New Mexico Falls to Utah 3-2 in Season Finale
TUCSON, Ariz. — The University of New Mexico beach volleyball team wrapped up its 2018 campaign on Saturday morning, battling Utah in its season finale before ultimately falling 3-2 at the Bear Down Bash.
Despite some solid performances from a handful of pairs, including wins by Eastyn Baleto & Lauren Twitty and Chloe Crappell & Yasmin Tan, the Lobos (9-14) couldn’t overcome the Utes (4-10) at Bear Down Beach in Tucson.
The match wraps up a solid 2018 campaign for New Mexico, which saw the fourth-year program hone a roster that entered the season with seven newcomers.
That rebuild project — which came on the heels of back-to-back 17-win season — started slowly over the opening weeks of the season as UNM played nine matches against team either ranked or receiving votes in the national polls.
But New Mexico played some of its best volleyball late in year, winning seven of its final 12 matches.
The Lobos’ final contest proved to be another challenge. Utah, competing out of the deep and talented Pac-12, played tournament host and 14th-ranked Arizona closely on Friday night, falling to the Wildcats by a final score of 3-2.
UNM put up a strong fight against the Utes, earning a pair of wins on the Nos. 1 and 3 courts. Both of those courts were helmed by the team’s two four-year seasons in Baleto and Crappell.
At the No. 2 position, Baleto & Twitty outdueled Bailey Choy & Tawnee Luafalemana in three sets, winning 21-10, 17-21, 15-7.
They finished the season with a 14-6 record, good for the most wins on the team this season and tied for the seventh-most single-season wins by a pair in program history.
Baleto finished her career with 66 career wins, tops all-time at UNM, while racking up 16 wins on the season, good for sixth-most single-season wins by an individual.
Twitty also earned her 32nd career win, which is tied for sixth all-time.
Crappell & Tan also captured a back-and-forth three-set affair at the No. 3 court, rallying past Kenzie Koerber & Melissa Powell to win 19-21, 21-15, 15-10.
The Lobo tandem finished the season with a 9-9 record, as Crappell ended her UNM career ranked ninth in program history with 22 career wins.
However, the Lobos wouldn’t get any further on the scoreboard.
UNM had a chance for a win on the top-seeded court, but Maddie Irwin & Erin Martin lost a tightly contested three-setter to Adora Anae & Dani Barton 18-21, 21-19, 15-13.
It was Irwin & Martin’s seventh three-set match of the season, the most on the team in 2018.
Despite the loss, Irwin & Martin finished the season with 13 wins together, good for 10th in program history in single-season pairs wins.
Elsewhere, Carly Beddingfield & Mercedes Pacheco fell 21-11, 21-12 to Lauga Gauta & Berkeley Oblad on the No. 4 court, while Kayla Long & Abbey Willison dropped a 21-15, 21-15, contest to Brianna Doehrmann & Lauren Sproule on the No. 5 court.
Utah 3, New Mexico 2
1. Adora Anae & Dani Barton (UU) def. Erin Martin/Maddie Irwin (UNM) 18-21, 21-19, 15-13
2. Lauren Twitty/Eastyn Baleto (UNM) def. Bailey Choy & Tawnee Luafalemana (UU) 21-10, 17-21, 15-7
3. Chloe Crappell/Yasmin Tan (UNM) def. Kenzie Koerber & Melissa Powell (UU) 19-21, 21-15, 15-10
4. Lauga Gauta & Berkeley Oblad (UU) def. Mercedes Pacheco/Carly Beddingfield (UNM) 21-11, 21-12
5. Brianna Doehrmann & Lauren Sproule (UU) def. Kayla Long/Abbey Willison (UNM) 21-15, 21-15
Order of finish: 4, 5, 1, 2, 3
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