UNM Prevails in Five-Set Match at Air Force
USAF ACADEMY, Colo.— Behind a double-double from Victoria Spragg that included 11 kills and a career-high 12 blocks- two solo and 10 assisted, a double-double from Jaclyn Inclan, including season-bests of 14 digs and 32 assists, and a double-double from Mercedes Pacheco with a career-high 21 digs as well as a career-high 10 assists, the New Mexico Lobos came out on top of the hard-fought five-set match on Sunday afternoon at the Air Force Academy.
It marked the first double-double of the season for Spragg and Pacheco and the third for Inclan.
Spragg’s 10 assisted blocks and 12 total blocks not only are a career high for the Belen, N.M., native, but they also tie the school record for most block assists and total blocks in a single match by an individual under the 25-point rally scoring.
New Mexico improved to 9-7 and 3-1 in the Mountain West, while handing Air Force (12-5, 2-1 MW) its first conference loss of the season with the 19-25, 25-17, 25-18, 23-25, 15-11 match victory. The 3-1 conference start marks the best conference start for the Lobos since they started 4-0 in 2014.
Lauren Twitty and Tai Bierria had 18 and 17 kills, respectively, to lead the attack, with Twitty adding a solo block and four assisted blocks defensively to compliment Spragg at the net. Morgan Schreckler tallied the only service ace for the Lobos in the match.
“Overall, I felt really good about the team performance,” said head coach Jeff Nelson. “This is the best I think I’ve seen them really pull together. We lost game one and we usually win game one. I really saw them pull together in two through five and play really good volleyball all the way through. I’m really pleased with everyone. I thought Danica (Rowan) went in and did a really good job blocking and Vic (Victoria Spragg) had a really big week for us this week, so I’m really excited for her being a senior.”
As a team, the Lobos recorded 19 total team blocks for the third time this season, with Mariessa Carrasco recording six assisted blocks and Carly Beddingfield and Danica Rowan each having four assisted blocks.
“I thought we really blocked well, in three, four and five in particular,” reflected Nelson. “I thought Vic had a great match offensively and defensively for us and put up big numbers.
“I thought we started playing looser. I thought early on we were stiff- over blocking, being too high- and we started blocking balls instead of bringing them down. I thought the whole game loosened up for us after two. Even though we dropped four, I thought the whole match was better for us after two.”
In sets two through five, the Lobos had 11 total blocks, one solo and 20 assisted.
Air Force pulled away early in the first set and although New Mexico made a late run, it was the Falcons who came away with the opening set. There were three early ties at one, two and three before Air Force used two-straight points to pull ahead 5-3. The Falcons later expanded their lead to five at 10-5 behind a 4-0 run. A kill by Twitty ended the run, however, AF scored five of the next six points to lead 15-7. The Lobos stringed together two consecutive points off of a kill by Beddingfield and a Spragg and Beddingfield combined block to cut into the Falcons lead at 16-10, but the Falcons responded with a 4-1 run to stretch the lead to 20-11. Twitty and Spragg combined for three-straight blocks, followed by a Spragg kill and a Falcon error to bring the Lobos within three at 20-17 after a 6-0 run. However, the Falcons scored the next three points to push the Lobo deficit to six at 23-17. New Mexico was able to get two more points in the set before Air Force claimed the first set by the score of 25-19. Twitty had a team-high three kills in the opening set, with Sabrina Bianco and Inclan each having four assists. Spragg was responsible for one solo block and three assisted blocks, combining with Twitty on two and Beddingfield on one. Bierria and Pacheco each had three digs, accounting for six of the team’s 11 digs in the set.
In the second set, two Falcon errors allowed the Lobos to get an early 2-1 edge before Air Force tied the set at three and proceeded to take the 4-3 lead. After a Carrasco kill, Beddingfield and Carrasco combined for consecutive blocks to help the Lobos regain the lead at 6-4. The Falcons pulled within one a couple of times, but each time the Lobos were able to capture the next point, eventually expanding the advantage to four at 11-7 off of back-to-back Bierria kills. A block by Spragg and Rowan pushed the lead to 12-7 and the New Mexico run to 4-0. Out of an Air Force timeout, the Falcons cut into the Lobos’ lead with a 3-1 run (13-10), to which UNM answered with a 7-3 run to create a seven-point cushion. Down the later stages of the set, Air Force made a late push, but the Falcons couldn’t get any closer than six as New Mexico evened the match at one with the 25-17 win.
