UNM Completes Comeback at UTEP to Start Borderland Invitational
EL PASO, Texas— With their backs to the wall and facing a 2-0 deficit for the first time this season, the Lobo volleyball team showed resolve in Thursday night’s match at UTEP, turning the deficit into a five-set win, with the fifth set needing extra points to determine the victor. In the end, New Mexico emerged with the 23-25, 17-25, 25-18, 25-10, 20-18 win to improve to 3-0 on the season.
“I’m thrilled to open the Borderland Invitational with a win,” said UNM head coach Jon Newman-Gonchar. “The Lobos fought until the end. This is just another awesome step for our program in this early part of the season.”
It was an all-around team performance with three Lobos finishing in double-digit kills, led by Kaitlynn Biassou who got better as the match went on, and Anilee Sher, who led the team with six service aces, including three-straight to open the fourth set. Uxue Guereca added another double-double to her season tally with 11 kills and a match-high 18 digs, while also adding four service aces (tying her career high). Kali Wolf added 12 kills to go with eight digs and an ace and hit .407 (12-1-27). As a team, the Lobos finished with 13 service aces, which is the most in a match in program history in the 25-point rally scoring era and the most since UNM had 12 against Houston Baptist in 2016.
The margins were razor thin in several categories, with UNM holding a slight edge in kills (52-51) and service aces (13-12), and a total of 23 ties and 15 lead changes in the match that included seven ties and five lead changes in the fifth.
The first set was a set of runs with each team going on scoring spurts and the other team responding. Back-to-back Avital Jaloba kills put the Lobos up 5-3, but the Miners answered with a 6-2 run to go ahead 9-7. UNM answered right back to tie the set at nine on a Guereca kill with Elizabeth Woods giving the Lobos the lead back. After UTEP regained the lead at 14-11, the Lobos called a timeout, and out of the break used a 5-0 run to gain the 16-14 advantage. The Miners pulled even at 16 and gained some flow to go ahead 24-20. The Lobos fought off three set points on a Miner attack error, a service ace by Sher and a Guereca kill, but the Miners took the first set 25-23.
Guereca led the way with five kills, five digs and a service ace, while Woods had four kills.
Sher started the second set with a service ace, but both teams were unable to gain any separation early with ties at one, two, three, four and five. The Lobos gained the slight lead at 9-6, but couldn’t pull away as UTEP inched closer, ultimately tying the set at 13 before taking a 19-13 lead behind an 8-0 run. New Mexico closed to as close as 21-17 on a Guereca kill before the Miners won 25-17 to gain the 2-0 lead in the match.
The Lobos set the tone in the third set, scoring the first five points and eight of the first 10 points. New Mexico held a 12-5 lead and maintained a seven-point margin at 17-10 before the Miners cut the lead to two at 18-16. A solo block by Woods kept the Miners from getting any closer, as the Lobos proceeded to close on a 6-2 run and extended the match with a 25-18 set win.
UNM kept the momentum in the fourth set with Sher serving up three-straight aces to open the set with the Lobos getting out to an 11-1 lead on an 8-0 run. UNM remained in control, building the lead to 17-6 on Guereca’s 10th kill of the match to give the Lobo her third double-double of the season. The Lobos were in complete control in the set, winning 25-10 to force the fifth set.
New Mexico hit an impressive .667 in the set with Biassou recording five kills and Wolf and Sher adding two each. Sher accounted for three of UNM’s five aces in the set, while UTEP hit .077 with five kills total as a team.
In both the third and fourth sets, the Lobos led from start to finish.
After fighting back to push the match to five sets, UTEP got out to the 6-1 lead in the fifth set. However, true to form, the Lobos pushed back behind two Biassou kills, two Miner attack errors and a Wolf and Jaloba block to bring UNM within one at 7-6. The Miners were on the brink of the win with a five-point lead at 11-6, but again, the Lobos answered as a Wolf kill, Jaloba block and Wolf service ace got the Lobos within two at 11-9. UTEP ended the run to make it 12-9, when consecutive kills by Guereca, Lea Zurlinden and Arianna Jamerson tied the set at 12. An attack error by UTEP gave UNM its first lead of the set, and from there it was an exchange of points with ties at 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 with UNM fighting off three match points while having two match points.
Tied 18-all, Wolf provided the final match point on a kill and Jaloba and Wolf clinched the win with an assisted block. Biassou closed with four kills in the fifth set with Wolf adding two. Jaloba finished with a solo and three assisted blocks, teaming up with Wolf on all three.
With the win, the Lobos have won the last eight matches against the Miners and improve to 3-0 on the season.
New Mexico returns to the court on Friday at 4 p.m. MT to face South Dakota.