Moldan and Biassou Named MW Players of the Week
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— Kaitlynn Biassou and Alena Moldan have been named Mountain West Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, following a 2-0 week for Lobo volleyball team that included wins over Utah State and Boise State.
Monday’s announcement marks the second weekly conference award this season for the duo, and the second of their career, as both earned the distinction to open the season on Aug. 30.
Biassou finished the week with a combined 45 kills, an average of 5.0 kills per set, with a career-high 26 kills coming in the five-set victory over Utah State in which the junior outside hitter recorded seven kills in the fifth set alone while hitting .417 in the match, and added a team-high 19 kills in the four-set win over Boise State, hitting .438 in that match. Biassou also served up four aces and had seven total blocks for 52.5 points on the week, an average of 5.83 points per set. Her 26 kills were also the most by a player in the conference to date, taking into account both conference and non-conference matches.
The Sparks, Nev., native was clutch in the sets that the Lobos won against the Aggies, as Biassou had six kills and hit .714 in the second set, five kills and a service ace in the third set and seven kills on eight attacks for a .750 hitting percentage in the deciding fifth set. When the Aggies got within two at 22-20 in the third set, Biassou unloaded for a kill and the 23-20 lead and later closed the set with a kill as UNM took the 2-1 match lead following the 25-21 win. Biassou provided a spark for the Lobos in the fifth set, recording four kills early as the Lobos got out to a 6-1 lead, while consecutive Biassou kills pushed the Lobos within two points of the match at 13-9 and a final Biassou kill provided match point at 14-10.
In the fourth set against the Broncos, a kill by Biassou tied the set at 18-all, the first tie since seven-all and a service ace pushed UNM to within two points of the match at 23-19.
As a result of her totals last week, Biassou currently leads the MW in kills (98), kills per set (4.26), points (116.5), and points per set (5.07) in conference matches.
Moldan tallied 20 digs against both Utah State and Boise State for an average of 4.44 digs per set, while also recording seven assists, one service ace and one kill. Of note, Moldan recorded the dig on both match points that clinched the Lobo wins.
Against the Aggies, Moldan finished with five digs in each of the first three sets and three digs in the fifth set. In the second set against Boise State, the junior libero registered four digs, which equaled the team total for the Broncos, posted six in the third set and in the fourth set, accounted for seven digs, more than any other player on either team. One notable dig occurred in the fourth set, with a dig soaring over the net and falling in for a kill that made it 19-18 UNM en route to the 25-20 set win.
As a team, the Lobos had a memorable week beating both Utah State, with the Aggies entering the match at 3-1 and tied with the Lobos at the time at the top of the MW standings and Boise State, who was picked to finish second in the preseason poll with two first-place votes. Saturday’s win snapped a five-match losing streak to the Broncos that dated back to 2018 and was the first home win against BSU since Oct. 4, 2014.
The Lobos improved to 14-3 on the season and 5-1 in the Mountain West and are currently tied for first in the conference. Up next for Moldan, Biassou and the Lobos are two road matches against Colorado State, one of the three teams sitting at 5-1, and Wyoming.