Lobos Host Air Force, Head to San Jose This Week in MW Action

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – New Mexico Volleyball continues its homestand with a Tuesday night matchup with Air Force at the Johnson Center as part of the Mountain West Network’s Tuesday Night Block Party before hitting the road for their only matchup of the season with San Jose State on Saturday.

The Lobos (13-6, 5-3 MW) are winners of four of their last five, with a conference-best four-match win streak – with all four opponents ranked in the Top 150 by RPI – snapped Saturday in a straight-sets loss to Colorado State at home. The Falcons (12-7, 4-4 MW) will be the sixth consecutive Top-150 opponent the Lobos face.

The Lobos defense still ranks No. 7 in the nation in opponent hitting percentage (.146), No. 11 in digs per set (17.05) and No. 29 in blocks per set (.255), leading the Mountain West in all three categories.

Head Coach Jon Newman-Gonchar’s Lobos are picked to finish fourth in the Mountain West Coaches’ Poll – the highest they’ve been slated to finish in Newman-Gonchar’s five seasons at the helm in Albuquerque.

UNM is in the hunt for a third consecutive winning season and MWC Tournament berth, going 17-12 overall and 8-10 in conference in 2022 en route to a fifth-place finish. Newman-Gonchar has posted a 62.7% win percentage over the last two seasons, with 20 wins in 2021 marking the most for the program since 2013.

Tuesday’s match will be broadcast via the MW Network, with live stats available via golobos.com/vbstats — follow @UNMLoboVB on socials for scores, highlights, gameday content and more.

MW TUESDAY NIGHT BLOCK PARTY: NEW MEXICO (13-6, 5-3 MW) vs. AIR FORCE (11-10, 2-6 MW)
Tue, Oct. 17 | 6:30 p.m. MT | Johnson Center
Live Stats | Stream (MW Network)

 NEW MEXICO (13-6, 5-3 MW) at SAN JOSE STATE (12-7, 4-4 MW)
Sat, Oct. 18 | 7 p.m. MT | San Jose, Calif.
Live Stats | Stream (MW Network)

ALL-TIME SERIES
The Lobos have dominated the all-time series against Air Force 42-6, But the Falcons have picked up four of those wins since 2017 and the two teams split the season series last year after the Lobos swept the season series in 2021. UNM has won 4 of the last 5 against the Falcons and are 20-2 at home against them – the Lobos haven’t lost to AFA at home since 2019, and are are 5-3 against them under Coach Newman-Gonchar and 2-1 at home.

LOBOS STIFLE COWGIRLS FOR FOURTH-STRAIGHT W
The Lobos defeated their fourth consecutive Top-150 RPI opponent after serving up a season-high 10 aces to top Wyoming in four sets, getting double-doubles from Kaitlynn Biassou (15 kills, 15 digs) and Uxue Guereca (14 kills, 12 digs) as well as a dominant night on both sides of the ball from Athina Dimitriadis (9 kills, 7 TB) in the process.
After rolling to a 25-18 win in the first set thanks to 14 kills on .297 hitting, the Cowgirls threatened to become the first team to wrest momentum away from the Lobos in their last four matches, holding them to 0.050 hitting in the second to tie things up and battling through six set points in the third before the Lobos could pull away. Set Four was all Lobos, with UNM hitting a match-high .345 and ripping off a 9-0 run — the Lobos’ longest run of the night — to take control late.

LOBOS’ 2-0 ROAD TRIP
UNM went 2-0 the week of Oct. 2-8 — one of four MW teams to go undefeated on the week and the only one to do it on the road – while defeating UNLV and SDSU in the same week on the road for the first time since 2008. The Lobos led the league in hitting last week (.288) and ranked Top Four in the league in a variety of defensive averages, including opponent hitting (.145, No. 2), aces allowed (0.57/s, No. 2), kills allowed (11.86, No. 4), assists allowed (9.86, No. 3) and blocks allowed (1.43/s, No. 2).

NATIONALLY SPEAKING…
The Lobos rank No. 16 in the nation in opponent hitting average (.151), No. 19 in digs per set (16.65) and No. 34 in blocks per set (2.51) – they lead the Mountain West in all three.
Elizabeth Woods is No. 43 in the nation in blocks per set (1.29) and Uxue Guereca is No. 69 in kills per set (3.70) and No. 65 in points per set (4.27).

RPI UPDATE
In this week’s RPI rankings, UNM clocked in at No. 115 – moving up 18 spots from last week – now sitting with the third-best RPI in a Mountain West that ranks No. 7 nationally in terms of conference RPI. The Lobos are 1-1 against teams ranked in the RPI Top 50. After facing CSU on Saturday, the Lobos have played five consecutive teams in conference play that rank among the Top 150 in the nation by RPI. Air Force will be the sixth, clocking in at No. 124 this week.
In terms of the Mountain West, UNM touts the best road record (6-1) and fourth-toughest schedule (No. 101) in the conference so far this season.

