UNM Travels to Texas for Wildcat Classic
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.– Three matches into the 2021 season and The University of New Mexico volleyball team couldn’t have scripted a better start after earning three wins without losing a single set. As a result, two Lobos earned their first career conference weekly honor as junior co-captains Kaitlynn Biassou and Alena Moldan were named Mountain West Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week, respectively.
The Lobos aim to continue their success at the Wildcat Classic in Abilene, Texas with three matches against Green Bay (Friday at 10 a.m. MT), host Abilene Christian (Friday at 6 p.m. MT) and Texas Southern (Saturday at 1:30 p.m. MT).
Beyond award-winning performances by Biassou and Moldan, sophomore setter Melissa Walden had a sensational first three appearances as a Lobo.
Walden was an assist machine, recoding 30-plus assists (30 and 39) in two matches and 25 assists in the third match for a total of 94 assists. The Aurora, Ill., native produced the second-most number of assists and assists per set in the Mountain West, while playing two less sets than the person in third. In addition, Walden registered two double-doubles (30 assists, 12 digs against Cal State Fullerton and 39 assists, 12 digs against Fordham), recorded nine kills, including five against Cal State Fullerton, three service aces, 33 digs and three total blocks (all assisted). To put her dominance in perspective, Walden’s 30 assists against the Titans were more than the entire CSF team, which finished with 21 in the match, and her 39 against the Rams were more than the entire Fordham team, which finished with 18.
In addition, as a team, the defense was solid in all three matches as the Lobos held all three opponents below a .050 hitting percentage (UC Riverside finished at .045, Cal State Fullerton at .036, and Fordham at .049). The Lobos won sets by double-digit points six times, with a low of nine points allowed in the second set at Cal State Fullerton. Only two times did an opponent reach 20 points in a set, a 25-20 set win over UC Riverside and a 25-23 set win for UNM. Further, UNM averaged 18.0 digs per set with a 42 dig advantage over its opponents.
Aiding in that feat was another Lobo newcomer, Elizabeth Woods. Woods had a memorable first weekend as a Lobo, starting in all three matches and playing in all nine sets. The middle blocker led the Lobos with 10.0 blocks on the weekend, averaging 1.11 blocks per set, with three solo and seven assisted.
Through the first weekend of competition, the Lobos are standing out in several categories. UNM is currently eighth in the NCAA in opponent hitting % (.043), 17th in aces per set (2.44), 18th in digs per set (18.0) and junior Alena Moldan is fifth in digs per set (6.67). In the Mountain West, the Lobos are leading in digs per set, hitting percentage (.295), opponent hitting percentage and wins.
Of note, the Wildcat Classic will be a homecoming for five Lone Star State Lobos: freshmen Elizabeth Woods (Rowlett) and Abby Thigpen (Arlington), sophomore Emma Smith (Woodlands), junior Chlor Clark (Pearland) and graduate student Mmachi Nwoke (Grand Prairie) are all Texas natives.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
The Phoenix enter the tournament with a 1-3 record after dropping matches to Ball State (3-1), North Dakota State (3-2) and Northern Iowa (3-1) and picking up a win against St. Thomas (3-1) at their home GBD Invite. Green Bay was led by Shannon Coughlin, who accounted for 46 kills (2.71 kills per set), but hit just .085. Coughlin also added 13 digs and three blocks. Leading GB in assists was Calli Gentry, who totaled 179 assists (10.53 per set) and accounted for 87.7 percent of the team assists. Alexandra Zakutney led in service aces with 11 and Tiffany Paalman had a team-best 19.0 total blocks (all assisted) for an average of 1.12 blocks per set. As a team, the Phoenix averaged 12.6 kills per set, 12.0 assists per set, 2.2 aces per set, 12.4 digs per set and 1.8 blocks per set. Through the Aug. 29 NCAA stats, GB leads the nation in team assists (204), team kills (215) and team service aces (38) and are second in team total attacks (587). Zakutney ranks third in points (72.0) and service aces and Gentry leads the NCAA in assists.
Abilene Christian enters the weekend 2-1 after defeating Incarnate Word 3-2 and UT Arlington 3-1, and losing against Texas Tech on Tuesday in three sets. Through 12 sets of play, Lindsey Toney leads the Wildcats with 69 kills (5.75 per set) and eight service aces, with Madison Rohre leading with 139 assists (11.58 per set). Defensively, Madison Lawler holds a team-high 49 digs (4.08 per set) and Braden Bossier has a team-best 8.0 blocks (all assisted). As a team, ACU is hitting .197, averaging 14.0 kills per set, 13.3 assists per set, 1.4 aces per set and 1.2 blocks per set. Prior to the Texas Tech match, the Wildcats were eighth in the NCAA in assists per set and kills per set, 12th in team attacks per set (40.22) and 20th in digs per set (17.89). Toney was first in the nation in kills per set (6.89) and points per set (7.94), second in the nation in attacks per set (14.44) and fourth in total kills, while Rohre was fifth in assists per set (12.44).
Texas Southern opened its season at the Colonels Classic, where the Tigers won in four sets against Southern but lost in three to Nicholls State and four to Niagara. The Tigers were led by Thalia Cordero Moreno’s 44 kills (4.0 per set), 44 digs and four service aces in their first three matches. Aeris Ramsey recorded a team-best 68 assists, but Dallas Balanay-Flores is another option with 51 assists for the Tigers. When it comes to blocking, Indyah Rideaux leads with seven blocks (two solo and five assisted). As a team, the Tigers are hitting .232 with 13.7 kills per set, 18.5 digs per set, 12.5 assists per set, 1.5 aces per set and 0.8 blocks per set. After the first weekend of competition, TSU was 13th in the nation in digs per set, 22nd in team digs (204) and 23rd in team attacks per set (38.36).