Lobos Sweep Fordham to Start Season
FULLERTON, Calif. – The 2021 volleyball season started off well for The University of New Mexico as the Lobos never trailed in their season-opening sweep of Fordham (25-13, 25-15, 25-15).
Three Lobos finished with double-digit kills, led by Kaitlynn Biassou’s match-high 14, with Uxue Guereca recording 12 and Kassie McGill finishing with 11 in her first match as a Lobo.
Biassou and Guerea were efficient in their attacks, hitting .407 and .357, respectively in the match as the Lobos hit .312 as a team. McGill added four assisted blocks, tying Avital Jaloba for the team high in the category.
Also in her first match as a Lobo, sophomore setter Melissa Walden tallied a double-double with a match-high 39 assists to go along with 12 digs, and added a kill and a service ace to her final stats.
Alena Moldan recorded a match-high 20 digs and Biassou led with two service aces, one of five Lobos to record one in the match.
UNM got out to an early 9-1 lead in the opening set on a 7-0 run behind two kills each from McGill and Guereca before Fordham closed the gap to within three at 12-8. Kills by Biassou and McGill, as well as a block by Jaloba and McGill pushed the margin back to eight at 16-8 in favor of the Lobos.
The lead expanded to nine on a Jaloba and Guereca block followed by a Ram attack error that made it 19-10, and grew to 12 following what amounted to a 6-0 run and a 22-10 Lobo lead. Two Guereca kills gave UNM set point and McGill closed the set with a final kill for the 25-13 set win.
McGill accounted for seven kills in the opening set and a .500 attack percentage, complimented by Guereca’s five kills and .625 hitting percentage. McGill’s seven kills exceeded Fordham’s team total of five kills in the set, with the Rams limited to a -.032 hitting percentage to UNM’s .412. Walden was already on her way to a double-double with 15 assists and six digs in the first set.
UNM continued its control to start the second set with a 7-0 lead and two kills by Biassou. Fordham got back into the set at 13-9, but the Lobos went on a 5-0 run that included three consecutive connections from Walden to Biassou for kills for a 19-10 advantage.
The lead once again stretched to double figures at 22-12 on a Jaloba kill, and the Lobos took the second set 25-15 with McGill accounting for the final three points on two kills and a combined block with Jaloba.
Biassou was the attacking threat in the second set with seven kills and a .778 attack percentage (7-0-9), as the junior outside hitter outhit Fordham’s team total in kills in the set. Fordham again was limited in opportunities, hitting just .081 while UNM hit .268. The Sparks, Nev., native also recorded consecutive aces early on in the set to finish with 9.0 points in the second.
The third set was much closer early on as the Rams stayed within range in the first eight points at 5-3. However, the Lobos exerted their control with kills by Guereca and Elizabeth Woods that pushed the lead to five at 8-3. A Ram kill provided the closest margin of three at 11-8 before a Biassou kill and two Fordham attack errors provided enough distance for the remainder of the set.
A 6-0 run late in the set made it 22-13 and from there the Lobos finished with a kill from Woods, a Hayley Torres service ace and a final Biassou kill to clinch the set, 25-15, and the match.
The Lobos held the Rams below .100 hitting in all three sets, for a .049 hitting percentage in the match. Their leader in kills from a year ago, Whitley Moody, was held to just seven kills and a .100 attack percentage, while their assist leader Megan Brzozowski was held to just 11 assists in the entire match. The defense proved solid as well, allowing just two service aces, 19 kills on 103 attempts and outblocked the Rams 6.0-3.0.
UNM returns to the court at 7 p.m. MT against host Cal State Fullerton before closing out the Titan Classic with a final match against UC Riverside on Saturday at 2 p.m. MT.