Lobos Upend Broncos in Four at Home

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – New Mexico Volleyball got back in the win column in a big way with a four-set victory (25-20, 16-25, 25-20, 25-20) over visiting Boise State (7-7, 3-1 MW) Saturday at the Johnson Center, with the Lobos stifling the Broncos’ attack over the final two sets to put the foot on the gas pedal late.

After dropping back-to-back matches for the first time this season on Thursday, the Lobos (10-5, 2-2 MW) got back to .500 in conference play by knocking off the final unbeaten team in the conference, holding the Broncos to .109 hitting over the final two sets with 28 kills on .282 hitting themselves in that span.

Uxue Guereca (19 kills, 17 digs) and Melissa Walden (36 assists, 13 digs) both finished with double-doubles and the Lobos posted a season-high 16 team blocks — 10 combined between Elizabeth Woods and Athina Dimitriadis — while holding the conference’s kills and points leader in Paige Bartsch to .081 hitting with 17 attack errors. UNM held the team that’s served up the most aces in the Mountain West this season to just three aces, matching that number with three of their own from Guereca, Dimitriadis and Giselle Groe.

The Lobos will open October on the road with a pair of road matchups at UNLV (11-5, 3-1 MW) on Oct. 5 and at San Diego State (7-8, 2-2 MW) on Oct. 7.

BY THE NUMBERS
With a team-high 19 kills and 17 digs, Uxue Guereca posted a double-double for the eighth time this season and fourth in her last six matches. She hit .327 on the match, adding an assist and an ace to the winning effort.

Kali Wolf added 12 kills – the most she’s posted in a four-set match this season – along with eight digs, three total blocks and an ace, while Elizabeth Woods and Athina Dimitriadis both finished with five kills each and 15 total blocks between them (5 solo, 10 assists). Kaitlynn Biassou rounded out the effort with five kills and eight digs. The Lobos are 3-1 in matches in which Wolf cracks double-digit kills.

UNM won the block battle 16-10 – the most team blocks in a match so far this season – and held the Broncos to .182 hitting on the match thanks largely to a combined five solo blocks and 10 block assists between Elizabeth Woods and Athina Dimitriadis as well as multiple block assists from Kali Wolf (2), Kaitlynn Biassou (4) and Melissa Walden (4).

After making her first collegiate match appearance on Thursday against Utah State, Giselle Groe appeared at Libero over the final three sets, finishing with seven digs, two assists and a service ace.

Melissa Walden recorded her ninth double-double of the season, cracking 30 assists for the 11^th time this season with 36 assists and 13 digs as well as four kills.

ALL-TIME SERIES
With the win, UNM is 11-13 against Boise State all-time. Prior to today’s results, the Lobos defeated them since 2021, when they won in four sets at the Johnson Center on Oct. 9. Both matchups between the two teams in 2022 went to five sets.

THE ACTION

SET 2 | LOBOS 25, BRONCOS 20
Wolf and Guereca combined for 9 kills and Lobos held the Broncos to .114 hitting in the opening set, but UNM couldn’t pull ahead by more than three until late. Wolf supplied two kills to spur a 4-0 Lobos run that put them up 17-12 and forced a timeout, but the Broncos got within one at 18-19 after scoring six of the next eight, with Bartsch connecting on three kills in that span alone. Nonetheless, Lobos responded by closing out the set on a 6-2 run of their own, with Guereca adding two kills and Woods coming up with two big blocks before Walden sealed the deal at 25-20 with a dump for her first kill of the night.

SET 2 | LOBOS 16, BRONCOS 25
Wolf and Guereca kept rolling in Set Two, but they were the only Lobos to put the ball away multiple times in the second frame as UNM was held to a match-low nine kills on .098 hitting. Meanwhile, the Broncos improved to .216 and connected on a match-high 15 kills with seven from Bartsch. Neither team led by more than two until a 3-0 Boise run cued a Lobo timeout at 11-14, with the Broncos extending the lead after ripping off another brief run to go up 18-13. UNM got back within four thanks to its third team-up of the day from Walden and Dimitriadis on a block, but didn’t get any closer, with Boise State closing out on a 7-2 run to tie things up at a set each.

SET 3 | LOBOS 25, BRONCOS 20
UNM regained momentum quickly in a pivotal third, with three more kills from Wolf powering an early 9-6 advantage that the Lobos didn’t relinquish the rest of the way while improving to .233 hitting and holding the Broncos to .056
The Broncos kept UNM from pulling ahead by more than three until Dimitriadis’ 11th kill of the day was followed by a Boise attack error to make it 18-14. UNM took its biggest lead at 21-16 after an unassisted kill at the net, again from Dimitriadis, and the Lobos scored the final three points – all on errors – to stifle a late rally that got the Broncos back withing two.
After posting just one kill through the first two sets, Biassou started to heat up midway through the third, adding two more kills to power a 3-0 push that burned BSU’s first timeout.

SET 4 | LOBOS 25, BRONCOS 20
With the Lobos looking to avoid playing a fifth, Elizabeth Woods gave UNM a boost early, connecting on three of her four fourth-set kills as the Lobos jumped out to an 8-5 start. Guereca poured in six more kills and Biassou added two more. The Lobos never trailed in the closeout set, improving their hitting once again to .317 with a match-high 15 kills while fending off a renewed offensive effort from Boise State (15 kills, .152).

UP NEXT / FOLLOW THE ACTION
The Lobos (10-5, 2-2 MW) return to conference play with road dates at UNLV on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. (MT) and San Diego State Saturday at 2 p.m. (MT). Both matches will be broadcast via the Mountain West Network, with live stats available via GoLobos.com/vbstats. Follow @UNMLoboVB on IG, X and Facebook for match day updates, behind-the-scenes content and more.