ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— The University of New Mexico volleyball team heads to Air Force for its fourth weekend of Mountain West competition and a two-match series with the Falcons that begins on Friday.
Both Friday and Saturday matches are set for 6 p.m. MT on the Mountain West Network.
New Mexico enters the weekend matchup following two losses to San Diego State by scores of 25-13, 25-17, 25-21 and 25-20, 25-20, 23-25, 25-19, and on a four-match losing streak overall.
UNM is 0-3 in three sets and 2-1 in four sets this season.
Kaitlynn Biassou led the Lobos with 26 kills in the series, averaging 3.71 per set, with fellow co-captain Alena Moldan finishing with a team-best 24 digs.
Freshman Kara Erfurth again led the team in assists, accounting for 51 of the team’s 59 against the Aztecs for an average of 7.29 per set and junior Avital Jaloba led the blocking with nine assisted blocks, an average of 1.29 per set.
The Lobos finished with a season-high 13.0 total blocks in the second match against SDSU, with freshman Emma Smith one of three Lobos to finish with six total blocks, joined by Jaloba’s six assisted and fellow freshman Tori Tua matching Smith with one solo and five assisted.
Jaloba was second on the team in total kills with 10 and also was one of three Lobos to finish with two service aces.
Kali Wolf led UNM from the service line with three aces.
The Lobos continue to utilize freshmen in the starting lineup with Erfurth and Wolf starting in all six matches, Smith starting in the last four and Tua starting in three of the last four.
Against the Aztecs, Tua and Smith had similar stat lines, as both finished with eight kills and eight total blocks between the two matches.
On the season, Biassou leads the Lobos with 68 kills (3.24 per set) and seven service aces and Moldan leads with 77 digs (3.67 d/s). Erfurth continues to lead the Lobos with 199 of the team’s 219 assists, with the freshman averaging 9.48 assists per set. At the net, Jaloba has a team-high 19 total blocks (one solo) with four Lobos currently with 10-plus total blocks. Tua and Smith have 13 and 12 total blocks, respectively, while playing in just 13 sets.
The Falcons are 3-3 in the MW and have split every series this season (Colorado State, San José State, Nevada). Air Force is 2-0 in three sets, 1-2 in four sets and 0-1 in five sets.
BrookeLyn Messenger leads the team with 55 kills, an average of 2.5 per set, while Andi Ahlers has a team-high 115 assists (5.0 a/s) this season. Abigail Collins leads with nine service aces and Jordan Daniels leads with 70 digs (3.0 d/s). Joi Harvey leads in blocks with 22 total blocks with three solo and 19 assisted.
As a team, the Falcons are third in the MW in hitting percentage (.217) and in service aces per set (2.0), with Joi Harvey third in the conference in hitting percentage at .386 and Cambria Galloway 10th at .314. Gabby Wilson (0.46) and Abigail Collins (0.45) seventh and eighth, respectively, in service aces per set.
SERIES vs. AIR FORCE
UNM has a 39-5 advantage in the series, with the Lobos 18-3 on the road. The Lobos are 3-2 in the last five meetings with the Falcons, with UNM 26-4 in three sets, 8-0 in four sets and 5-1 in five sets.
Last season, the Lobos split their meetings with Air Force, losing 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-18) before closing out the season with a 3-0 win at Air Force (25-14, 25-14, 25-19).