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Lobo Comeback Comes Up Short to Cowgirls Thursday

by Allison Weiss

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— After dropping the first two sets on Thursday night at the Johnson Center, the Lobo volleyball team responded to force a fifth set, and although New Mexico got out to an early lead in the deciding set, couldn’t complete the reverse sweep in the Mountain West battle against Wyoming.

The Lobos fell 18-25, 24-26, 25-12, 25-20, 22-24.

Uxue Guereca recorded her eighth double-double of the season, finishing with a season-high 21 kills and 15 digs, while Melissa Walden had her first double-double of the season on a career-high 52 assists and a team- and season-high 18 digs.

Kaitlynn Biassou tied her career high with 26 kills and added three service aces and four assisted blocks, with Alena Moldan also serving up a career-high three aces and having six assists and 14 digs. For Biassou, it is the fifth match that the senior has finished with 20-plus kills this season with four occurring in the last five matches.

The Lobos closed from down 8-4 to 9-8 in the opening set, but were unable to get the tying point before Wyoming used a 6-1 run to pull away in the set in the eventual 25-18 score.

In the second set, New Mexico got out to a 5-2 lead before the Cowgirls tied the set at six. There was little separation with ties at nine, 10 and 11 before Wyoming scored the next three points to take the 14-11 lead. UNM closed the deficit to tie the set at 15, with a Biassou ace for the tying point, and a kill by Walden pushed the Lobos back in front. Wyoming responded with a run to take the 18-17 lead, however, a Jaloba kill started a rally as the Lobos took a 21-18 lead on a Cowgirl attack error, Jaloba and Walden block and a Guereca kill. The Cowgirls used a run of their own to tie the set at 23 and the Lobos fought off set point on a Biassou kill to tie the set at 24, going to extra points for the 10th time this season. Wyoming scored the next two points to win the second set 26-24, ultimately closing on a 5-1 run.

There were a total of 10 ties and seven lead changes in the set.

UNM won four of the first five points in the third set, and although Wyoming closed to tie the set at six, the Lobos used a 4-0 run followed by a 6-0 run to gain some separation from the Cowgirls with a 16-7 lead. New Mexico closed the set winning the final three points on a Guereca kill, a block by Lea Zurlinden and a Zurlinden kill to extend the match with a 25-12 set win.

Biassou and Guereca each accounted for six kills in the set, with the Lobos outhitting the Cowgirls .350 to .000, with Wyoming only having six kills as a team.

The Lobo momentum looked to continue into the fourth set as UNM got out to a 6-1 lead, but UW tied the set at six and continued its run to lead 10-6. The Lobos answered with a 6-1 run out of a timeout to regain the lead, a lead that extended to 14-12 on back-to-back kills by Guereca and Biassou. Wyoming pulled as close as 14-13 before consecutive Biassou kills kept the Lobos in front and a Kali Wolf kill extended the lead to five at 21-16. A Biassou kill led to set point and a Guereca ace pushed the match to a fifth set in a 25-20 result.

Biassou added six kills and a service ace to her night’s total, with Moldan recording two of UNM’s five aces in the set.

UNM won the first two points of the fifth set on a Biassou kill and ace, and got out to a 4-1 lead that grew to a 7-3 lead, forcing a Wyoming timeout. The Cowgirls closed to within one at 7-6 before a Biassou kill led to the teams switching sides with the Lobos leading 8-6. UW again closed within one at 11-10, to which a Jaloba and Walden block and a Guereca kill made it 13-10. Wyoming climbed back to tie the set at 13 and with it started the back-and-forth exchange of points as each team fought off match points.

Facing match point, a Guereca kill tied the set at 14, and a Biassou kill tied the set at 15 and again at 16. A Biassou kill then gave UNM match point, but a service error kept the match going. Another Biassou kill put UNM again at match point, but a Cowgirl kill created another tie. Wolf provided match point again for the Lobos at 19-18, with Wyoming tying it up on the next point. A Cowgirl kill followed by a service error led to a tie at 20-all and a Zurlinden kill led to a tie at 21-all. UNM had its last match point at 22-21 on a Zurlinden and Biassou block, but consecutive Wyoming kills and an attack error ended the set and the match 24-22.

Biassou finished with eight kills in the fifth set, hitting .538, with Guereca adding four kills, as both teams hit .412. There were a total of 10 ties and five lead changes in the final set.

The Lobos (10-3, 1-2 MW) return to the Johnson Center on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 1 p.m. against Colorado State to close out the second week of conference play.