Lobos Host San José State, Nevada to Start Final Homestand
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.– Three of the final four matches of The University of New Mexico volleyball season will be at home, starting this Thursday against San José State at 7 p.m. The Lobos will then host Nevada on Saturday at 1 p.m., with both matches to be played in Johnson Center.
GAME NOTES | LIVE STATS (SJSU) | LIVE STREAM (SJSU) | LIVE STATS (NEVADA) | LIVE STREAM (NEVADA) | TICKETS
PROMOTIONS
THURSDAY: The match against the Wolf Pack will be Heroes Day with all active and retired military will receive a $2 ticket with their military ID.
SATURDAY: The Lobos sre holding Campers Day with all participants who attend the match in their camp t-shirt receiving a $2 ticket. There will also be an autgraph session following the match with the team.
NEWS AND NOTES
LOOKING BACK TO LAST TIME OUT
The Lobos split the week for the second-straight week, winning in four at Utah State (25-19, 25-21, 17-25, 25-16) for their second-straight win but lost at Boise State in three (25-19, 27-25, 25-22).
UNM had two notable performances on the week with Danica Rowan’s career-best 12 kills on 17 swings, and hit .706 against the Aggies after not committing a single error. Against the Broncos on Saturday, Rachel Murphy became the first Lobo this season to reach double figures in total blocks with a solo and nine assisted, a career high in total and block assists.
On the week, Kaitlynn Biassou led the team with 23 kills and averaged 3.29 k/s and 4.0 pts/s. Jaclyn Inclan accounted for 47 assists, averaging 6.71 a/s. Alena Moldan led in digs again with 21, an average of 3.0 d/s, and Murphy led in blocks with 15, one solo and 14 assisted, an average of 2.14 b/s. Maddie Freiwald led with three service aces. Tai Bierria recorded her sixth double-double of the season at Boise State with 10 kills and 10 digs.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
The Lobos tallied several season highs in the Oct. 17 match at Nevada, leading to UNM’s first conference win of the year.
UNM produced its most kills (73), assists (70), and blocks (17.0) and the second-most digs (79) in a match this season against the Wolf Pack and hit .309. The Lobos got stronger offensively as the match unfolded, hitting .250 in the first, .262 in the second, .308 in the third, .361 in the fourth and .444 in the fifth.
Three Lobos finished with double figures in kills led by a match-high and season-high 20 from senior Lauren Twitty. Freshman Kaitlynn Biassou finished one behind her, hitting a team-high .359 on 39 swings in her return home to Reno and playing in front of friends, family and former teammates. In the fifth set, she tallied the last three kills for the Lobos to seal the win.
Two Lobos recorded double-doubles with Jaclyn Inclan leading with a team-high 35 assists to go along with a team-high as well as career-high 26 digs and Tai Bierria’s season-high 17 kills and 11 digs.
At the net, it took career highs in blocks from Abbey Willison, recording nine assisted in her second start at middle blocker, and a career-high eight assisted from Yasmin Tan. Maddie Freiwald finished with a season-high 29 assists as well as two service aces.
WE WILL, WE WILL, BLOCK YOU
In the last three matches, the Lobos have been a clog at the net, recording double-digit total blocks against their opponents. In the win against Fresno State, UNM recorded 17.0 total blocks with two solo and 30 assisted, and tallied consecutive 14.0 total blocks at Utah State and Boise State with one solo and 26 assisted in each contest. In all three instances, the Lobos have outblocked their opponents.
Nine times this season the Lobos have reached double figures in the category, five times in the last 10 matches, twice registering 17.0 total blocks for the season high (Nevada, Fresno State). Eight times UNM has outblocked its opponents, including the last three matches. In the last five matches, UNM has either tied or led its opponents in total blocks.
DOUBLE-DIGIT HITTERS
The Lobos are getting consistent and even contribution from their three starting outside hitters. Lauren Twitty leads the group with 311 kills and has recorded double figures in the category in 16 of the 26 matches and in seven of the last 10 matches, led by a season-high 20 in the win at Nevada. The senior has also tallied four double-doubles in the last 10 matches and has 10 on the season. Tai Bierria has 261 kills, recording 10-plus in 15 matches, including the last four and seven of the last 10. Her season high of 17 also came at Nevada but her best hitting percentage came against San Diego State (15-2-34, .382). Freshman Kaitlynn Biassou has caught fire as of late to be a key contributor to the Lobo offense, recording 10 or more kills in eight of the last 10 matches, including a streak of the last four-straight matches, and hit an efficient and season-high .438 against Utah State with 18 kills on 32 swings. She followed that up with 19 kills at Nevada, hitting .359. On the season, she has reached double figures in 12 matches.