The momentum continued into the third set as the Lobos were able to build a 4-1 lead with kills from Bierria and Twitty. A run by the Falcons cut into the lead 5-4, but Carrasco gave the Lobos some breathing room with her third kill of the match. Air Force eventually tied the set at eight, but Spragg recorded the kill to give New Mexico back the lead. Once again, the Falcons tied the set followed by a Spragg kill to reclaim a lead for the Lobos. Rowan followed that with a kill of her own to give UNM an 11-9 advantage. Ultimately, the Lobos scored seven-straight points to pull ahead 16-9 before Air Force would answer with a 4-1 run to make it 17-13 UNM. A service error for the Falcons followed by kills by Carrasco and Beddingfield pushed the lead back to six at 20-14, but Air Force got the points right back with consecutive points. An exchange of points made it 21-17 before UNM closed the set on a 4-1 run to take the third set by the score of 25-18. In the closing points, Spragg had a kill and solo block, Beddingfield had a kill and Twitty captured the final point of the set with a kill. Twitty added six kills in the frame and Spragg had four of her own, while Inclan and Pacheco each had six digs and Inclan had nine assists. Spragg had one of her solo blocks and two assisted blocks, both with Twitty, to lead the team. The Lobos outhit the Falcons .389 to .220 in the set behind 17 kills.
The fourth set started much like the first set with five ties in the first 10 points before Air Force used a 5-0 run to go ahead 9-5. The Falcons pushed their lead to five at 11-6, forcing a timeout by the Lobos. The run for Air Force continued out of the break, stretching to seven at 13-6 before New Mexico went on a 5-0 run of its own to make it 13-11 Air Force. Spragg had a kill and two blocks, teaming up with Inclan for both stops, and Bierria had two kills to spur the run. Air Force took the next two points to cut the New Mexico deficit to four, but once again, the Lobos matched it, with back-to-back kills from Bierria. That was the start of a 7-0 run that gave the Lobos the late 18-15 lead, that included Spragg and Bierria combining on back-to-back blocks. The Falcons answered with the next two points out of a timeout to cut the lead to one at 18-17. Air Force would tie the set at 19, but New Mexico took the next point to regain the lead on a Falcon attack error. There were ties at 20 and 21 before Air Force scored consecutive points to take the 23-21 lead. An attack error by Air Force cut the deficit to one, but Air Force reached set point on the following play. A Beddingfield and Carrasco block fought it off, but the Falcons were able to force a fifth set with the 25-23 win. Bierria led the team with five kills and Inclan had nine more assists, accounting for all but one for UNM in the set. Rowan and Pacheco each recorded three digs for the team high and Spragg remained solid at the net with four assisted blocks. The Lobos had five total team blocks in the set.
For the sixth time this season, the Lobos faced a decisive set, going 3-2 in previous matches. Bierria started off the set with a kill, but Air Force scored the next two points to take an early lead. The Lobos tallied the next nine points with two blocks from Carrasco and Rowan and consecutive kills by Twitty to go in front 10-2. Air Force ended the run with two-straight points, but Carrasco thwarted the run with her eighth kill of the match to make it 11-4. The Falcons used two 3-1 runs to cut into the lead at 12-7, and again at 13-10, but a service error gave the Lobos set and match point at 14-10. Air Force fought off a set point before Bierria sealed the set and the match with a kill for the 15-11 set win.
The Lobos will have two home matches next week, starting with a Dig Pink match on Thursday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m against Nevada. Those in attendance will have an opportunity to bid on auction items with the proceeds going to the UNM Cancer Center. New Mexico will conclude the week with a match against San Jose State on Saturday, Oct. 6 at 1 p.m.