MATCH vs FURMAN (PDF) | MATCH vs USC UPSTATE (PDF)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.— A match after the New Mexico Lobos captured a comeback fifth-set victory against North Florida, the Lobos found themselves on the other side of the column in the early morning Saturday match against the Furman Paladins.
The pattern of the two matches were identical, with UNM winning the opening set, dropping sets two and three, before fighting to force a fifth set with a late fourth set win. However, on this day, the Lobos couldn’t find the same result in the decisive set, with Furman taking the match 16-25, 25-22, 25-16, 22-25, 15-9.
Three Lobos registered double-doubles with Sabrina Bianco (23 assists, 11 digs), Lauren Twitty (11 kills, 12 digs) and Tai Bierria (13 kills, match- and season-high 20 digs). Mariessa Carrasco had a season-high in kills with 10, hitting .455 (10-0-22), as well as a team- and career-high three service aces. Carly Beddingfield also reached double-digit kills, tying Bierria for the match high with 13, tying a career high for the senior, and had a team-high hitting percentage of .462 (13-1-26). She also had a career-high six digs. Victoria Spragg led the team in blocks with one solo and four assisted.
Furman held the lead in kills (60-57), assists (57-49), digs (73-72) and service aces (9-7), outhitting New Mexico .250 to .223 in the almost 2-hour match.
The Lobos started off the match with the momentum, getting off to a good start in the match with a convincing opening set victory, but the Paladins managed to gain the edge with a close second set victory that turned into an identical score as the first set in favor of Furman. UNM mustered the grit to come out on top in the fourth set, and Twitty tallied three early kills to keep the Lobos in it before Furman went on a run to seal the set and match.
For the six time this season, the Lobos won the first set, with a previous record of 4-1 in such instances. After falling behind 6-4 early on in the first set, the Lobos rallied to score the next three points to take the 7-6 lead on an ace by Bianco and a Bierria kill. Back-to-back blocks, with Carrasco involved in both (Beddingfield and Twitty assisted), gave UNM the 11-9 advantage. Furman tied the set at 11, but New Mexico used a 5-0 run with kills by Carrasco, Beddingfield, an ace from Bierria and a Twitty and Spragg combined block to build some separation. The lead grew to six four times late in the set, before UNM put it away with a 25-16 opening set victory, scoring the last four points of the set.
In the second frame, Furman took control early with a 10-5 lead, but UNM used a 5-0 run with an ace from Schreckler, kills by Spragg, Yasmin Tan and Bierria to even the set. Furman pulled back ahead 12-10, but followed with two errors to allow the Lobos to square the set at 12. The Paladins would go up by three at 17-14, but a Jaclyn Inclan ace, a Beddingfield kill and Paladin error evened the score at 17. Once again, the Lobos fell behind by three at 21-18 and again at 22-19 and 23-20, ultimately leading to the Paladins taking the set by three at 25-22.
Carrasco scored the first two points of the third set for the Lobos on a kill and an ace, however, Furman used an early 6-0 run to go in front 9-3. Spragg had back-to-back blocks (one solo, one assisted with Nicolette Clark) to try to spark the comeback that never quite came. UNM got back within three at 10-7 on consecutive kills by Clark and Bierria, but the Paladins’ lead would continue to grow to a 25-16 Furman win and a 2-1 advantage in the match.
Much like sets two and three, Furman got out to an early lead at 4-1, and like the second set, once again the Lobos clawed back to tie the set at six on a Twitty kill. A Carrasco ace gave UNM the 8-7 lead, which would grow to two on a kill by Spragg. Furman tied the set at nine, but New Mexico responded with the next two points to go back in the lead. There would be another tie at 11, and again at 12, 13 and 14 before UNM was able to capture a 16-14 advantage. Furman used a 3-1 run to tie the set at 17, to which UNM scored the next three points for the three-point margin at 20-17. Furman got as close as one at 21-20, but a ball handling error by Furman and a Spragg kill gave the Lobos set point at 24-21. Tan put the finishing touch on the set with a kill to the back right corner to give the Lobos the set and force a fifth set.
Facing a fifth set for the second match in-a-row, the Lobos scored the first point of the set on a Twitty kill. However, Furman took the next three points before Twitty brought the Lobos back within one at 4-3 with two more kills. The Paladins stretched the lead to 7-3. UNM got as close as two at 10-8, but Furman closed the match winning five of the final six points for the 15-9 set win and the 3-2 match win.
GAME TWO:
The University of New Mexico Lobos closed out the UNF Invitational with a 25-23, 25-21, 23-25, 25-19 victory over USC Upstate.