MURPHY IN THE MIDDLE
After missing three matches due to injury, middle blocker Rachel Murphy started to get back in to the swing of things after returning to the starting lineup against Air Force, capped by 10 total blocks, one solo and a career-best nine assisted blocks, in the match against Boise State on Saturday to bring her weekly total to 15, averaging 2.14 blocks per set.
Murphy has had a stellar sophomore campaign, setting several career highs throughout the season. The Wisconsin native has started every match but three that she was injured and played in 87 sets, and is currently leading the Lobos in total blocks with 97.0 (11 solo), averaging 1.11 b/s. She is fourth on the team in kills (104) and points (159.0). She ranks eighth in the conference in blocks per set and in total blocks.
In the match against Wyoming, Murphy set a career high in kills (14), total blocks (then-8) and attacks (27) and hit .407, the fourth-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. Since then, she has started every match and has had double figures in kills in 12 matches, including eight of the last 10. 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 252 (2.62 k/s) and in points (286, 2.98 pts/s), second in hitting percentage (.197) and fourth in blocks at 64.0 (four solo).
Fellow freshman Alena Moldan has started all 26 matches at the libero position and played in every set, recording double-digit digs in 19 matches, including eight in the last 10 matches and 20-plus digs in six. 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 by over 130 digs with 368 digs, an average of 3.64 digs per set. In the conference, she ranks fifth in total digs.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
SAN JOSE STATE (10-15, 5-9 MW)
Since the Lobos played the Spartans on Oct. 19, SJSU has gone 3-3 with a 2-3 record in three sets and 1-0 in five sets. SJSU enters the week on a three-match win streak with two sweeps (Air Force, Utah State) and a win in five (Nevada).
Haylee Nelson leads the Spartans in kills and points, with 289 kills on the season, averaging 3.14 k/s and 325.5 points (3.54 pts/s), while Mamie Garard leads in assists with an average of 6.73 a/s, and has accounted for 49 percent of the assists on the team with 532. Thaliana Grajeda leads with 72.0 total blocks (nine solo). Sarah Smevog has a team-high 403 digs (4.38 d/s) and 27 service aces.
SJSU is 2-10 on the road, 6-8 in three sets, 2-3 in four sets and 2-4 in five sets.
Series vs. San José State
The Spartans took the first meeting of the season (21-25, 25-19, 25-17, 27-25) as 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) and Lauren Twitty posted 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.
UNM and SJSU have met 22 times prior with the Lobos holding a 15-7 series lead. The Lobos are 7-2 in Albuquerque. UNM is 2-3 in the last five matches, losing the last two, and 6-4 in the last 10.
NEVADA (17-9, 7-7 MW)
Since the Lobos played the Wolf Pack on Oct. 19, Nevada went 3-4, going 2-0 in three sets, 2-2 in three sets,1-1 in four sets and 0-1 in five sets. Nevada is currently 7-7 in conference play and enters the week on a one-match win streak after defeating Air Force in three.
Kayla Afoa leads the team with 341 kills, an average of 3.44 k/s, 400.5 points (4.05 pts/s) and 330 digs (3.33 d/s). Dalyn Burns has accounted for 996 of the team’s 1216 assists (82 percent) and is averaging 10.06 a/s. From the service line, Mandalay Rennon leads Nevada with 31 aces with Afoa one behind her. Defensively, Sydney Petersen leads with a total of 133.0 blocks (10 solo), an average of 1.36 blocks per set. Peterson has over half (57 percent) of the team’s total blocks.
Nevada is 6-4 on the road this season, 7-4 in three sets, 7-3 in four sets and 3-2 in five sets.
Series vs. Nevada
The Lobos won the first meeting of the season with scores of 21-25, 25-22, 24-26, 25-22, 15-9. UNM produced its most kills (73), assists (70), and blocks (17.0) and the second-most digs (79) in a match this season against the Wolf Pack and hit .309 for its first conference win. Lauren Twitty had a match- and season-high 20 kills with Kaitlynn Biassou hitting a team-high .359 with 19 kills. Jaclyn Inclan led with a team-high 35 assists to go along with a team-high as well as career-high 26 digs and Tai Bierria recorded a season-high 17 kills and 11 digs. At the net, Abbey Willison finished with nine assisted blocks and Yasmin Tan registered eight assisted blocks.
New Mexico and Nevada have met 14 times previously with the Lobos leading the series 12-2. UNM is 5-1 in Albuquerque and the Lobos have won the last three meetings.
PRIDE PASS
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.