Rubino, Spragg Help Lead New Mexico Past UTEP
EL PASO, Texas — The last time New Mexico played UTEP in El Paso, they suffered just their second loss vs. the Miners in the last 37 years.
But, between superb play across the board, the Lobos did not let history repeat itself.
The University of New Mexico volleyball team defeated UTEP in straight sets on Friday night, earning its fourth sweep of the season as it defeated the host of the Glory Road Invitational by set scores of 25-22, 25-18, 25-22.
The Lobos (4-1) topped the Miners (0-4) behind a balanced attack, as freshmen Hailey Rubino logged a team-leading 12 kills, Victoria Spragg registered an errorless nine kills on 10 attempts and Lauren Twitty notched a double-double.
“It was a solid match with really strong performances from Vic and Hailey,” UNM coach Jeff Nelson said. “We also had great serving from Mercedes Pacheco. We did not play our best but UTEP is scrappy and tough and really stayed on us. Overall, it was a very good day.”
Coupled with a 3-0 win over Youngstown State earlier on Friday, the Lobos opened the Glory Road Invitational with two wins, both sweeps.
New Mexico has claimed the sweep in all four of its wins this season, the first time UNM has opened at least 4-1 with four sweeps since 2013.
Rubino’s efforts led the way Friday night in Memorial Gym, as the freshman outside hitter posted a game-high in kills (12) for the second straight match.
Her 12 kills are one off of her career high set earlier Friday vs. Youngstown State.
Twitty (11 kills, 12 digs) and Spragg (career-best .900 hitting percentage) also contributed offensively as the Lobos hit .238 (40 kills, 15 errors on 105 attempts).
The trio of Rubino, Twitty and Spragg combined for 32 of the Lobos’ 40 kills.
Carson Heilborn finished with 30 assists, while freshman Sarah Lobo tallied two aces.
Defensively, Ashley Kelsey collected 11 digs, with Twitty, Pacheco (nine), Heilborn (nine) and Rubino (eight) also contributing.
Freshmen Yasmin Tan tallied four blocks, teaming up with Spragg (three) and Mariessa Carrasco (three) to give UNM a 7-4 advantage at the net.
The Lobos ran out to a quick 7-3 lead on the Miners, relying on four early UTEP attack errors. The Miners would eventually draw even at 11-11, but UNM responded with a 4-0 run to gain a 16-12 lead.
UTEP would again equalize at 17-all, but the Lobos reeled out three straight points to claim a 19-16 lead that they would not relinquish. The Miners would get to within one point twice more, but a Rubino kill and another UTEP error gave the first set to New Mexico, 25-22.
Rubino and Carrasco both tallied three kills in the set, with Twitty recording six digs.
The second set opened evenly, with both teams tied at 4-4 early. A 6-2 run made it 9-6 in favor of UNM, and an 8-2 run fueled by three Rubino kills put New Mexico up 19-11.
The Miners would cut the Lobos’ lead to six points, but UNM would win the set 25-18 after three late UTEP service errors and a Spragg kill.
The Lobos hit .500 (14-3-22) in the set, with Spragg and Twitty both posting four putaways.
After intermission, UTEP moved out to a quick 3-1 lead, but New Mexico answered to take a 5-4 lead before uncorking a 6-2 run to claim an 11-7 advantage. The Miners cut the deficit to two points at 11-9, but UNM broke the set open with a 9-1 streak featuring four Twitty kills and back-to-back Sarah Lobo aces.
UTEP would eventually make it interesting late, coming to within five points at 21-16 and two points at 23-21, but a block and kill by Spragg sealed the set and match.
Rubino (six kills) and Twitty (five) helmed New Mexico’s offense in the third set, while UNM’s defense held UTEP to just a .114 (12-7-44) hitting percentage.
The Lobos close out the Glory Road Invitational vs. North Dakota, as they take on the Fighting Hawks at 11 a.m. MT. UND (7-1) has played three times this week, including two matches in Las Cruces and one in El Paso.
NOTES: The Lobos have played nothing but three-set matches through its first five matches this season, the first time they’ve done that since 2008, Nelson’s first year in Albuquerque … Spragg’s best career hitting performances have come against UTEP, including a .522 (13-1-23) performance last fall … New Mexico is now 35-8 all-time vs. the Miners, going 35-2 since 1980
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