ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – After opening the 2018 volleyball season at the Idaho Volleyball Classic, the New Mexico volleyball team will host the Lobo Classic this Friday and Saturday at Dreamstyle Arena- The Pit. UNM will play two matches on Friday, with Eastern Kentucky at 12:45 p.m. and Florida Gulf Coast at 7:30 p.m. Saturday’s match against New Mexico State will be at 1 p.m. This will be the first time that New Mexico has played both Eastern Kentucky and Florida Gulf Coast.
Tickets will cost $5 a day.
Friday, Aug. 31 – 12:45 pm. vs EKU – LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
Friday, Aug. 31 – 7:30 pm. vs FGCU – LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
Saturday, Sept. 1 – 1 p.m. vs NMSU – LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
UNM NOTES | NMSU NOTES
New Mexico Opens Home Schedule with Lobo Classic
New Mexico volleyball plays its first home matches of the year this week as it hosts the Lobo Classic at Dreamstyle Arena- The Pit.
UNM welcomes in a trio of teams for the round-robin tournament as they play Eastern Kentucky and Florida Gulf Coast on Friday and New Mexico State on Saturday.
The Lobos are 50-15 (.769) in non-conference home tournaments under head coach Jeff Nelson. The Lobos’ most successful slate of home tournaments was in 2013, when they went 6-0.
In the past two seasons, UNM is 9-6 in non-conference tournaments (to date).
This will be the first meeting against Eastern Kentucky and Florida Gulf Coast.
Twitty Named to All-Tournament Team
Junior outside hitter Lauren Twitty earned a spot on the Idaho Volleyball Classic All-Tournament Team after leading the Lobos with 49 kills. The Broadlands, Va., native hit .213 on the weekend, while registering 3.77 kills per set.
Going the Distance
In the three matches played at the Idaho Volleyball Classic on opening weekend, the Lobos played five sets in two of them, going 1-1. UNM lost a late lead in the fifth set to fall to Grand Canyon University to open the tournament, but finished with a five-set victory against host Idaho.
Protecting Home Court
Last season, the Lobos went 7-6 in the Johnson Center, including a 2-1 record in the Lobo Classic. In the last five years, New Mexico is 52-24 (.684) at home, and 112-50 in head coach Jeff Nelson’s tenure.
Joining the Rankings
Lauren Twitty is third in the Mountain West with 3.77 k/s, totaling 49 kills in 13 sets.
Freshman Sabrina Bianco is ninth in assists per set in the Mountain West after the first weekend, with an average of 5.77. The Austin, Texas, setter leads the team with 75 assists, reaching 20-plus assists in each match thus far. In the last match at Idaho, Bianco tallied 30 assists.
Victoria Spragg has tallied 15 total blocks (three solo, 12 assisted) in 13 sets, placing the middle blocker eighth in the conference in blocks per set at 1.15.
I’ll Have the Double-Double, Please
Lauren Twitty (17 kills, 11 digs vs. GCU/ 20 kills, 14 digs at Idaho) registered two double-doubles in the first weekend of play. Tai Bierria (outside hitter) also registered two double-doubles in her first three appearances as a Lobo, tallying 11 kills and 12 digs versus Grand Canyon and 12 kills and 12 digs against Idaho.
Against Idaho, four Lobo players registered double-doubles. Sabrina Bianco had 30 assists and 12 digs, Jaclyn Inclan had 23 assists to go with 11 digs, in addition to Twitty’s 20 kills and 14 digs and Bierria’s 12 kills and 12 digs.