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UNM Falls in Four to SJSU

SAN JOSE, Calif.— The University of New Mexico volleyball team rallied to take the first set 25-21 on Saturday at Spartan Gym and had three set points in the fourth set, but theSan José State Spartans pulled out the four-set win (21-25, 25-19, 25-17, 27-25).

For the second straight match, three Lobos finished in double figures in kills and two recorded double-doubles, with Jaclyn Inclan tallying her second in as many matches following team highs in assists (28) and digs (13). The redshirt-sophomore setter now has eight double-doubles on the season, tied with Lauren Twitty for the team, who recorded her eighth against the Spartans with 11 kills and 10 digs.

Kaitlynn Biassou led the team in kills with 14, half of which came in the first set, with Tai Bierria finishing one behind her. Yasmin Tan finished with eight block assists, which tied her career high, to lead the Lobos as the team combined for 11.0 total blocks with only one solo by Twitty and from the service line, the Cherry and Silver had seven led by a career-high three by Abbey Willison. Twitty and Bierria accounted for the other four with two each.

After trailing in the opening set by three late in the set at 19-16, the Lobos rallied to take the set 25-21.

Biassou opened up the scoring for the Lobos with a kill down the line as the two teams exchanged points early on before the Spartans pulled ahead 5-3. A 3-0 Lobo run behind a Bierria kill, a Danica Rowan and Willison block and capped by a Twitty ace gave UNM its first lead of the match at 6-5. The Lobos couldn’t build on the slight lead as there were four more ties in the next seven points. A kill by Biassou and consecutive attack errors by the Spartans gave UNM an 11-9 lead, however, SJSU answered to tie the set at 12 and took a 15-12 lead, which included a 5-0 run, at the media timeout. A Willison kill and Twitty’s second ace of the set brought UNM within one but the Spartans kept the lead after scoring the next two points.  A Tan kill and two attack errors tied the set at 19, as a result of the Lobos scoring seven of 11 points following the media timeout. SJSU retook the lead following a successful Spartan challenge, but a Biassou kill, a Bierria ace and a block by Biassou and Tan put UNM in front 22-20. After UNM trailed 19-16, the Lobos went on 8-1 run, including a 5-0 run, to get to set point at 24-20. The Spartans fought it off before a Biassou kill closed the set.

Biassou opened up the match hitting .385 on seven kills and Bierria and Twitty each recorded two aces as UNM outhit SJSU .258 to .161.

The Spartans led from the start of the second set as SJSU scored five of the first six points of the set to get out to the early lead and would hold a 7-3 advantage through the first 10 points. The deficit stretched to eight at 14-6, which the Lobos got down to seven at the media timeout at 15-8. After trailing by as many as eight at 19-11, UNM fought back with a 7-1 run, including a 5-0 segment with three consecutive Willison aces, to pull within two at 20-18. Out of a Spartan timeout, the Lobos were unable to complete the comeback, falling 25-19 in the second set.

Tan assisted on four of UNM’s five blocks in the set, teaming up twice with Yamelis Mojica and once with Biassou and Twitty.

In the third set UNM pulled out in front 3-1 with a Tan kill, a Twitty kill and a solo Twitty block but the Spartans tied the set up at three, with three more ties occurring in the next six points. The Spartans would use a 3-0 run to pull ahead 9-6, which the Lobos would answer to even the set at 10.  San José State retook the three-point lead at 15-12 at the media timeout after a tie at 11. Out of the break, UNM would pull back within one and following an exchange of service errors that made it 16-15, SJSU would push back out in front by four at 19-15 before going on to take the set 25-17.

Bierria accounted for a third of UNM’s total kills in the frame with three while hitting .429 and the Lobos outblocked the Spartans 2.0-0.0 with a Twitty solo and Tan and Biassou combined block.

Trailing 2-1 in the match, the Lobos held a consistent lead in the fourth set, but the Spartans fought back from as many as five down late in the set and fought off three set points, scoring the last three points of the set to get the win.

SJSU got out to an early 4-0 lead in the fourth before a Bierria kill put the Lobos on the board. From there, UNM used a 5-0 run with two Biassou kills, a Twitty and Tan kill and SJSU attack error to take a 7-5 lead. The lead would grow to five at 11-6 on 4-0 run in which UNM scored nine of the next 10 points after trailing 5-2. San José State closed within two out of a timeout at 12-10 but a Bierria kill, her 10th of the match, pushed the lead back out to three. Each time the Spartans got within two, Bierria would answer with a kill to give UNM the three-point cushion at 15-12. A Twitty kill pushed the margin to four at 17-13, but the Spartans pushed back within two. However, the Lobos would get the two points back and would expand their lead to five at 21-16. SJSU closed within one at 22-21, but a Bierria kill kept the Lobos in front. An Inclan dump over gave UNM set point at 24-22, but SJSU fought off the next two points to tie the set at 24. A Twitty kill gave UNM its third set point, but SJSU tied the set back up on the next play and would go on to take the next two points to win the set 27-25 and the match.

Twitty had seven kills Bierria recorded six kills in the final set and Inclan accounted for 17 of the 18 UNM assists.

The Lobos (6-14, 1-7 MW) remain on the road for their next match, traveling to Las Vegas, Nev. to play UNLV on Tuesday, Oct. 22 at 7:30 p.m. MT.

NEWS:
UNM’s next home match on Saturday, Oct. 26 against Air Force has been announced as a 10:30 a.m. start time. The match will be held in Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit. Tickets can be purchased HERE.