Lobos Defeat Tulane, North Dakota on Day One at Lobo Invitational
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Mexico Volleyball went 2-0 on Day One as hosts of the Lobo Invitational at the Johnson Center, dispatching Tulane in four sets before pulling off a dramatic late-night reverse sweep of North Dakota more than 10 hours later.
The Lobos (2-0) have an opportunity to finish the weekend 3-0 with a win over UC Irvine in tomorrow’s tournament finale, set for a 1 p.m. MT start. Head to GoLobos.com/FollowVB for everything you need to enjoy this weekend’s tournament action and follow @UNMLoboVB on socials for match coverage, promotional information, updates, behind-the-scenes content and more.
MATCH 2: NEW MEXICO 3, NORTH DAKOTA 2
The Lobos looked on the ropes in their second match of the day even after a spirited set-point slugfest in the second set, but grinded through two more tight situations in the third and fourth to equalize before surging late to take the final set 15-12 and complete the reverse sweep — the only set UNM won by more than two.
Kialah Jefferson and Madeleine Miller posted their second double-doubles of the day after doing so in the Lobos’ morning match — Jefferson finished with a team-high 20 kills and 11 digs and Miller set a new career-high for the second time today with 39 assists and 16 digs, with both serving up a service ace each. Naomi Chankoumi matched a collegiate career-best with 18 kills in her first start, with 13 of those being in the final three sets. Elizabeth Woods added eight more kills and freshman Seenane Brewer finished with seven — six of which came in the final two sets — while Jada Bouyer (6 kills), Lauryn Payne (4 kills) and Reagan Miller (3 kills) rounded things out.
Chankoumi and Woods both came up with a team-high five block assists, with Woods adding a solo block as well. UNM matched UND with 12 total team blocks, but outblocked the Hawks 8-5 over the final three sets.
Falanika Danielson (14 digs) and Giselle Groe (10 digs) both also surpassed double-digit digs, with Groe serving up an ace and Danielson producing four assists. Sohila Wafeek surpassed double-digit assists off the bench again, finishing with 16.
New Mexico hit for a .086 average en route to a 22-25 loss in the first but improved its efficiency in each passing set, hitting .111 in set two, .150 in set three, .293 in set four and .320 in set five — the Lobos went 10-for-12 on sideouts in the fifth as they put away the Hawks for good, with Chankoumi and Jefferson both connecting on four kills each in that final set.
THAT’S THE MATCH! LOBOS PULL OFF THE REVERSE SWEEP!
GOOD NIGHT AND SWEET DREAMS, LOBO NATION!#GoLobos pic.twitter.com/mJMKCMa4kJ
— New Mexico Volleyball (@UNMLoboVB) August 31, 2024
ALL-TIME SERIES
With the win, the Lobos improve to 2-1 against North Dakota all-time — this was the first meeting between the two teams in Albuquerque. Jon Newman-Gonchar improves to 2-0 against his former assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Jesse Tupac after the Lobos defeated the Hawks in Grand Forks last season. The first meeting between the two teams was a straight-sets neutral-site loss in 2017.
MATCH 1: NEW MEXICO 3, TULANE 1
The Lobos fought off Tulane in four sets (19-25, 28-26, 25-23, 25-23) Friday morning to kick off this weekend’s Lobo Invitational at the Johnson Center, falling behind in the first before closing out strong in each of the next three to open the season with a win behind double-digit kills from Kialah Jefferson (15), Lauryn Payne (15) and Elizabeth Woods (12) along with a career-high 35 assists from Madeleine Miller.
The win makes it six seasons in a row in which the Lobos have won their first match of the season.
With a team-high 13 digs each, Jefferson and Miller also notched the first double-doubles of the season for UNM — Woods added a team-high five total blocks and three service aces to go with her 12 kills on .409 hitting, the first of which was the first ace of her collegiate career. Jefferson served up two more, connecting on 12 of her kills in the first two sets as the Lobos fought to shift momentum — Angela Crosetti and Giselle Groe both added one each to make it seven total aces.
Rounding things out, Jada Bouyer finished just shy of double-digit kills with nine while adding seven digs in her Lobo debut, with fellow newcomers Naomi Chankoumi and Reagan Miller adding five and four kills, respectively. Sohila Wafeek produced 10 assists in three sets of action off the bench, while Falanika Danielson and Giselle Groe both finished with nine digs each.
UNM was held to .129 hitting in a sluggish opening set but found its stride soon after, hitting .255 in the second set and connecting on a match-high 20 kills as they battled into extra points to tie things up and .300 in the third set as they took control for good. By the time everything was said and done, the Lobos finished with a .226 hitting percentage to Tulane’s .203 clip.
ALL-TIME SERIES
With the win, the Lobos improve to 2-1 against Tulane all-time and 2-0 against the Green Wave at home in their first meeting in nearly a decade and a half. Their previous two meetings were a five-set neutral loss in 2009 and a straight-sets sweep at home in 2010.
This story will be updated.