With the win, UNM improves to 5-4 on the season after going 2-1 on the weekend.
Lauren Twitty had 22 kills and 14 digs, while Tai Bierria had a season-high 20 kills and 12 digs to lead the Lobos to the four-set win. Bierria hit a team-high .472 in the match with 20 kills and three errors on 36 attacks. Sabrina Bianco added 37 assists to her weekend total to lead UNM and Victoria Spragg and Mariessa Carrasco each had four assisted blocks to lead in the category.
UNM held the advantage in kills (65-53), assists (57-51), digs (64-59), service aces (4-3) and total blocks (8-7), while outhitting the Spartans .307 to .227.
The Lobos scored the first two points of the match on back-to-back kills by Twitty. USC Upstate evened the set at three. The set would have ties at three, seven and eight before Clark tallied her first kill of the match to give the Lobos the 9-8 lead. New Mexico pulled ahead 11-8, but USC Upstate tied the set at 11. There were two final ties 12 and 15 before back-to-back blocks by Spragg and Twitty and Spragg and Clark gave the Lobos a three-point cushion at 18-15. The lead would grow to five at 20-15, but the Spartans would climb back into the set to take a 21-20 lead. The Lobos tied the set at 21 before taking a 22-21 lead. A Twitty kill followed by a Bierria kill gave UNM set point at 24-22, to which USC Upstate fought off. Bierria gave the Lobos the final point with her sixth kill of the set, securing the 25-23 opening set win. The Lobos outhit the Spartans .390 to .216 with 19 kills in the set.
In the second set, the Lobos again started with the first two points of the set, and again, there were ties at three and four. New Mexico built a four-point lead at 9-5 on the backs of kills by Spragg and Beddingfield and a Carrasco ace. After USC Upstate cut the lead in half, Spragg answered with a kill followed by a Bierria ace to create the four-point separation again. The lead would get as close as one at 12-11. A 4-0 run extended the lead to 16-11 with kills from Clark, Spragg and Twitty. The Lobos held a 19-14 lead, however, the Spartans fought back with a run of their own to close within one again at 19-18. Bierria and Beddingfield had two-consecutive kills to give the Lobos breathing room at 21-18. The Lobos stretched the lead to 23-19 and a Bierria kill gave the Lobos set point at 24-20. Spragg finished the set with a kill, allowing UNM to take the 25-21 set victory and a 2-0 match lead.
UNM scored the first two points again to open set number three, with USC Upstate ending up tying the set at two and at three. This time, it was the Spartans who created separation, using a 5-0 run to pull ahead 8-3. USC Upstate stretched the lead to six at 12-6, when New Mexico answered with a Twitty kill, followed by a Schreckler ace and a Spartans attack error to cut the deficit in half. Another run by the Spartans put the Lobos behind 22-13, with UNM responding with three-straight points on kills by Twitty and Bierria. USC Upstate had set point at 24-18, which UNM fought off five times with kills from Twitty and Carrasco, and a Carrasco and Beddingfield block. The Spartans got the final point on set point attempt number six to take the set by the score of 25-23 and extend the match.
Unlike the first three sets, USC Upstate got out to an early 3-1 lead, and it was the Lobos who responded to tie the set at three. The Lobos then used a 4-0 run to create a 8-5 lead. The Lobos’ 10-6 lead would dwindle into a tied set at 10. A Twitty ace followed by a Bierria kill and a Beddingfield and Carrasco block helped spur another 4-0 run to give the Lobos a 15-12 lead. Back-to-back kills by Bierria extended the lead to five at 19-14. Spragg and Twitty record kills down the stretch, including back-to-back kills by Twitty, pushed the lead to 22-17 UNM. The Lobos would get set point on a Spartan attack error and a Bierra kill would cap off the set and the match for UNM with the 25-19 victory.
At the conclusion of the tournament, the Lobos finished runner-up to Furman after going 2-1, and Twitty and Spragg were both named to the all-tournament team. Twitty led the Lobos in several categories, including kills (56), digs (42) and points (63.5), while also having 10 blocks (second-most on the team), two service aces, three double-doubles and hitting .272. Spragg had a team-high 14 blocks (one solo, 13 assisted) as well as a team-high .370 hitting percentage. She recorded 23 kills and accounted for 30.5 points for the Lobos in the three matches.
Next up for the Lobos is the Husker Invite, in Lincoln, Neb., against Missouri State, Central Michigan and nationally ranked Nebraska.