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UNM Responds to Adversity in Win Against ACU

by Allison Weiss

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— Adversity arose twice in The University of New Mexico volleyball team’s match against Abilene Christian on Saturday, dropping the first set and trailing 14-8 in the third set, but the Lobos leaned on their veterans and showed poise, winning in four sets (20-25, 25-16, 25-19, 25-19).

Uxue Guereca again led the way, producing her second double-double of the weekend with a match-high 18 kills and 13 digs, while Anilee Sher finished with a match-high 33 assists and 17 digs for her first double-double as a Lobo.

Alena Moldan set a career high with 31 digs to lead all players, and Kaitlynn Biassou tied her career high with five service aces to go along with 13 kills and nine digs. Avital Jaloba also stepped up with 10 kills and a solo block and assisted block, as did freshman Lea Zurlinden, who finished with six kills and three assisted blocks in the win.

Neither team could garner any separation in the opening set with 12 ties before ACU eventually pulled ahead 15-12.  A Moldan ace tied the set at 15, however, the Wildcats went back in front by three, 18-15 and expanded their lead to five at 21-16. The Wildcats took the first set 25-20, although Jaloba led the Lobos with five kills to lead all players in the set.

In the following set, UNM was the team to assert itself, pulling ahead 5-2 on back-to-back Biassou kills, and went on a 7-0 run that turned a 6-4 lead into a 13-4 lead. In the run, Biassou recorded two service aces and Jaloba added two kills. UNM’s lead grew to 11 at 18-7, and again at 20-9 on a Kali Wolf kill before ACU trimmed the margin down to seven at 21-14. However, an Arianna Jamerson kill, Wildcat attack error and consecutive kills by Guereca and Zurlinden secured the set win at 25-16 to even the match at one.

The Lobos outhit ACU .213 to .073 in the set, with three kills apiece from Jaloba and Guereca.

After tying the match, the Lobos trailed early in the third set, with the Wildcats taking an 8-4 lead that turned into an 14-8 lead. Guereca spurred the Lobo comeback, starting the rally with three-straight kills followed by a Biassou and Zurlinden combined block to trim the deficit to two. A Wildcat kill ended the mini Lobo run, albeit temporarily, as a Guereca kill, ACU attack error and Biassou kill tied the set at 15.  Both teams exchanged points to create ties at 16, 17 and 18, at which point Biassou took over with a service ace, a kill and another ace to put the Lobos in control at 21-18. Wolf continued the run with a kill and an ACU attack error gave UNM the 23-18 lead. While ACU got a point back, kills by Jaloba and Guereca closed the set with the Lobos winning 25-19 and taking the 2-1 match lead.

Guereca led with seven kills in the third set and added an ace to Biassou’s two, and defensively, Jaloba led with a solo block with Zurlinden assisting on two blocks.

The Lobos opened the fourth set scoring the first five points of the set and led 7-2, but ACU used a run to close within two at 8-6. Sher stopped the damage with a dump over the net for the Lobo point, and while ACU closed within one on two separate occasions, the Lobos always found an answer to keep the lead. A kill by Biassou and a service ace on the following point pushed the margin to four at 16-12, to which the Wildcats matched with two points of their own to close back within two. However, three consecutive ACU attack errors ended the Wildcat threat, stretching the Lobo lead to five at 19-14 and out of a timeout, a Guereca kill pushed the Lobos closer to match point. ACU got within four at 22-18 and again at 23-19 before an ACU service error gave UNM match point. Biassou closed the door with a final kill that was confirmed after an unsuccessful ACU challenge.

Guereca closed the match with six kills in the fourth, giving the Lobo 13 kills in the final two sets with just two errors.

Of note, the fourth set was the only set in the match that a team led from start to finish.

UNM (2-0) heads to UTEP for week two of the season, set to play UTEP on Sept. 1, South Dakota on Sept. 2 and Portland State on Sept. 3.