Lobos Host Utah State and Boise State
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— It’s a big weekend for The University of New Mexico volleyball team, entering the third week of conference play 3-1 and 12-3 overall, with matches against 11-5 (3-1 in MW) Utah State and 13-3 (2-2 MW) Boise State.
The Lobos and Aggies will square off on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. MT and the Lobos will face the Broncos on Saturday at 1 p.m. Both matches will be in Johnson Center. Both matches will be streamed on the Mountain West Network with live stats available. Thursday night is Faculty/ Staff/ Teacher Appreciation Day with all educators, UNM faculty and staff eligible to get in free. Saturday’s match against Boise State is the Dig Pink match with UNM volleyball partnering with UNM Health to raise money for cancer research and recognize a cancer survivor during the match. Fans are encouraged to wear pink.
UNM is coming off of a 1-1 record in the second week of MW play, defeating San Diego State for the first time in San Diego since Oct. 31, 2009, also in four sets, and moved to 3-0 in conference for the first time since 2014. Thursday’s win over the Aztecs also marked the first win against SDSU since Nov. 19, 2016, a span of eight matches. UNM then went to Las Vegas to face UNLV, and responded with a second set 25-18 win after dropping the first set 25-18, but was unable to hold momentum in the third set, falling 25-20 and dropping the fourth set 25-19.
To date, the Lobos have: 129 more kills (652-523), 104 more assists (586-482), 74 more digs (770-696), 26 more blocks (109.0-83.0) and 43 more aces (89-46) than their opponents and are outhitting their opponents .248 to .122.
UNM once again is among the top of the rankings in opponent hitting percentage, ranking fourth at .122, is 50th in hitting percentage (.248) and 37th in aces per set (1.78).
In the Mountain West, the Lobos are leading in opponent hitting percentage and digs per set (15.40), and are second in hitting percentage (.248) and third in kills per set (13.04). In just MW matches, UNM leads in opponent hitting percentage (.154) and tied for second in service aces per set (1.79).
The combination of Alena Moldan and Melissa Walden have been dominant for the Lobos, with both among the top of the MW in digs and digs per set (Moldan third at 225, 4.5 per set) and assists (Walden fourth at 428, 8.56 per set).
Moldan set career highs in digs and assists against Seattle with 30 digs and 10 assists for her first double-double, and her 30 digs are the most recorded by any player in the MW to date, regardless of sets played.
Kaitlynn Biassou and Uxue Guereca have benefitted from their efficiency with Biassou fourth overall in kills per set but with the second most total kills and Guereca 10th. In conference matches, Biassou leads the MW in kills per set (3.79) and second in points per set (4.57).
Biassou has recorded at least 10 kills in the last eight matches, with a season-high 17 against Seattle starting the streak, and has 10-plus kills in 10 of the 15 matches this season. Four times this season she has hit over .400 and once hit over .500 in a match (against Air Force, 14-3-21).
Utah State is 11-5 on the season, 3-1 in conference with Mountain West wins over Wyoming (3-2), Nevada (3-1) and San José State (3-0) with its lone loss against Colorado State (3-0). The Aggies are 5-1 in three sets, 4-1 in four sets and 2-3 in five sets this season and 5-2 on the road.
USU is led in kills by Tatum Stall’s 167 (2.69 per set), but has four players who have recorded over 100 kills (Kylee Stokes at 127, Kennedi Boyd at 126, Corinne Larsen at 110) and have another who is just shy of 100 in Katie Langford with 96. Stall also leads in service aces at 27. Setting the hitters has been Kalena Vaivai with 313 on the season (4.97 per set), but the Aggies also have two other setters with over 100 assists in Kalia Thunstrom (134, 4.32 per set) and Beatriz Rodrigues (179, 5.26 per set). Abby Peterson leads the team in digs with 180 (3.21) while Larson leads in total blocks at 72.0 (10 solo, 62 assisted), an average of 1.2 blocks per set.
Tatum Stall is 20th in the country in service aces and third in the conference, Corinne Larsen is 21st in the country in total blocks and second in the MW, while Kennedi Boyd is 28th in the country in hitting percentage (.397) and second in the conference.
UNM leads the series 21-13 over Utah State, with the Lobos winning the last two matches and five of the last six. The Lobos are 11-4 at home against the Aggies, with the last meeting a thrilling five-set victory for the Lobos to close the season. Trailing 20-11 in the fourth set and 2-1 in the match, UNM rallied to win the fourth set 26-24 and won the fifth set 15-11. UNM is 13-2 in three sets, 5-3 in four sets and 3-3 in five sets.
Boise State enters the third week of MW 13-3 overall, 2-2 in conference with MW wins over Wyoming (3-0) and Nevada (3-1) and lost to Colorado State (3-0) and San José State (3-2). The Broncos defeated then-No. 10 Utah at home in four sets and are 6-1 in three sets, 6-1 in four sets and 1-1 in five sets. Boise State is 3-1 on the road.
Lauren Ohlinger leads the team in kills with 216 (3.66 per set) as well as service aces (30), with Makayla Hansen second in kills at 147 (2.49 per set). Danielle Boss is their primary setter with 488 assists (10.61 per set) and Jolei Akima has a team-best 196 digs (3.32 per set). Alyssa Wissinger leads in total blocks at 74.0 (7 solo, 67 assisted), an average of 1.42 per set.
BSU is holding opponents to .156 hitting percentage while hitting .265, with BSU leading the conference in hitting percentage but second behind UNM in opponent hitting percentage. Boise State also leads the MW in blocks (176.0) and blocks per set (2.98) and is second in service aces per set (2.0) with a conference-best 118 on the season. Boss is second in the MW in assists per set but first in total assists, Ohlinger is first in total attacks (566), kills and points (259.0) and second in service aces. Wissinger leads the conference in total blocks and blocks per set.
The Broncos were picked to finish second in the MW preseason poll with two first-place votes.
New Mexico is 9-10 against Boise State but 4-3 at home. However, UNM has lost the last five matches to the Broncos with the last win coming on Oct. 28, 2017 and the last home win on Oct. 4, 2014. Historically, UNM is 3-6 in three sets, 5-3 in four sets and 1-1 in five sets against BSU.
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.