LARAMIE, Wyo.— Less than a month after the New Mexico volleyball team pushed the Wyoming Cowgirls to five sets in Albuquerque, the Cowgirls completed the season sweep with a three-set victory on Thursday night at the UniWyo Sports Complex.
The Lobos fell to the Cowgirls 19-25, 21-25, 15-25, in a match where there were six ties but the Lobos held the lead just once.
Victoria Spragg led the Lobos in kills, hitting percentage and blocks, with eight kills, a .357 hitting percentage and four total blocks on one solo and three assisted. Jaclyn Inclan and Sabrina Bianco accounted for all but three of the team’s assists in the match, with 13 and 10, respectively. The 26 assists in the match was the lowest output by the Lobos this season.
Mercedes Pacheco was the only Lobo to reach double figures in digs with 11, a match high, which marks the ninth consecutive match that the senior libero has recorded double digits in the category.
The Lobos tallied three service aces from Bianco, Inclan and Mariessa Carrasco, as UNM held the 3-2 edge in the category.
On the night, UNM posted a season-low 26 kills and a season-low hitting clip of -.022, while Wyoming recorded 17 total blocks to limit the Lobos.
UNM trailed 6-4 through the first 10 points of the first set, but rallied to tie the set at seven behind a Spragg kill, a Spragg and Lauren Twitty block and a Cowgirl attack error. However, Wyoming regained the lead and proceeded to score six of the next seven point, including a 4-0 run, to pull in front 13-8, which ended on a Carrasco kill. The Cowgirls then stretch the lead to seven at 16-9 with a mini 3-0 run. The Lobos got the three points back on a kill by Twitty, a Carrasco and Tai Bierria block and a Nicolette Clark kill, but the Cowgirls negated that with another 3-0 run that made it 19-12. The margin grew to eight at 21-13 and again at 22-14, to which the Lobos were able to cut down to 22-17 on a Spragg kill, a Twitty and Spragg block and a Cowgirl attack error, before UNM eventually dropped the set, 25-19. The Lobos were led offensively by Spragg and Bierria, who had three kills each, with Spragg hitting .500. Spragg also had two total blocks, both assisted with Twitty, and Rachel Murphy registered a solo block.
The Lobos fell behind again in the second set, 4-1, before UNM used a 3-0 run to tie the set at four on a Cowgirl service error and a kill apiece by Bierria and Spragg. Another service error by Wyoming created another tie at five before the Cowgirls won the next two points to retake the lead and ultimately used a 6-2 run to create separation at 11-7. The Lobos won consecutive points to cut the deficit in half at 11-9, but another 6-2 run by the Cowgirls put the home team in front 17-11. The Lobos had a 4-0 run that cut the 21-13 deficit to four at 21-17, but four was as close as UNM was able to get in the set. Spragg registered a solo block late in the set and tallied a kill that helped UNM fight off set point, but Wyoming won the second set, 25-21. The Lobos were aided in the second frame by seven service errors from the Cowgirls, as the Lobos tallied just eight kills, one service ace from Bianco and one total block from Spragg in the set.
Bierria opened the third set with a kill to give UNM its first lead of the match. There were ties at one and two before Wyoming pulled ahead 5-2, which later increased to a five-point margin at 9-4. A Carrasco block with Bierria followed by a Spragg and Inclan block, a Spragg kill and a Carrasco service ace brought UNM within one at 9-8, but Wyoming got the momentum back to create separation at 13-8. An Inclan ace cut the deficit to three at 13-10, which was the closest the Lobos got to the Cowgirls. A 4-0 run late in the set increased Wyoming’s lead from seven to 10 (19-12 to 22-12), and although UNM scored three more points on a Danica Rowan kill, a Cowgirl attack error and a Twitty kill, the Cowgirls took the third set, 25-15, to win the match in three.
UNM closes its regular season on Saturday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. at Colorado State. The Rams enter the match 23-6 overall and 15-2 in the Mountain West, after defeating UNLV in three sets on Thursday.