Lobos Begin Four-Match Road Stretch at Air Force Tuesday
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The regular season is winding down with six matches left, and the Lobo volleyball team on the road for four of them, starting with a match with Air Force on Tuesday at 6 p.m. MT.
The match can be viewed on the Mountain West Network with live stats also available.
New Mexico is currently in seventh in the Mountain West standings at 5-7, trailing Boise State and Wyoming at 6-6, and 14-8 on the season.
Last week, UNM went 1-1 on the week with Uxue Guereca leading the way with 31 kills, 4.43 kills per set and 32.0 points. The Lobos outhit their opponents .232 to .173 and led in kills 102-94.
Guereca has been on an offensive tear as of late, recording double-digit kills in the last five matches and in six of the last seven matches. The redshirt-junior has registered 10-plus kills in nine conference matches, with a season-high 21 against Wyoming.
Last week against Nevada, Guereca hit a season-best .415 with 18 kills and just one error on 41 attacks.
She joins Kaitlynn Biassou as a solid 1-2 punch for the Lobos, with Biassou finishing in double figures in kills in all but two matches this season, and has finished with 20-plus kills in six matches, including twice with 26 kills.
Biassou leads the MW in MW matches in kills and kills per set at 189 and 4.11, respectively, as well as points and points per set at 212.5 and 4.62, respectively. The Lobo also leads the MW when taking into account all matches, leading with 3.96 kills per set and 352 kills and with 406.0 points and 4.56 points per set. In addition, she currently is 14th in the NCAA in points and 17th in total kills.
A key to the match will be being able to win the first set, as the Lobos are 10-0 when they win the first set and 4-8 when they lose the first set. In the previous match with Air Force at home back on Oct. 4, the Lobos won the first set 25-21, ultimately winning in four sets.
Biassou led the way in the first match with the Falcons with 17 kills and 11 digs, while Kali Wolf also reached double-double status with 11 kills and 13 digs. The middle blockers also produced big numbers at the net with Avital Jaloba finishing with two solo blocks and six assisted blocks and Lea Zurlinden with a solo block and two assisted blocks. The Lobos won the statistical battle in kills (46-42), assists (42-38), service aces (9-1), digs (66-61) and blocks (11.0-10.0). Anilee Sher nearly matched Air Force’s team total in assists with a match-high 36 assists, with the Falcons finishing with 38 team assists.
Since the Lobos last faced the Falcons, Air Force has gone 3-4 but has won its last two matches with a 3-0 win over San Jose State and a 3-2 win over Nevada. The Falcons are 3-1 in their last four matches with a 3-1 win over Fresno State and a 3-1 loss to San Diego State.
Air Force is now 11-13 on the season and 3-9 in conference, and is 7-5 at home.
Joi Harvey leads the team in kills at 248 (2.61 per set), followed by Brookelyn Messenger, who has 217 (2.31 per set). Caroline Reinkensmeyer has a team-high 535 assists (6.01 per set), but the Falcons have three players with over 100 assists on the season in Amber Soto (194, 4.51 per set) and Ellie Eichhorn (118, 3.69 per set). Messenger leads the team in aces at 27. When it comes to digs, Murphy Riggs leads in digs with 251 (2.67 per set), and at the net, Harvey leads with 123 total blocks (26 solo, and an average of 1.29 per set).
Harvey is third in conference matches in blocks per set at 1.15 with Air Force second in the conference with 2.4 blocks per set.
Following Tuesday’s match, the Lobos head to UNLV for a Saturday afternoon match with the Rebels at 1 p.m. PT./ 2 p.m. MT.