ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — It might have been her last match in Johnson Center, but Ashley Kelsey treated Monday’s Senior Night like a regular day in the office.
“I just wanted to go out there and act as if it was any other match with no pressure and just go out there and play,” the redshirt senior libero said.
And play she did.
Kelsey registered a game-high 16 digs to surpass the 1,500-career dig mark as she helped lead the University of New Mexico volleyball team to a 3-0 sweep of Mountain West rival UNLV on Senior Night in Johnson Center.
Along with Kelsey’s dazzling defensive efforts, the Lobos (16-15 overall, 7-10 MW) also earned solid performances across the board as they captured the 25-16, 25-20, 25-20 victory over the Rebels (8-21, 4-12) on Monday evening.
“I think the team did great,” Kelsey said. “I think everyone really came out energetic and really just wanted to pursue balls and really wanted to do well. I think that was our best team match in a while.”
Paced by a balanced attack and strong defense, New Mexico continued to fight through its season-closing stretch of five matches in seven days.
After dropping the first two matches of this run, the Lobos have won their last two matches to guarantee they’ll finish with at least a .500 record for the 10th time under 11-year head coach Jeff Nelson.
New Mexico get the Senior Night sweep, defeating UNLV in Ashley Kelsey’s final match in Johnson Center! #GoLobos #UNMatched pic.twitter.com/vwyt4BWcAL
— New Mexico Volleyball (@UNMLoboVB) November 14, 2017
New Mexico finishes its season Wednesday at Air Force.
But, on Senior Night, the Lobos goal was to send out Kelsey on a high note, something they accomplished with some gutsy play.
Hailey Rubino paced UNM’s offense with a match-best 13 kills, with Victoria Spragg and Carly Beddingfield adding seven each and Lauren Twitty and Mariessa Carrasco six apiece.
As a team, the Lobos finished with 39 kills, relying on Sarah Lobo’s match-high 36 assists to hit .173 against a stout UNLV block.
On the defensive end, New Mexico stifled UNLV, holding the visitors to just a .010 hitting percentage with 27 kills and 26 errors on 101 attempts.
Kelsey’s 16 digs helped UNM to that defense gem, and also elevated her in the team’s record books. She now owns 1,515 career digs, which moved her past Sharon Browning (1,504 career digs) for third in program history.
Twitty (nine digs) and Lobo (six) also contributed in the back row, with Carrasco and Spragg each logging four blocks at the net.
New Mexico opened the match on a roll, doubling up UNLV early at 8-4. The Rebels would get to within three points at 10-7, but the Lobos unleashed a 7-0 run to take a 10-point lead at 17-7.
That lead proved important as UNLV responded with their own 7-0 streak, but UNM answered that spurt with four straight points — including back-to-back Kelsey aces — to go up 21-14 en route to a 25-16 win.
The Lobos received six kills from Rubino, but it was the team’s defense that helped limited UNLV to just four kills in the set — the fewest scored by a UNM opponent in a single set this season. Kelsey also posted a career high-tying three aces in the set.
The second set started much more evenly with four ties through 12 serves, but New Mexico pulled ahead by five points at 11-6. UNLV would trim the lead to three at 12-9 before UNM broke the set open with a 6-1 run to go up 18-10.
However, the Rebels wouldn’t go quietly, climbing to within two points at 21-19. But, after a timeout, the Lobos scored four of the final five points of the set for a 25-20 win.
New Mexico hit .300 in the set (13-4-30), with Rubino notching four kills and Spragg and Beddingfield adding three each.
After intermission, both teams continued to trade punches, with UNM going up 9-5 early and UNLV rallying for an 11-10 lead. But the Lobos again used a timeout to their advantage, scoring six straight to go up 16-11.
The Rebels would cut UNM’s lead to three points a couple of times late, but it wasn’t enough as New Mexico translated a handful of UNLV errors and kills by Rubino and Twitty into a 25-20 win.
Four players — Spragg, Twitty, Rubino and Carrasco — had three kills in the set, but UNM’s success again came at the expense of UNLV’s offense, which hit .000 (10-10-40) in the set.
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