UNM Sweeps SeattleU to Close Redhawk Invitational
SEATTLE— The University of New Mexico finished at the Redhawk Invitational on a high note as the Lobos took down the Seattle University Redhawks in straight sets (25-22, 25-17, 25-18) to get back in the win column on Saturday morning at the Redhawk Center.
Rachel Murphy and Kaitlynn Biassou each registered nine kills to lead the Lobo offense and four different Lobos – Jaclyn Inclan, Maddie Freiwald, Lauren Twitty and Tai Bierria – each had two service aces in the match.
Inclan posted a match-high 20 assists and Alena Moldan recorded a match-high 18 digs.
UNM (3-6) outhit SU (6-3) .232 to .114 in the match for its third sweep of the season with just five ties and one lead change in the entire match. The Lobos led in every statistical category – kills (38-31), assists (34-30), digs (49-42), service aces (8-4) and total blocks (8.0-7.0).
With the win, the Lobos broke the three-match win streak for the Redhawks and ended their three-match losing streak. Additionally, it is the third time this season that the Lobos have won in straight sets and just the second time this season that Seattle has lost in straight sets.
The first set provided two tie scores but no lead changes as the Lobos edged out the Redhawks in the opening set 25-22.
UNM pulled ahead early at 4-1 with a Bierria kill and Twitty block and maintained a three-point advantage through the first 11 points at 7-4. SU pulled within one at 7-6, but Nicolette Clark laid down a kill to create separation. The Redhawks tied the set at 10, but Murphy restored the Lobo lead with her first kill of the match and the Lobos would go on to score the next four points to go up by five.
The Redhawks responded to bring the lead down to three at 17-14, but another Clark kill kept the margin from getting any closer. The lead twice grew again to five at 19-14 and at 21-16 on a Murphy kill and the margin expanded to as much as six on a Redhawk attack error on the next play. A SU attack error gave UNM set point at 24-18, however, the Redhawks fought it off four times before Twitty registered the final point with a kill to give UNM the 25-22 first set win.
Twitty and Muprhy each had four kills in the set with Murphy hitting .600 and assisting on a block with Twitty.
UNM outhit SU .205 to .152 with 14 total kills.
In the second set, there were two ties and one lead change as the Lobo gained a 2-0 match advantage behind a 25-17 set win.
Following ties at one and two, UNM took the lead for good on a Redhawk attack error and went on a 4-0 run for a 5-2 lead before SU narrowed the lead to one at 5-4. A Biassou kill kept the Lobos in front and later a Twitty ace restored the lead to three at 8-5, which grew to four at 10-6 before the Redhawks responded with back-to-back aces to cut the lead to one at 10-9.
Each time the Redhawks threatened to tie the set, the Lobos would respond with the next point to prevent it. A Bierria kill prevented the tie and UNM would score the next point on an attack error to push the lead back to three. When SU got back within a point at 12-11, Biassou kept UNM in front with a kill. The Lobos led by four, 15-11, at the media timeout and the Redhawks would get as close as four at 18-14 before the Lobos closed on a 7-3 run to win the set.
UNM would stretch the lead to five at 18-13 on a Freiwald ace and at six on a Bierria kill that squeaked inside the back line for the Lobo point to make it 20-14. Back-to-back Inclan aces stretched the lead to eight at 24-16 and Murphy put the set away on her fifth kill of the match to give the Lobos the 25-17 set win.
UNM hit .385 in the second set with a match-high 15 kills, five of which came from Biassou who hit .444 in the set. At the net, the Lobos had three total blocks with Murphy assisting on all three. Inclan contributed two service aces with Freiwald and Twitty each recording one.
The third set was much of the same for UNM as the Lobos pulled ahead early and continued to extend their lead to pull away from the Redhawks.
Murphy led off the third set how she ended the second, putting UNM on the board first with a kill. After the only tie of the set at one, UNM used a 5-0 run to take a 6-1 lead on a Murphy and Biassou block following a Murphy kill and back-to-back Bierria aces. A block by Twitty pushed the lead back to five at 8-3, which grew to seven at 11-4 on a Friewald ace and again at 13-6 on an ace by Twitty.
UNM would go up by nine at 15-6 on a Redhawk attack error behind a 4-0 Lobo run and added on a 5-1 run to lead by as many as 11 at 21-10 on a Murphy kill that gave her nine in the match, a career high. Abbey Willison extended the lead teaming up on a block with Biassou to make it 22-10.
The Redhawks closed in on the Lobos with a 5-0 run to make it 22-14 before a service error ended the run. Biassou gave UNM set and match point with a kill to make it 24-15 but SU fought off match point three times with a run before Danica Rowan closed the door with a kill to give UNM the 25-18 set win and the sweep.
Murphy added four kills in the final set, hitting a perfect 1.000 and added an assisted block to close the match.
Up next for UNM is the North Texas Challenge starting on Thursday, Sept. 19 with a match against Ohio. The Lobos will play UNT on Friday and Kansas State on Saturday to conclude the non-conference portion of their schedule.