ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— After leading two sets to none going into the third set, the University of New Mexico Lobos dropped a heartbreaker in five sets on Senior Day at the Johnson Center.
Lauren Twitty recorded her 10th kill of the match in the second set to give the Lobos a 25-23 set win and a 2-0 lead in the match, and the San Diego State Aztecs committed an attack error to give UNM two match points in the fourth set at 24-22, but the Lobos couldn’t close out the Aztecs in the fourth before dropping the fifth and the match, 25-17, 25-23, 21-25, 24-26, 8-15.
The Lobos have played three, five-set matches in the last four matches, and now lost all three.
Twitty concluded the match with her second double-double of the week, her third consecutive, and the 13th on the year, tallying a match-high 19 kills to go with 13 digs. Twitty has had double figures in kills in the last seven matches. Senior Mercedes Pacheco had her fourth 20-plus dig match in-a-row, setting a career high against the Aztecs with a match-high 26. Pacheco and Twitty each also recorded a service ace, as did Sabrina Bianco.
Bianco led the Lobos with 26 assists with Jaclyn Inclan tallying 22, as the duo accounted for 48 of the team’s 51 in the match.
Tai Bierria also registered double-digit kills in the match with 10, joining Twitty as the only two players to reach double digits for UNM.
Four Lobos tallied solo blocks, Twitty and seniors Victoria Spragg, Mariessa Carrasco and Carly Beddingfield, who returned to the lineup for the first time since Oct. 13 at Fresno State. Spragg finished with a team-high five total blocks on one solo and four assisted.
In the opening set, the Lobos fell behind 3-1 before tying the set at three on a Beddingfield kill and Aztec attack error. SDSU retook the lead on the next point and expanded its lead to four at 10-6. The Lobos cut the deficit in half with a Twitty kill and Aztec attack error that made it 11-9, however, the deficit grew back to three on a Lobo service error at 13-10. UNM used a 4- 0 from that point to take a 14-13 lead, its first lead of the match since Bierria opened up the match with a kill, which would ultimately turn into a 7-0 run and a 17-13 advantage for the Cherry and Silver. Bierria started the run with a kill, followed by a kill from Danica Rowan and a Spragg and Rowan block, before SDSU committed four consecutive attack errors. The Aztecs got a point back on a Lobo service error, but that was as close as the visitors would get before UNM closed on an 8-3 run to take the set, 25-17, including a 5-0 run that stretched the lead from 19-15 to 23-15. UNM outhit SDSU in the opening set .333 to -.034.
The second set had 13 ties and five lead changes as the Lobos took the second set, 25-23, with a late 5-3 run. San Diego State held the early lead through the first 10 points at 6-4. There were four ties in the first eight points, but each time, SDSU tallied the next point to regain the lead. An attack error by SDSU allowed UNM to tie the set at eight, and there would be two more ties at nine and 10 before Rowan’s kill gave UNM its first lead at 11-10. There were five more ties in the next nine points, when Twitty gave the Lobos a 16-15 lead that they would hold onto for the remainder of the set. San Diego State managed to tie the set at 20, but Bierria helped UNM regain the lead at 21-20 and an attack error by SDSU created a two-point separation. A Twitty kill gave UNM set point at 24-22 and after an Aztec fought it off, Twitty closed the set with another kill to seal the set at 25-23, giving UNM a 2-0 match lead. Twitty finished the set with seven kills and hit .385.
Beddingfield had two early kills in the third set to give UNM an early 3-1 lead, which the margin increased to five at 11-6 with a 3-0 run behind a Carrasco kill, a Twitty ace and an Aztec ball handling error. A kill by Bierria and another SDSU error pushed the lead to six at 13-7, but the Aztecs closed the gap to tie the set at 15 with an 8-2 run. Two Aztec attack errors made it 17-15 in favor of the Lobos, and the Lobos would lead 19-16 on a spectacular kill by Bianco in which she got the dig and then dove to save the ball off a Beddingfield deflection, managing to get the ball over the net, which dropped down in the corner for a Lobo point. However, the Aztecs then went on a 3-0 run to create a tie at 19. A Twitty kill put UNM back in front 21-20, but that was the last time the Lobos led as San Diego State went on a 4-0 run to gain set point at 24-20. A Carrasco kill fought it off, but SDSU took the next point to keep the match alive with the 25-21 set win.
S3 | KILL by Bianco!
The effort leads to the kill as Bianco gets the ball to fall for the Lobo point! pic.twitter.com/PSNnAhm5mY
— New Mexico Volleyball (@UNMLoboVB) November 10, 2018
There were 13 ties and seven lead changes in the fourth set, including four in the first 10 points, as the Lobos lost two match points and a late lead. The Lobos fell behind 10-6 before a Twitty kill and a Carrasco solo block trimmed the margin in half. A 4-0 Aztec run restored their four-point advantage at 14-10, to which the Lobos responded with a 4-0 run of their own with a Twitty kill and three attack errors by SDSU. There were ties at 15, 16, 17 and 19, at which point another Twitty kill put UNM in front 20-19. SDSU won the next point to create another tie, and there would be an exchange of points for the next four points to force two more ties at 21 and 22. Two Aztec errors gave UNM set and match point at 24-22, but SDSU fought it off twice to tie the set at 24 and proceeded to score the next two points to win the set, 26-24.
UNM fell behind 2-0 in the fifth set and never found the answer to tie the set as they dropped the set 15-8. The Lobos got within one six different times in the set, but were never able to find the equalizer. After cutting it down to 8-7 on a Twitty kill, the Aztecs rallied off the next five points to take control of the set at 13-7. An attack error by SDSU gave UNM a final point, but the Aztecs finished off the set with two kills to take the set and the match.
The Lobos close out the season on the road, with a Thursday night match at Wyoming, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. MT, before their regular-season finale at Colorado State on Saturday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m.