown State … New Mexico is undefeated in daytime matches this season
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