Lobos Fall in Comeback Effort to Wolf Pack
RENO, Nev.— Double-doubles by Kaitlynn Biassou and Uxue Guereca weren’t enough as the Lobo volleyball team couldn’t complete the reverse sweep against Nevada on Saturday afternoon (23-25, 24-26, 25-21, 25-22, 15-17).
Biassou led with a match-high 26 kills and had 16 digs, while Guereca finished with 14 kills and 12 digs, as well as three service aces and three assisted blocks. Saturday was Guereca’s 11th double-double of the season, while it was the sixth time this season that Biassou registered 20-plus kills in a match and the second time with 26 kills.
Of note, Biassou moved into eighth-place all-time in career points in Saturday’s match in front of her hometown crowd, as the senior currently has 1,358 career points. In addition, she now has 1,168 career kills, moving her into seventh all-time.
A 4-0 run in the opening set gave the Lobos the 6-4 lead, and after Nevada tied the set up at nine, went on another 4-0 run for the 13-9 lead. The Wolf Pack pulled even and took a 16-13 lead, however, the Lobos answered right back to tie the set at 16 and took the 17-16 lead on a kill by Arianna Jamerson. UNM led 22-20 late, but Nevada went on a 3-0 run to take the lead, and while the Lobos fought off set point on a Lea Zurlinden kill to pull within one at 24-23, the Wolf Pack took the final point and the first set 25-23.
Biassou started the match with seven kills, hitting .667 (7-1-9), with 12 ties and six lead changes.
The Lobos came back from down 10-7 in the second set to tie and take a 13-10 lead and held a 15-12 advantage until Nevada tied the set up at 15 and took the 16-15 lead. Nevada led 20-17 late before a Biassou kill, a Guereca kill and a bad set by the Wolf Pack evened the set. The Wolf Pack led 23-20 and held set point at 24-22, but a kill for Zurlinden and a Nevada attack error fought it off and extended the set. However, Nevada won the next two points to take the set, 26-24.
New Mexico led 18-14 late, and although Nevada closed to tie the set at 20 and took a 21-20 lead, the Lobos closed with scoring the final five points, three of which came on Biassou kills and two on Nevada errors for the 25-21 win to extend the match.
Biassou added eight kills in the third set, accounting for more than half of UNM’s 14 kills as a team, as the Lobos outhit the Wolf Pack .323 to .200.
The Lobos had to rally in the fourth set, trailing by five at 11-6 and responding to tie the set at 13. The Lobos again trailed 20-17, rallying to tie the set at 21 before a ball handling error gave UNM the 22-21 lead. An ace by Melissa Walden stretched the lead to two at 23-21, and even though Nevada got a point back to cut the lead to one, a Zurlinden kill and Guereca ace gave UNM the 25-22 set win to force the decisive fifth set.
There were ties at two, three and four before Nevada took a 7-4 lead in the fifth set. The Wolf Pack maintained their lead at 11-8 until the Lobos answered with a kill by Avital Jaloba, a Jaloba service ace and a Walden dump over the net for a kill to tie the set. The Lobos fought off match point at 14-13 with a kill by Guereca and again at 15-14 on a Biassou kill. The Wolf Pack gained match point on the next point and got the final kill for the 17-15 win.
The Lobos (11-7, 2-6 MW) return home to host San Diego State on Thursday, Oct. 20 at 6:30 p.m.