Lobos Fall to Spartans in Three

SAN JOSE, Calif.— The New Mexico volleyball team fell in three against San José State on Thursday by scores of 25-23, 25-13 and 25-18.

Kaitlynn Biassou was the only Lobo to reach double figures in kills with 10, while Uxue Guereca led with four service aces, accounting for four of UNM’s six in the match.

The first set was the closest of the sets with 12 ties and six lead changes. Following a tie at nine, SJSU took an 11-9 lead that expanded to a 16-12 lead. The Lobos answered to tie the set at 18, but the Spartans won the next two points to retake the lead. UNM responded to tie the set at 20 on a Guereca ace, with ties late at 21, 22 and 23, however San José State closed the set with two final kills for the 25-23 win.

As a team, the Lobos hit .308 with Biassou hitting .857 on six kills, zero errors and seven attacks in the opening set.

After SJSU took a 5-2 lead in the second set, UNM answered with a Biassou kill and back-to-back Avital Jaloba and Biassou blocks to even the set at five, and took a lead on the next point on an Alena Moldan ace. A Biassou kill tied the set at eight before the Spartans pulled ahead 14-8 and took the set 25-13, scoring the final four points of the set.

UNM again held close in the third set, taking a 5-3 lead on a Spartan attack error, although SJSU tied the set at five before taking a 7-5 lead. A 7-0 Spartan run stretched UNM’s deficit to 17-9, but a 5-0 Lobo run cut the margin down to three at 17-14, with Guereca accounting for three service aces and Jaloba adding two kills. SJSU won the next three points to push the gap to six at 20-14, and while the Lobos got within four at 22-18, the Spartans won the next three points to close the match.

With Thursday’s result, the Lobos stand at 11-6 on the season and 2-5 in the conference. Up next, UNM travels to Nevada to play the Wolf Pack on Saturday at 2 p.m. MT.