UNM at Home, Set to Host Boise State and Utah State
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — After spending all but one match on the road through the first 16 matches of the 2019 season, The University of New Mexico volleyball team is home for a two-match homestand starting on Thursday evening. The Lobos host Boise State on Thursday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. and Utah State on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 1 p.m. with both matches played in Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit.
Additionally, Thursday’s match will be UNM’s Lobos Love Pink match in which those wearing pink will receive $3 tickets and in an effort to Pack The Pit on Saturday, all general admission tickets will be $2. Fans can purchase tickets ahead of time for Saturday’s match, and for any home match this season, by clicking HERE.
GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS (BSU) | LIVE STREAM (BSU) | LIVE STATS (USU) | LIVE STREAM (USU)
NEWS AND NOTES
NEW MEXICO DROPS TWO ON THE ROAD
The Lobos fell in both of their week six matches, falling to Fresno State in three and San Diego State in four. UNM led in all three sets against the Bulldogs, but couldn’t withstand late rallies by Fresno State as they fell 25-14, 25-22, 25-21. In the first set, UNM got out to a 7-2 lead, in the second set the Lobos led by five at 18-13 and had a late 22-21 lead, and in the third set UNM had a six-point advantage at 16-10. Against the Aztecs, three Lobos reached double figures in kills, led by a match-high 17 for Lauren Twitty, but the Aztecs prevailed 25-18, 18-25, 25-18, 25-21. At the net, Yasmin Tan and Danica Rowan posted season high blocks at six assisted and five assisted, respectively, and setters Jaclyn Inclan and Maddie Freiwald each surpassed 20 assists in the match with Inclan recording 27 and Freiwald 22.
On the week, Twitty led with 23 kills, Inclan had a team-high 44 assists and Alena Moldan had 17 digs. Rowan and Tan led with 10 total blocks, with Rowan having one solo and Tan’s all assisted.
SERVING UP A PERFECT 10
The Lobos served up 10 aces twice at the North Texas Challenge, setting season highs in the category. UNM first reached the mark against North Texas with five Lobos getting in the column. Freiwald and Inclan led with three aces each with Twitty accounting for two and Murphy and Tai Bierria each having one. In the match against Kansas State, Bierria had a career-high four with Freiwald, Twitty and Moldan each tallying two. Twitty has recorded two service aces in eight matches this season and at least one in 10 and Bierria has recorded at least one ace in the last six matches.
UNM has five players with 10 or more aces led by Twitty with 18. Bierria is slightly behind with 16, Freiwald has 15 and Inclan and Moldan have 11. Nine Lobos have at least one ace and seven have multiple.
MURPHY IN THE MIDDLE
Middle blocker Rachel Murphy has had a stellar sophomore campaign, setting several career highs through the first 16 matches of the season. The Wisconsin native has started every match thus far and played in every set, and currently leads the Lobos in total blocks with 62.0 (eight solo), averaging 1.03 b/s. She is fourth on the team in kills (70) and points (106) and third in hitting percentage (.174). In the match against Wyoming, Murphy set a career high in kills (14) and total blocks (8) and attacks (27) and hit .407, the second-highest hitting percentage on the team in a match this season. She recorded a career-high six digs at North Texas and tallied three solo blocks in the match against Kansas State.
STEPPING IN TO THE FIRE
Freshman Kaitlynn Biassou started her first collegiate match against UNC and had an immediate impact for the Lobos. The outside hitter played in all five sets and had 15 kills in the match, the second-highest total for UNM in the match. At the net, Biassou assisted on four blocks and recorded a solo block for a total of 18.0 points in the match. Since then, she has started every match and has had double figures in kills in four matches. She broke out in the match against Oregon State with 23 kills, the first Lobo to reach 20 kills on the season and the most since Lauren Twitty had 25 in 2017. The Nevada native is third on the team in kills this season with 123 and fourth in blocks at 32.0.
Fellow freshman Alena Moldan has started all 16 matches at the libero position and played in every set, recording double-digit digs in 11 matches. She had a match-high 27 digs against GCU, a match-high 12 against Rutgers and produced 27 more digs against OSU to tie her season high. She currently leads the team with 232 digs, an average of 3.87 digs per set.
