Lobos Lose to Aztecs in Four Sets
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Three University of New Mexico Lobos finished with double-digit kills behind a match-high 17 from Lauren Twitty, but it was the San Diego State Aztecs that came out with the victory on Saturday afternoon in four sets (25-18, 18-25, 25-18, 25-21). Kaitlynn Biassou finished with 11 kills and Tai Bierria finished with 10. Bierria narrowly missed recording a double-double after leading the Lobos in digs with nine.
Saturday’s decision marked just the second time this season that the Lobos have gone four sets, recording a 1-1 outcome in those instances.
Additionally, Twitty’s 17 kills marks the fourth time that the senior outside hitter has tallied 17 in a match this season, her season high, as well as the ninth time that she has recorded double figures in kills this season.
Jaclyn Inclan led in assists with 27 with fellow setter Maddie Freiwald narrowly behind with 22. It is the ninth time this season that Inclan posted 20-plus assists and the fifth for Freiwald.
At the net, Yasmin Tan aided on six assisted blocks for the match high as well as a season high, and at the service line, the Lobos received aces from three separate players in Inclan, Bierria and Freiwald.
UNM scored the first two points of the match but SDSU answered with the next two points to tie it up, the first of four ties in the set. Biassou kept the Lobos in it early as her third kill of the set tied the set at four. There was another tie at five before SDSU went up 9-5. A Danica Rowan and Tan block ended the run, however, the Aztecs maintained their lead and extended it to five at 12-7. The Lobos cut in to the deficit with a 3-0 run that included two Aztec attack errors that made it 13-11, although the Aztecs got the points back to hold a five-point lead at 19-14 before winning the first set, 25-18.
Biassou had six kills in the first set and hit .556, while the Lobos hit .303 with 15 kills.
In similar fashion to the first set, the Lobos scored the first two points of the second set, this time on a Rachel Murphy kill and Inclan ace, before the Aztecs tied the set at two. UNM pulled in front 4-2 on a Bierria ace, however the Aztecs would tie the set again at four. An attack error by SDSU put the Lobo lead back at two at 7-5, but SDSU answered back to create another tie. Once again, the Lobos pulled ahead by two at 9-7, but this time, a Rowan kill helped UNM maintain the two-point lead at 10-8. The Aztecs would pull within one four times before ultimately tying the set at 13 and would take a 14-13 lead. Back-to-back errors by SDSU gave UNM a 15-14 advantage, which would go back to two at 16-14 on a Twitty kill. Out of an Aztec timeout, the Lobos would continue their scoring run, scoring the next five points to go up 21-14 on what would ultimately be an 8-0 scoring run. SDSU would get as close as six at 24-18 before a Biassou kill down the middle evened the match at one set apiece.
The Lobos hit a match-high .367 in the set with 15 kills, led by five by Twitty. Tan teamed up with Twitty and Rowan for two of her blocks on the afternoon. Also of note, all three Lobo aces occurred in the second frame.
Following suit with the first two sets, there wasn’t much separation early as there again were ties at two-all and again at four before SDSU went up 6-4. UNM pulled within one at 8-7 on Bierria’s sixth kill of the match but the Aztecs answered to extend their lead to four at 11-7. UNM closed within one at 12-11 on a Twitty kill but the Aztecs again prevented the Lobos from capturing the tying point, although this time temporarily. A Tan kill, a Twitty kill and a Rowan and Tan block led a 3-0 run by the Lobos to tie the set at 14. There were three more ties at 15, 16 and 17 before SDSU won the next three points to end the exchange of points. A Biassou kill out of the Lobo timeout ended the run, but the Aztecs would take the next five points for the 25-18 set win.
Twitty added five kills in the set to lead the Lobos, while Rowan and Tan tallied three assisted blocks in the set. Rowan finished with a season-high five assisted blocks. There were a total of eight ties and two lead changes in the set.
In the fourth set, SDSU scored the first four points of the set before a service error put UNM on the board, a lead that the Aztecs wouldn’t lose. The Lobos chipped away to cut their 5-1 deficit in half, getting as close at 6-4 on a Tan kill, but the Aztecs got the points back to maintain their four-point lead at 10-6. From there, an exchange of points kept the deficit between three and four before SDSU ended the trend to extend its lead to five at 13-8. The Lobos attempted to start a run on consecutive Twitty and Tan kills, but the Aztecs managed to get the points right back to keep the deficit at five at 16-11. Again, the Lobos scored consecutive points with kills by Tan and Bierria, but the Aztecs used a 4-1 run to extend their lead to six at 20-14. Out of a UNM timeout, the Lobos got two points back on attack errors by SDSU and got within three at 21-18 on a Twitty kill, at 22-19 on a Biassou tip and 23-20 on a Twitty kill before an attack error by SDSU cut it to two. However, SDSU took the next two points to win the set 25-21 and win the match.
Twitty finished with four additional kills in the fourth.
UNM (5-11, 0-4 MW) is set to host Boise State and Utah State next Thursday and Saturday, respectively, at Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit. Fans can purchase Lobo Pride Passes for access to all home matches this season for $50 by clicking HERE. Other ways are directly through the Lobo Ticket Office in person or on the phone (925-LOBO). The Lobo Ticket Office is located in Dreamstyle Arena and is open 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.