BIG SHOWING IN JOHNSON
With 1,047 in attendance at the Johnson Center, UNM’s matchup with Northern Arizona at home was the highest-attended Johnson Center Home Opener since 2015. The Lobos have seen an increase in attendance in each season since 2019 — not counting the 2020-21 season that limited attendance due to the COVID pandemic — and UNM’s average attendance of 841 per home game last season was its highest since 2016 (1,248) and highest of Newman-Gonchar’s tenure. Over UNM’s first six home games (including three games at The Pit for the Lobo Invitational), the Lobos have averaged 913 fans in attendance per game, including four games with over 1,000 in attendance.
The Lobos are 3-1 this season in home games with over 1,000 fans in attendance.

GUERECA NAMED OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
After a pair of efficient outings that helped lead New Mexico Volleyball to a huge 2-0 week with victories over UNLV and SDSU, Uxue Guereca has been named the Mountain West’s Offensive Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 2-8. This is Guereca’s second Offensive Player of the Week hono4 so far this season and the fifth weekly conference honor of her career.
Guereca served up the third-most aces in the league over the last week (5, 0.71/set), including four against UNLV. She averaged 3.00 kills and 3.00 digs per set in those two matches to go with 4.28 points per set, ranking fourth in the conference over the last week. Her 19.5 points in UNM’s big win over UNLV were the most by an individual in a three-set match last week.
The honor is the third weekly award for a Lobo player this season after Angela Crosetti was named Defensive Player of the Week following Week One and Guereca was named OPOTW for the first time following Week Four. It’s also the fifth weekly award of Guereca’s career. She was named Defensive Player of the Week last season as well as Offensive Player of the Week in 2021-22 after becoming the first UNM freshman to win Defensive Player of the Week (2020-21) since the award was created in 2015.

BIG SWEEP IN VEGAS
New Mexico Volleyball made a statement in Vegas last Thursday evening with a three-set sweep (25-18, 25-16, 25-18) of UNLV, with the Lobos posting their most prolific offensive performance yet this season to rout the preseason Mountain West favorite Rebels (11-6, 3-2 MW).
UNM pulled away midway through each set thanks to season-high .347 hitting on the match for their first sweep of conference play, getting double-digit kills from Uxue Guereca (13) and Kaitlynn Biassou (11) in the process while Guereca added four aces to help the Lobos snap a seven-game losing streak to UNLV that dated back to 2019.
The senior outside duo were hot from the opening ball, both hitting over .500 the first two sets while combining for 19 kills as the Lobos raced out to a two-set advantage.
UNM’s defense took care of the rest, holding the Rebels to .144 hitting while outblocking them six to five and outdigging them 38 to 34. UNM held MW Preseason Player of the Year Isabel Martin to .152 hitting while UNLV committed 16 attack errors in total.
The Lobos’ middles took over to keep things going in the third, with UNM coming up with five of its six total blocks in the closeout set while getting three kills each from Athina Dimitriadis and Elizabeth Woods as UNM rode out a healthy lead to seal the sweep.
New Mexico improves to 3-2 in conference play and have won six of their last seven sets and five in a row, all of which by at least five points each.

GISELLE GROWS INTO STARTING ROLE
After starting the final three sets against Boise State last Saturday, true freshman Giselle Groe has proven up to the task at Libero, starting the last four matches for UNM and leading the Lobos in digs in both matches. She’s averaging 3.2 digs over those last five matches, adding 13 assists and three service aces in that span.

BOUNCING BACK AGAINST THE BRONCOS
After dropping back-to-back matches for the first time this season on Thursday, the Lobos 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 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, matching that number with one each from Guereca, Dimitriadis and Giselle Groe.

MASTERFUL MIDDLES
Athina Dimitriadis and Elizabeth Woods came up big on the block against Boise State, combining for 10 of UNM’s season-high 16 blocks while helping hold Broncos star Paige Bartsch to .081 hitting and Boise State to .182 hitting as a team. They followed that up with a combined 28 blocks over UNM’s next three games as they defeated UNLV, SDSU and Wyoming in a total of 11 sets.
Woods ranks No. 2 in the MW in blocks per set (1.41) in conference play and No. 3 overall (1.29) and the Lobos rank No. 1 in the league in opponent hitting percentage (.154) and No. 3 in team blocks per set (2.51).
Dimitriadis is averaging 0.94 blocks a set and hitting .272 on the season with 2.01 kills per set.

