Lobos' Road Swing Continues at Boise State Saturday

Fresh off a pair of resilient five-set victories in Mountain West play, New Mexico Volleyball (9-4, 2-1 MW) returns from a brief respite to face Boise State (8-5, 0-2 MW) on the road Saturday.

The Lobos previously fell in four to UNLV (22-25, 17-25, 25-22, 16-25) before staging a dramatic comeback against San Diego State (25-22, 27-25, 24-26, 14-25, 16-14), clawing back from 14-7 at match point to win the fifth set. In their latest contest against Air Force, the Lobos prevailed in another five-set battle (25-23, 24-26, 25-23, 23-25, 15-13), improving their conference record to 2-1 and improving to 3-1 in five-set matches.

Back-to-back 5⃣-set 𝐖’𝐬 in @MountainWest play!

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗺 ‘𝗕𝗼𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲™️ pic.twitter.com/kQZx0lgnka

— New Mexico Volleyball (@UNMLoboVB) October 2, 2024

“Thrilled to have gone on the road and come back with a win,” said UNM Head Coach Jon Newman-Gonchar post-match on Tuesday. “A MWC win on the road is a great way to start the week. Hats off to a great AFA team — they fought to the very end.

“Excited for the team to pull out such a gritty exciting win and now onto a powerful Boise State squad on Saturday!”

For the time being, the Lobos are in sole possession of third place behind Colorado State and San Jose State — both 2-0 in conference play — in the MW standings as their focus shifts to the Broncos, who will play Air Force on Thursday before hosting the Lobos. Last season, UNM went 3-0 against both Air Force and Boise State, sweeping Air Force in their lone meeting at the Johnson Center and dispatching Boise State in four sets in two matchups in Albuquerque and Boise.

Tuesday’s match will be streamed via the MW Network at GoLobos.com/Watch, with live stats and all other matchday essentials available at GoLobos.com/FollowVB. Follow @UNMLoboVB on IG, X and Facebook for match coverage, promotional information, updates, behind-the-scenes content and more.

at Boise State (8-5, 0-2 MW)
Oct. 5 | 12 p.m. MT | Boise, Idaho | Bronco Gym

ALL-TIME SERIES

• The Lobos trail the all-time series 12-13, with a 5-9 record in true road matches against Boise State. Coach Jon Newman-Gonchar is 3-5 in his tenure against the Broncos but has won three of the two teams’ last six meetings.
• After losing eight of their last 10 matches to the Broncos heading into the 2023 season, the Lobos beat them both at home (9/30/23) and away (11/2/23) in four sets to sweep the season series for the first time since 2014. They would need to sweep the season series again this year to match the longest win streak in program history against BSU at 4 matches (2013-14).
• UNM is 6-4 at home and 1-0 in neutral-site matchups with Boise.

LAST TIME AROUND
The last time UNM squared off with Boise State was a road match in Boise on Nov. 2, 2023 — the Lobos finished off the Broncos in four (25-20, 21-25, 25-16, 25-16) to complete their first season sweep of the Broncos since 2014.

“There is no quit in the Lobo team and we absolutely stepped up in a massive way tonight in what was a great battle,” said UNM Head Coach Jon Newman-Gonchar. “So impressed with the Never Back Down mentality we showed tonight but the next test is coming at us as we prepare for a great Utah State team.”

UNM hit a match-high .552 in the first and poured on the offense over the final two sets at a .320 clip to stifle a comeback, getting a double-double from Uxue Guereca (17 kills, 15 digs) on .319 hitting to pace the offense while the Lobos held the Broncos to .196 hitting on the match with 25 attack errors to hand them their third straight loss. Guereca’s big night led three Lobos with double-digit kills as Kaitlynn Biassou and Athina Dimitriadis both finished with 12 kills and four total blocks each. Three other Lobos – Kali Wolf (6 kills), Elizabeth Woods (6 kills) and Lauryn Payne (4 kills) finished with at least four kills each, and six different Lobos in total hit above .300 on the night.

LAST WEEK + TUESDAY

• The Lobos improved to 2-1 in Mountain West play after a five-set win against Air Force (3-2) on Tuesday.
• Lauryn Payne matched a career-high with 23 kills to lead the Lobos on Tuesday after putting away 23 against San Diego State on Saturday. Payne now has 173 kills on the season, averaging 3.39 kills per set.
• Kialah Jefferson bounced back from a relatively quiet performance on Saturday (4 kills, 11 digs) with a season-high 22 kills on Tuesday, recording her seventh double-double of the season with 14 digs.
• The Lobos averaged 12.55 kills per set and hit .185 across last week, improving to .214 in their win over San Diego State and hitting .197 against Air Force while holding the Falcons to .170 hitting in the process.
• Madeleine Miller has produced 133 assists across the first 14 sets of conference play (9.50/set), including back-to-back career-highs with 48 assists against San Diego State and 54 against Air Force.
• Falanika Danielson continued her defensive dominance with a total of 52 digs (4.43 digs per set) through three conference matches, including a season-high 27 digs in the win over Air Force. UNM’s 94 total digs against the Falcons were the most in a single match since a five-set road win over Nevada on Sept. 23, 2023 (96).

