Lobos' Rally Falls Short vs. Utah Tech in Tournament Finale
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – New Mexico Volleyball was down 2-1 and on the ropes in set four of its Lobo Invitational finale matchup with Utah Tech Saturday afternoon before a dramatic rally to force a fifth, but ultimately fell in the decisive final set (27-25, 14-25, 24-26, 25-16, 9-15) to finish the weekend 2-1 at The Pit.
The Lobos (4-2) still wrap up the weekend as Lobo Invitational Champions, having won more sets than any other team in the field after dispatching CSU Bakersfield in four and St. John’s in three on the first two days of competition. They travel to Grand Forks, N.D. next weekend to compete in the UND Classic with a field that includes North Dakota (1-5), Montana (1-5) and Green Bay (2-3).
BY THE NUMBERS
Kaitlynn Biassou and Kali Wolf both finished with 12 kills to lead UNM’s attack, with Athina Dimitriadis adding 8 more on team-high .353 hitting. Four different Lobos finished with at least three kills to their name, led by Uxue Guereca (6), and Biassou and Wolf both recorded double-doubles with 11 and 13 digs.
Melissa Walden finished with 40 assists – the sixth game in a row that she’s produced at least 30 and the fourth game this season in which he’s had 40. Angela Crosetti led the Lobos in digs once again, notching 22.
UNM shot out to a 15-6 start in Set One before the Trailblazers outscored them 18-7 over the next 25 points, capped off by a 7-0 run that got them to set point at 24-22. But Guereca and Biassou both pushed the Lobos over the top, combining for three kills to close out as UNM scored three in a row for a 27-25 set win. UNM notched a game-high 60% on sideouts to overcome
The Trailblazers finished Set Two with a match-high .429 kill percentage en route to UNM’s most lopsided set loss of the day, but were held to .225 hitting in Set Three – when UNM connected on a match-high 16 kills – and -.029 in the Lobos’ comeback Set Four win. In that pivotal fourth, UNM was down 0-8 to start before surging ahead with a 10-0 run and scoring 6 of the last 8 points to force a fifth. In that set, the Lobos notched .207 hitting, with Wolf heating up for four kills – three of which came during the Lobos’ big run.
DIMITRIADIS, BIASSOU EARN ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS
Kaitlynn Biassou and Athina Dimitriadis were both named to the Lobo Invitational All-Tournament team after their contributions to UNM’s 2-1 weekend. Biassou finished the weekend with 33 kills (2.75/set), 26 digs and a team-high 8 aces while ranking second on the team in kills and total blocks (13). Dimitriadis added 23 kills on .314 hitting to go with 9 blocks, 5 digs and an ace.