EXPERIENCED ON THE OUTSIDES
Kaitlynn Biassou (3.04 kills/set, 2.60 digs/set) and Uxue Guereca (3.70 kills/set, 3.14 digs/set) have been instrumental to UNM’s performance so far this year.
So far this season, Guereca ranks No. 4 in the conference in kills per set and No. 10 in digs per set.
Biassou and Guereca rank third and fourth in their careers among active MW players in points per set, with 3.86 and 3.76 respectively. They’re also third and fourth in kills per set (3.29, 3.24).

RISING EXPECTATIONS
Jon Newman-Gonchar’s Lobos are picked to finish fourth in the Mountain West Coaches’ Poll – the highest they’ve been slated to finish in Newman-Gonchar’s four seasons at the helm in Albuquerque.
UNM is coming off its second consecutive winning season, going 17-12 overall and 8-10 in conference in 2022 en route to a fifth-place finish and the Lobos’ second straight MWC Tournament berth. Newman-Gonchar has posted a 62.7% win percentage over the last two seasons, with 20 wins in 2021 marking the most for the program since 2013.

A LOOK AT THE ROSTER
UNM’s nine returners combined for 70% of the Lobos’ total points last season, with 2022 All-MWC Outside Hitter Kaitlyn Biassou along with fellow 2022 starters Uxue Guereca (338 kills, 393.5 points) and Kali Wolf (228 kills, 276 points) highlighting the Lobos’ experience on the outside. The Lobos also added four freshmen and three impact grad transfers to offset the loss of middle blocker Avital Jaloba, libero Alena Moldan and setter Anilee Sher to graduation.

GOOD, BETTER, BEST, BIASSOU
In her fifth and final season at UNM, Kaitlynn Biassou has continued to get better each year. This year, she sees the Lobos making a similar jump.
“This is the most depth we’ve had since I’ve been here, and I’m super excited about our potential,” Biassou said. “We made it to the (MWC) tournament the last two years and lost in the first round both times. This year I want to get back and win the tournament. That’s what I’m focused on.”
Biassou put up career-high numbers for the third straight season in 2022, with 431 kills (3.68 per set) to go with 33 service aces and 504.5 points – all team-highs for UNM. The Reno, Nev. native ranked No. 4 in the Mountain West in kills and No. 3 in points per set (4.31) while also picking up 227 digs (1.94 per set) and tallying 75 total blocks.
On the season, she’s racked up 118 kills (2.88/set) as well as a team-high 17 aces, 104 digs and 25 block assists. Among active MWC players, Biassou ranks No. 3 in kills per set (3.30) and points per set (3.86).
In MWC play last season, Biassou cracked double-digit kills in 14 out of 18 conference matchups, matching a career-high twice with 26 kills vs. Wyoming (Sep. 29) and at Nevada (Oct. 15). Those two performances were the third-highest total by a MWC player in a conference game last season, with her 31 points in that Wyoming match ranking as the most in a single game in MWC action. Additionally, Biassou’s 21 kills against Utah State (Sep. 24) ranked as the second-most in a three-set match.
Biassou is also a threat at the service line, with four matches with three or more service aces — including five against Abilene Christian — and eight matches with multiple aces in a match. She’s served up 20 aces over 65 sets so far this season.

EXPERIENCE ALL OVER
A total of seven seniors (4 grad seniors, 1 redshirt, 2 true seniors) combined for 1,652 sets played entering the season — the most seniors Newman-Gonchar has ever had on a roster during his time at UNM.
Co-captains Kaitlynn Biassou, Kali Wolf and Uxue are the first trio to record at least 200 kills and 20 service aces each in the same season under Newman-Gonchar, and first since 2016.

STIFLING EFFORT
Saturday’s loss to CSU was the first time a team hit above .300 against UNM — San Francisco (.248) was the only other team to crack .200, with 5 opponents hitting below .100.
UNM held 16 opponents below a .200 hitting percentage last season, with one opponent (Portland State) below .100 (.089). In 2022, UNM held opponents to a .187 hitting percentage, which ranked No. 1 in the Mountain West. In MW matches in 2022, UNM led the league in digs per set (16.14) and finished 2nd in opp. hitting % (.188). The Lobos lead the league in both categories so far in 2023.

RECORD WATCH
With her first service ace of the match against Northern Arizona, Biassou notched her 100th ace of her career. She entered the program’s all-time Top 10 in service aces two weeks ago and is now No. 5 on the all-time list (110) and 10 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. 3 on the program’s all-time kills list at 1,517 after 30 last week, she’s 107 away from moving ahead of Chantale Riddle for the top spot with 10 matches left to play. Biassou joined the top-10 career points list against Nevada last season, and currently sits at No. 3 all-time with 1,778. She’s 132 from the top spot — also held by Riddle — and has scored at least 450 points in each of the last two seasons.