INCLAN CAN DO IT ALL
Jaclyn Inclan, a redshirt-sophomore setter, is averaging 5.80 assists a set, tallying a team-high 342 this season. She also contributed with 15 kills, 131 digs, five total blocks (one solo) and 11 service aces. She had a career-high 42 assists against GCU and has had five matches with 30 or more assists. The Arizona native filled the stat sheet in 2018, making her mark across the board for the Lobos. Serving as a setter, Inclan was second on the team in assists with 520, third in service aces at 16 as well as tallied 18 kills, 150 digs and 14 assisted blocks.
AUSSIE, AUSSIE, AUSSIE (OI, OI, OI!)
Middle blocker Yasmin Tan is finding her role in the starting lineup and is making an impact at the net. The Melbourne, Australia native is currently second on the team in blocks with 40 (three solo) and fifth in kills with 46 and points (71). Sixteen matches in, the junior has already surpassed her season total in total blocks and service aces (four).
LONG TIME GONE
Of the first 16 matches of the season, UNM has played on the road in all but one.
The Lobos spent their first four weekends of the 2019 season on the road in non-conference tournaments and opened the conference schedule at Colorado State before opening at home on Saturday, Sept. 28 against Wyoming.
UNM travelled to Greeley, Colo., Las Cruces, Seattle, Wash., and Denton, Texas for its four tournaments, a total distance of 2779.61 miles (5559.22 roundtrip).
GOING THE DISTANCE
Sixteen matches in to the season, the Lobos have already played five, five-set matches, continuing a trend from 2018.
In 2018, the Lobos played a total of 12 five-set matches, the most five-set matches in a single season in program history, surpassing the precedent of 10 set in 2012.
Among those five-set matches, the Lobos staged a comeback against North Florida to force a fifth set and ended the season with a victory over MW champion Colorado State.
UNM had its most success in four-set matches, winning six of eight. However, this season the Lobos have played just two four-set matches, playing nine, three-set matches and five, five-set matches.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
BOISE STATE
Boise State has started conference play 3-1 with wins over Utah State (three sets), Air Force (four sets) and San Jose State (four sets). BSU’s loss was to Nevada in four.
The Broncos have not played any common opponent with the Lobos to date, but have played three ranked opponents in BYU (No. 9, lost in three), Marquette (No. 16, lost in three), and Missouri (No. 21, lost in three).
Janell Walley leads the team with 196 kills, an average of 3.7 k/s and with 239.0 points (4.51 pts/s). Danielle Boss has accounted for 559 of the team’s 652 assists (86 percent) and is averaging 10.55 a/s and leads from the service line with 19 aces. Defensively, Allison Casillas has a team-high 156 digs (3.25 d/s) with Walley one behind her in the category. Jessica Donahue leads with a total of 79.0 blocks (five solo).
Boise State is 2-2 on the road this season this season, 5-3 in three sets, 5-1 in four sets and 1-0 in five sets.
SERIES vs. BOISE STATE
New Mexico and Boise State have met just 15 times previously with the Lobos leading the series 9-6. UNM is 4-2 at home against the Broncos, but this is the first time the two teams will meet in Albuquerque since Sept. 28, 2017, a four-set loss for the Lobos. BSU won the only meeting in 2018 in three sets and in the last 10 matches of the series, the two teams have split the series 5-5.
UTAH STATE
Utah State started conference play 1-3 with a five-set win over San Jose State, a four-set loss to Air Force and a three-set loss to Boise State and Nevada.
The Aggies have not had any common opponents with the Lobos and have played one ranked team in No. 19 Utah, which they lost in three sets.
Bailey Downing leads the Aggies in kills, blocks and points, with 94 kills on the season, averaging 1.59 k/s, 65.0 blocks (six solo) and 132.5 points (2.25 pts/s), while Heidi Carpenter leads in assists with an average of 6.47 a/s, and has accounted for 70 percent of the assists on the team with 356, as well as a team-high 16 service aces. Grace DuBay leads with 186 digs (3.15 d/s).
Utah State is 0-5 on the road, 0-9 in three sets, 0-3 in four sets and 1-3 in five sets.
SERIES vs. UTAH STATE
UNM is 18-12 overall against Utah State and have won the last three meetings, having only lost a set. In the last 10 meetings, the Lobos are 8-2. In Albuquerque, the Lobos are 10-3. UNM won the only meeting last season in four sets (26-24,19-25,25-16,25-20) with double-doubles from Lauren Twitty (19 kills and 12 digs) and Tai Bierria (19 kills and 11 digs).
PRIDE PASS
The Lobos open their home schedule on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 1 p.m. 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.