Open Announce

Lobos Open MW with Two Home Matches

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.– New Mexico opens up its Mountain West portion of the schedule with two home matches, hosting Air Force on Tuesday, Sept. 21 at 6 p.m. and Fresno State on Thursday, Sept. 23 at 6:30 p.m. Both matches will take place in Johnson.

Tuesday’s match will be Youth Sports Day and Team Day, with those 12 and under who wear their jersey or uniform (any sport) get in for free. There will also be an autograph and selfie session after the match. On Thursday, the Lobos will celebrate New Mexico with a We Are New Mexico match.

The Lobos enter the week with a 9-2 record, the best non-conference record since 2013 in which the team went 10-1. The Lobos got out to a hot start in the 2021 season, winning their first eight matches having only dropped one set, and returned to their winning ways in the final non-conference match against NAU, winning in four sets. UNM has dropped just eight sets this season while winning 28.

To date, the Lobos have: 121 more kills (488-367), 106 more assists (444-338), 87 more digs (625-538), 28 more blocks (78.0-50.0) and 31 more aces (64-33) than their opponents and are outhitting their opponents .258 to .110.

Heading into conference play, UNM is fifth in the NCAA in opponent hitting % (.111), 20th in digs per set (17.06) and 39th in hitting percentage (.259). Alena Moldan ranks 12th in the NCAA in digs per set (5.31).

In the Mountain West, the Lobos are leading in opponent hitting percentage, kills per set (13.56) and digs per set (17.06), and second in hitting percentage and assists per set (12.33). Alena Moldan leads the MW in digs per set and overall digs (191), while playing five less sets than the player with the second highest number of digs. Melissa Walden is third in assists per set (9.33) and eighth in digs per set (3.39). Elizabeth Woods is fifth in blocks per set (1.11) with 39 total blocks, and Kaitlynn Biassou is fifth in points per set (4.15) and sixth in kills per set (3.42). Uxue Guereca is tied for eighth in kills per set (3.00) and ninth in points per set (3.53).

Air Force opens conference competition 3-7, winning its last three matches against Cal State Fullerton, Iowa and Incarnate Word. Their losses have come against CSU Bakersfield, Northern Illinois, William & Mary, Seattle U, Oklahoma, Gonzaga and Denver. The Lobos have two common opponents with the Falcons in Seattle (Air Force lost in three sets, UNM won in four) and Cal State Fullerton (Air Force won in four sets, UNM won in three). Air Force is 1-3 in three sets, 1-3 in four sets and 1-1 in five sets. The Falcons are 0-3 on the road this season.

The Falcons are led by Bailey Keith’s 85 kills, an average of 2.24 per set, who is also hitting .218. Caroline Reinkensmeyer leads the team with 175 assists (4.86 per set average), but Abigail Collins also has over 100 assists with 106, averaging 4.08 per set. The duo are also the top-two servers on the team with Reinkensmeyer at nine and Collins at seven service aces. Allie Griffith has tallied a team-best 114 digs (3.17 per set) and Joi Harvey leads in blocking with 42.0 total, six solo and 36 assisted.

Fresno State enters conference play 4-4 with wins over CSUN, UC Riverside, Ohio and Montana State and losses to Washington, Kansas State, Loyola Chicago and Loyola Marymount. The Bulldogs are 1-2 in three sets, 2-1 in four sets and 1-1 in five sets. They are 0-2 on the road this season. The lone common opponent with the Lobos this season has been UC Riverside, with the Bulldogs winning in five sets (25-23, 21-25, 25-15, 21-25, 17-15).

The Bulldogs are led offensively by Desiree Sukhov’s 87 kills, an average of 2.81 per set, and 19 service aces, but who is hitting .135. Sukhov also leads the team with 65 digs (2.10 per set). Mikayla Weiss has accounted for 68.8% of the team assists with 225, averaging 7.76 per set. Grace Doyle has recorded a team-best 32.0 total blocks, four solo and 28 assisted, and is second in the MW in hitting percentage at .410 (65-15-122).

Air Force and UNM have a long history, meeting 46 times previously, with the Lobos holding a 40-6 advantage in the series. UNM is 19-2 at home, 26-4 in three sets, 8-1 in four sets and 6-1 in five sets. New Mexico and Fresno State have met 31 times before with Fresno State holding a 17-14 advantage in the series. However, UNM is 9-4 at home.

BECOME A PRIDE PASS HOLDER
Lobo fans can purchase Pride Passes to attend all home volleyball matches. For $50, fans receive admission for all soccer, volleyball, baseball, softball and track and field home events and serve as season tickets for all listed sports.

Fans can purchase their Lobo Pride Pass online here (CLICK HERE), or they can do so directly through the Lobo Ticket Office in person or on the phone (925-LOBO). The Lobo Ticket Office is located in The Pit and is open 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Tickets will be digital with tickets to each event uploaded into each pass holder’s account prior to the season.