New Mexico Loses Close Match to Boise State
BOISE, Idaho— The Saturday afternoon match between New Mexico and Boise State had three close sets with unfortunately the Lobos falling on the wrong end of the point total in the 26-28, 22-25, 21-25 setback.
Lauren Twitty and Mariessa Carrasco each had nine kills to lead New Mexico, and Jaclyn Inclan recorded 16 assists to lead the team. Mercedes Pacheco had a team-high 18 digs and Carly Beddingfield was a force at the net with a solo block and three assisted blocks to lead the defense. Twitty led the team with three of the team’s six service aces.
In the first set, Boise State scored the first three points of the match, two of which came on service aces, before Carrasco got the Lobos on the board with a kill. The Broncos’ lead grew to 6-1, which the Lobos were able to cut the deficit to two at 6-4 on a Twitty ace. BSU responded with an 8-3 run, including two, 3-0 runs, to take a 14-7 lead. Three kills by Twitty and a Pacheco ace helped spur a 6-0 run by New Mexico to cut the margin to one at 14-13. UNM fought back to tie the set at 16 and proceeded to take its first lead of the set on the next play with a kill from Beddingfield. There would be a tie at 17 before Carrasco gave the lead right back to the Lobos with her fourth kill of the set. The Lobos led by two at 19-17, but the Broncos answered with the next two points to create another tie at 19. There was a final tie at 20 before a Nicolette Clark kill and a Victoria Spragg and Twitty block gave New Mexico a two-point advantage. Two kills by Twitty gave the Lobos set point at 24-22, but the Broncos fought off two set points to tie the set at 24 and fought off another set point to tie the set at 25 before they forced set point on the Lobos. Tai Bierria knotted the set at 26 with a kill, but that was the last point the Lobos scored in the set, dropping the opening set by the score of 28-26. Twitty had seven kills in the frame to lead the team, while Sabrina Bianco had a team-high eight assists, Pacheco had a team-high eight digs and Spragg had two assisted blocks. Twitty and Pacheco also each had service aces.
The second set had a role reversal, with UNM getting out to an early 3-0 lead with an ace from Bianco and two BSU errors. Boise State went on to tie the set at four and took the lead on the following point, eventually building a 9-5 lead. BSU’s lead expanded to seven at 15-8, but once again, UNM fought back into the set to close within two at 20-18 using a 10-5 run. The Broncos scored four of the next six points to reach set point at 24-20. Kills by Spragg and Twitty allowed the Lobos to fight off two set points before the Broncos tallied the necessary point for the 25-22 win. Spragg had three kills to lead the Lobos in the frame, while Pacheco had a team-high four digs. Inclan had five of UNM’s six assists in the set, while Beddingfield had a solo block and two assisted blocks, combining with Carrasco on both.
Two Carrasco kills and a Twitty ace helped the Lobos to once again take an early lead at 3-1, but like set number two, the Broncos were able to tie the set at four. UNM used a 4-0 run to take a 12-7 lead, but BSU was able to close the gap and tie the set at 13. Nicolette Clark’s kill allowed the Lobos to retake the lead temporarily before the Broncos tallied the next five points for the 18-14 advantage. UNM rallied with a 3-0 run to close within one, however, BSU scored the next two points to push the lead back. The margin grew to five at 23-18 after a 3-0 run, which got down to 23-20 with two-straight point by New Mexico. Bierria was able to register her fourth kill of the set and seventh kill of the match to fight off set point for the Lobos at 24-21, however, the Broncos notched the next point to take the 25-21 set win and the match.Bierria and Carrasco each had four kills for New Mexico, with Bianco adding six assists. Pacheco tallied six more digs to her afternoon’s total and Spragg and Twitty combined for one final block. Makayla Tam and Twitty both had a service ace in the set.
The Lobos’ next game is at home against UNLV on Wednesday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. The game will be a white out game, with all fans in attendance encouraged to wear white. The first 400 fans will receive a free white out t-shirt.