Biassou's Big Night Powers Lobos' Sweep of NAU
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Led by a resurgent night from Kaitlynn Biassou that saw her crack 100 career service aces, New Mexico Volleyball set the tone early with stifling defense and kept rolling in a sweep of Northern Arizona (25-12, 25-19, 25-18) in the final road game of their nonconference slate Wednesday night at the Joseph C. Rolle Activity Center.
The Lobos improve to 7-3 on the season and are winners of 10 of their last 14 sets, with a rematch with the Lumberjacks (3-7) on the docket for Friday at the Johnson Center.
Biassou finished with a double-double, leading UNM in kills (14) and digs (13) on team-high .478 hitting while serving up three service aces to move within two points of the No. 9 spot on the all-time list.
Great team win tonight against a tough NAU squad. We knew we had our hands full with the fire power they have on offense, and the Lobo defense came out and made a statement tonight. Very proud of the team and excited to get back to work and take them on again on Friday in Johnson Center!
UNM Head Coach Jon Newman-Gonchar
UNM dominated the block battle 12-2, with Guereca backing up Woods’ effort with three blocks and four other Lobos adding one each. The Lobos also out-dug (62-52) and out-aced (6-2) the Lumberjacks while capitalizing off of 19 attack errors and only committing six themselves the whole match.
NAU was held to just 49 points – the fewest the Lobos have held an opponent to this season – on .146 hitting, the ninth time this season UNM has held an opponent below .200 hitting and seventh in a row. The Lobos picked up at least 12 kills in each set, finishing with 41 in total.
BY THE NUMBERS
Behind Biassou’s big night, five other Lobos finished with at least four kills. Reigning Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week Uxue Guereca connected on seven swings while serving up an ace and cracking double-digit digs for the sixth time this season (10). Kali Wolf added seven more to go with eight digs and a pair of service aces, while Athina Dimitriadis connected on five more on .364 hitting.
Melissa Walden produced 27 of UNM’s 38 assists while adding 12 digs and four kills for a double-double of her own – all four of which came in the last two sets. Elizabeth Woods led the Lobos in blocks with five, connecting on four kills at a .400 clip. Angela Crosetti finished with double-digit digs for the 10th consecutive game, notching 11.
BIASSOU KEEPS CLIMBING
With her first service ace of the match to make it 14-6 in the first set, Biassou notched her 100th ace of her career. She entered the program’s all-time Top 10 in service aces last weekend and is now 2 aces from moving up to No. 9 on the all-time list and 20 away from the No. 2 spot.
Earlier last season, Biassou became the 15th Lobo all-time to reach 1,000 career kills. Currently at No. 4 on the program’s all-time kills list at 1,405 after 14 tonight, she’s 219 away from moving ahead of Chantale Riddle for the top spot — a feat she’s surpassed in each of the last two seasons. Biassou joined the top-10 career points list against Nevada last season, and currently sits at No. 3 all-time with 1648.5. She’s 261.5 from the top spot — also held by Riddle — and has scored at least 450 points in each of the last two seasons.
UP NEXT / FOLLOW THE ACTION
The Lobos (7-3) host Northern Arizona in Friday’s rematch in Albuquerque, UNM’s first home game at the Johnson Center. Friday is First Responders Recognition Night, with first responders getting free entry with ID and the first 250 fans in the door getting free Lobos headbands. Friday’s matchup will be broadcast via the Mountain West Network, with live stats available via GoLobos.com. Follow @UNMLoboVB on IG, X and Facebook for match day updates, behind-the-scenes content and more.