Lobos Collect First Wins of Season in Saturday Sweep
KINGSVILLE, Texas— The University of New Mexico beach volleyball team earned its first two wins of the season on Saturday, following a morning match against host Texas A&M- Kingsville by a score of 3-2 and a 5-0 sweep of Missouri Baptist.
In the first contest against Texas A&M- Kingsville, three courts went to three sets, with UNM pulling out the win in two of them, and two courts went straight sets, with the Lobos splitting the courts.
The Lobos trailed 1-0 after court three finished first and the duo of Joey Benson and Carly Beddingfield lost in a close first set, 21-19, before losing 21-14 in the second.
However, UNM rallied to win the next two team points with a win on court five, with Claire Nenninger and Jaclyn Inclan winning in three closely contested sets, 17-21, 21-18, 15-11. On court four, Emily Nenninger and Abbey Willison also won their matchup in three close sets, 21-18, 19-21, 15-11.
Lauren Twitty and Dali Rosado sealed the match for UNM with a two-set victory, winning 25-23 in the first set and 21-18 in the second.
Court two was the final matchup to finish, with Yasmin Tan and Morgan Schreckler falling in three, 17-21, 21-19 and 15-12.
UNM finished the Emerald Beach Hotel Classic strong with a clean 5-0 sweep of Missouri Baptist.
The team of Beddingfield and Benson were the first to finish in a dominant 21-11, 21-8 victory on court three. Willison and Emily Nenninger were the next to complete their matchup, another straight-set victory of 21-13, 21-11 on the fourth court for their second win of the day.
Claire Nenninger and Inclan captured their second win of the day as well, again going to three sets in a nearly identical score of 18-21, 21-18, 15-11 victory on the fifth court. Their win sealed the win for UNM but the Lobos went on to take the remaining courts for the 5-0 decision.
Rosado and Twitty controlled their matchup on court one in a 21-12, 21-11 straight-set win and court two completed the day in a 23-21, 21-17 win from Schreckler and Tan.
Up next for the Lobos is a return trip to Grand Canyon March 8-9 with games against GCU, San Diego City College and Arizona Christian University.