Lobos Host Fresno State, Nevada for Final Homestand

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – With four games left in the regular season, New Mexico Volleyball is set for its final homestand at the Johnson Center this week with matchups against Fresno State on Nov. 9 and Nevada on Nov. 11.

Saturday’s match at the Johnson Center will be Senior Day, with seven senior members of this year’s Lobo squad — Kaitlynn Biassou, Uxue Guereca, Emma Smith, Athina Dimitriadis, Mattison Matthews, Melissa Walden and Kali Wolf — honored pregame.

The Lobos (17-8, 9-5 MW) sit in a three-way tie for second place in the league standings with Colorado State (15-10, 9-5) and Fresno State (15-10, 9-5) after a 1-1 week that saw them complete a season sweep of Boise State last Thursday in four sets (25-20, 21-25, 25-16, 25-16) before falling to Utah State in straight sets (17-25, 24-26, 20-25) in Logan on Saturday. They’ll face the Bulldogs on Thursday at home before taking on the Rams on the road on Nov. 16 – both matches could have seeding implications for the Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas on Nov. 22-24, where the top six teams earn a bid but the top two get a first-round bye.

Should the Lobos crack 10 wins in conference play this week, it would be most since 2015. 11 would be most since 2014, 12 would be most since 2010, and 13 would be most ever in MW play.

UNM’s .680 winning percentage overall and .643 mark in conference play are the highest of Head Coach Jon Newman-Gonchar’s tenure – the Lobos lead the conference in digs (15.28/s) and opponent hitting (.186) in conference play, ranking second in blocks (2.66/s). They rank No. 34 and No. 27 in the nation in digs and opponent hitting, respectively.

The Lobos moved up in the RPI for the fifth time in the last six weeks after their 1-1 week, clocking in at No. 101 in Monday’s rankings – the fourth-best RPI in the Mountain West. The Lobos tout the best road winning percentages in the Mountain West and Rank Top-50 in the NCAA at 8-2 in true road matchups (.800).

Both matches 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.

NEW MEXICO (17-8, 9-5 MW) vs. FRESNO STATE (15-10, 9-5 MW)
Thurs, Nov. 9 | 6:30 p.m. MT | Johnson Center (Albuquerque, N.M.)
Live Stats | Stream (MW Network)

NEW MEXICO (17-8, 9-5 MW) vs. NEVADA (7-18, 3-11 MW)
Sat, Nov. 11 | 1 p.m. MT | Johnson Center (Albuquerque, N.M.)
Live Stats | Stream (MW Network)

ALL-TIME SERIES
UNM is 18-3 against Nevada all-time, having won 9 of the last 10 meetings and five of the six meetings at the Johnson Center. UNM has the edge in the season series, having defeated the Wolfpack in five sets in Reno.
After dropping a four-set match at Fresno on Sep. 23 the Lobos trail the all-time series 17-18, but they’ve won 4 of the last 6 – the loss snapped a streak of three straight Lobo wins dating back to 2021.
UNM dispatched both teams in straight sets in their last meetings in 2022.

LOBOS STAYING HOT
Sitting at 9-5 in MW play with four games to go, UNM is currently off to its best 14-game start in conference play under Coach Newman-Gonchar and best since 2013. The Lobos’ win percentage so far this season of .680 is also the best under Newman-Gonchar, with a 8-2 record in true road games. Including the 2023 season, Newman-Gonchar has posted a 64.6% win percentage over the last three seasons, with 20 wins in 2021 marking the most for the program since 2013. The Lobos have already matched their win total from the 2022 season (17-12, 8-10 MW).

FIRST TIME AROUND
The Lobos defeated Nevada in a five-set thriller (25-18, 19-25, 26-24, 20-25, 15-7) to open up Mountain West play on Sep. 21 – they haven’t had another conference match go to five sets since. They fell to Fresno State in four (23-25,24-26,25-21,19-25) on Sep. 23 after surrendering late leads in each of the first two sets.

NATIONALLY SPEAKING…
The Lobos rank No. 27 in the nation in opponent hitting average (.164), No. 34 in digs per set (16.22) and No. 31 in blocks per set (2.54) – they lead the Mountain West in the former two and rank No. 2 in blocks.
Elizabeth Woods is No. 63 in the nation in blocks per set (1.20) and Uxue Guereca is No. 125 in kills per set (3.46) and No. 98 in points per set (4.07).

RPI UPDATE
The Lobos moved up in the RPI for the fifth time in the last six weeks after their 1-1 week, clocking in at No. 101 in Monday’s rankings – the fourth-best RPI in the Mountain West. The Lobos tout the best road winning percentages in the Mountain West and Rank Top-50 in the NCAA at 8-2 in true road matchups (.800). UNM is 12-5 against Top-150 RPI opponents 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. So far this season (including three games at The Pit for the Lobo Invitational), the Lobos have averaged 909 fans in attendance per game, including five games with over 1,000 in attendance.

ATHINA AND LIZ ON THE BLOCK
6-5 Athina Dimitriadis and 6-2 Elizabeth Woods give the Lobos a formidable force at the net – the duo have combined for double-digit blocks eight times this season to help lead a stalwart UNM defense that is second in the conference in blocks per set and leads in digs and opponent hitting %.
Woods ranks No. 4 in blocks per set (1.25) in MW play, with Dimitriadis at No. 7 (1.09). They are one of two MW teams with two players in the conference’s Top 10 in blocks alongside Wyoming.

EXPERIENCED ON THE OUTSIDES
Kaitlynn Biassou (3.18 kills/set, 2.36 digs/set) and Uxue Guereca (3.46 kills/set, 3.04 digs/set) have been instrumental to UNM’s performance so far this year.
So far this season, Biassou ranks No. 5 in kills per set (3.42) in MW games, with Guereca ranking No. 9 in digs (3.08) per set in conference play.
Biassou and Guereca rank third and fourth in their careers among active MW players in points per set, with 3.89 and 3.75 respectively. They’re also third and fifth in kills per set (3.33, 3.22).

FRESHMEN COMING ON STRONG
Giselle Groe and Madeleine Miller have both seen an uptick in playing time down the back stretch of MW play, with Groe starting her last 10 matches at Libero and averaging 3.11 digs per set — good for 10th in the conference. Miller has produced double-digit assists in five straight games, and the Lobos hit for a .296 efficiency when she sets.

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.
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 24 aces 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
UNM’s loss to CSU was the first time all season that a team hit above .300 against the Lobos — 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 – NO. 2 IS NO. 2!
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 (113) and 10 away from the No. 2 spot.
Earlier last season, Biassou became the 15th Lobo all-time to reach 1,000 career kills. She moved up to No. 2 on the program’s all-time kills list at 1,579 after 24 last week, she’s 44 away from moving ahead of Chantale Riddle for the top spot with four matches left to play, and has cracked double-digit kills in nine of her last 10 appearances. Biassou joined the top-10 career points list against Nevada last season, and currently sits at No. 2 all-time with 1,870. She’s now only 40 from the top spot — also held by Riddle.