ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.– The University of New Mexico volleyball team has swept a series and has been swept in a series, and now the Lobos look ahead as they get back on the court against San Diego State this weekend in a two-match series starting Friday.
Friday’s match will start at 7 p.m. MT followed by a noon MT match on Saturday.
The Lobos (2-2 MW) enter the third weekend of the season with a sweep at Nevada to open the season and are coming off of two losses at Wyoming. On the other side of the net, San Diego State is 1-3 in the conference with two losses to UNLV to open its season and a split against Fresno State. The Aztecs are 0-2 in four sets and 1-1 in three sets, while the Lobos are 2-0 in four sets and 0-2 in three sets.
In the last series, the Lobos relied on freshmen in the lineup, with freshmen Emma Smith and Tori Tua earning their first starts in what was their first appearances this season. With their opportunities, Smith finished with four kills and a .444 hitting percentage on Friday and Tua responded with a match-high 10 kills and a team-high five blocks (one solo). Freshman setter Kara Erfurth accounted for 41 of the team’s 44 assists on the weekend and recorded her second double-double of the season with a match-high 29 assists to go along with 10 digs on Saturday. Erfurth leads the conference in assists per set (10.50) and in total assists (147) through the first two weeks of competition.
UNM was led in kills by Kaitlynn Biassou with 12 kills, followed by 11 each from Tua and Avital Jaloba, and co-captain Alena Moldan led with a total of 26 digs against Wyoming.
For SDSU, Victoria O’Sullivan leads the team in kills with 46 (3.29 k/s) and with 49 points (3.50 pts/s), and Ashley Vanderpan has recorded a team-high 62 assists this season, averaging 5.17 assists per set. Defensively, Lauren Lee leads with 49 digs (3.50 d/s) and Andrea Walker has recorded a team-high 13 blocks (two solo, 11 assisted).
Historically, San Diego State holds a 42-21 advantage in the series, with the Lobos 7-23 in San Diego. UNM’s last win against the Aztecs was on Nov. 19, 2016 at home and the last win in San Diego was Oct. 31, 2009, a four-set win. UNM is 9-15 in three sets, 9-14 in four sets and 3-12 in five sets. SDSU has won the last six matches with five in four sets and one in five sets. Last year, the Lobos lost both of their matches to SDSU in four sets (25-18, 18-25, 25-18, 25-21) and (25-20, 15-25, 25-21, 25-14).
Both matches will be streamed on SDSU’s YouTube channel, found here, with live stats also available (Friday and Saturday).