Lobos Sweep Fresno State
FRESNO, Calif. – The Lobo volleyball team closed the week with a sweep of Fresno State on the road by scores of 27-25, 26-24, 25-22, going 2-0 on the week.
Uxue Guereca led New Mexico with 11 kills in the match, with Kaitlynn Biassou one kill shy of a double-double on nine kills and 14 digs. Lea Zurlinden hit .750 with seven kills on eight attacks and an error, and added three assisted blocks. . Alena Moldan led all players with 15 digs
The Lobos scored the first three points of the match on a Lauryn Payne kill, a Zurlinden kill and a Guereca ace and led 11-3 behind a 4-0 run. However, a 6-0 Fresno State run brought the Bulldogs within 1 at 16-15 before the Bulldogs tied the set at 17 and took a 19-17 lead on what amounted to a 10-1 run. A Bulldog service error and Guereca kill tied the set back up at 19, with ties at 20 and 21. A Guereca kill put the Lobos back in front and a Fresno State attack error extended the lead to two. UNM had set point at 24-22 on a FS service error, but the Bulldogs fought it off twice. There was another tie at 25 before a Bulldog service error and service ace by Madison Blanco ended the set with the Lobos winning 27-25 after four set points.
UNM took the early 5-1 lead in the second set and led 7-3 through 10 points. The Bulldogs closed the margin to tie the set at 15 and took the 16-15 lead. Following a tie at 18, Fresno State went on a 4-0 run to take the 22-18 lead. UNM got to within one at 23-22 before fighting off two set points to tie the set at 24. A block by Jaloba and Payne provided set point and a Jaloba kill made it a 4-0 Lobo run to close the set for the 26-24 set win.
The third set was might tighter in the early stages with four ties in the first 10 points. A 4-1 Lobo run gave UNM the final edge and the Lobos continued to expand their lead, pushing it to seven at 17-10. Fresno State closed to within three at 19-16 before another Bulldog service error and an ace by Anilee Sher provided some cushion. The Bulldogs again made another late push to get back into the set, fighting off two match points at 24-20 and 24-21, but a service error ended the match with the Lobos winning 25-22.
With the win, the Lobos improve to 13-7 and 4-6 in the Mountain West.
Up next for UNM:The Lobos return home to host Nevada (Oct. 27) and San José State (Oct. 29).