STIFLING EFFORT
The Lobos have held opponents below .200 hitting in seven matches total on the season – they’re 5-2 in those matches. They were riding a four-match streak of holding opponents below .200 heading into last week before UNLV hit .235 last Thursday and the Lobos allowed season-high .260 hitting from SDSU in Saturday’s five-set win. UNM bounced back with another sub-.200 defensive effort on Tuesday, holding Air Force to .170.
Only six of the Lobos’ opponents hit above .200 and only two hit above .300 on the season against UNM in 2023 — UNM finished the season with an 18-5 record in matches in which opponents fail to surpass .200 and were 4-0 when holding opponents below the .100 mark.

THREE-HEADED ATTACK
Last season, UNM’s All-Mountain West outside hitter duo of Kaitlynn Biassou and Uxue Guereca combined for just over half of the Lobos’ total attack attempts and 54% of their kills (775/1,435). Through 53 sets across 13 matches this season, they’ve diversified with three main attackers — Lauryn Payne (3.39 kills/set), Kialah Jefferson (2.90 kills/set), and Jada Bouyer (2.39 kills/set) continue to lead the Lobos on offense, accounting for over 60% of the team’s kills (437/665).

• Jefferson has posted seven double-doubles this season and has surpassed double-digit kills eight times – the senior transfer is producing 2.90 kills per set and 2.90 digs per set in her first season as a Lobo after averaging career-highs in kills (2.83/set) and digs (2.91/set) last year at VCU​.
  • “[Kialah]’s been awesome,” Coach Newman-Gonchar said. “She’s going to get served a ton, she’s going to serve a ton, she’s going to have to defend, she’s going to have to block, she’s going to have to hit — she does it all. And that’s why we’re really proud of her, because she’s come a long way in her game in managing those big-time moments.”
• After recording 76 kills over 119 sets of action (0.638 kills/set) in her first two seasons at UNM, Lauryn Payne has excelled with more touches – she’s already posted a team-leading 173 kills in 53 sets so far this season (3.39 kills/set). After not surpassing double-digit kills once in her first 44 matches from 2022-23, Payne has reached double-digit kills in ten of the team’s 13 matches, including a career-high 23 kills in back-to-back matches Saturday and Tuesday. She’s set a new career-high or matched a previous career-high in each of her last four matches.
  • “Lauren’s become a go-to — and I think a year ago, we were struggling just to find ways to get her on the court,” said Coach Newman-Gonchar. “Now she’s a staple on the court — she’s a high performer, high-volume level attacker.”
• Toledo grad transfer Jada Bouyer is hitting for a .257 average on the season, the second-best average on the team overall and the best of any Lobo with 200 or more attempts. She’s also been the Lobos’ most prolific outside hitter at the net, coming up with 29 total blocks (3 BS/26 BA) to rank third on the team.

LOBOS ON THE BLOCK

• Senior middle Elizabeth Woods – the lone returning starter from last year’s team – has racked up a team-high 50 total blocks (10 BS/40 BA) across 53 sets in UNM’s first 13 matches.
• Woods has finished with five or more block assists and block solos combined in six matches so far, hitting above .300 in eight – six of which have been in UNM’s last eight matches. She’s picked up multiple blocks in all but one match so far.
• Prior to UNM’s season opener against Tulane, Woods had never attempted a serve in a collegiate match – this season, she’s served up eight aces. She’s hit above .300 on 13 or more attempts in five matches this season and finished with six or more kills in nine matches​.
• After getting back into the starting lineup for the first time since UNM’s season opener against Tarleton on Sept. 13, Liepa Lavickyte has come up with 37 total blocks (6 BS/31 BA) in her last 33 sets played. She’s now finished with multiple blocks in each of her last eight match appearances and ranks seventh in the MW with 1.12 blocks per set – she also currently ranks seventh among MW active leaders.

DANIELSON DIGGIN’ IT
Grad transfer Falanika Danielson has been pivotal in the back row at the libero spot for the Lobos after coming to UNM by way of Temple over the summer, earning All-Tournament Team honors for both the Lobo Invitational and the HCU Howard-Gerwig Memorial Tournament for her efforts before being named MW Defensive Player of the Week last week. She’s led the team in digs in 10 of her last 11 matches and surpassed double-digit digs in 11 — including a pair of 20+ dig performances in her last two — and is accumulating 223 digs at an impressive rate of 4.21 digs per set. She ranks No. 1 in digs per set​ heading into Saturday.

JOHNSON CENTER IS BOOMING
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. Saturday’s Senior Day brought in 1,589 fans to the Johnson Center – the highest-attended Lobo Volleyball game of the season. In 2023 overall (including three games at The Pit), the Lobos’ average of 956 fans per game is the highest since 2016 – including seven games with over 1,000 in attendance.

Through six home matches so far this season, UNM’s averaged 861 fans a match, including a season-high 1,387 in attendance on Tuesday against New Mexico State — the second-most attended Lobo Volleyball match in the last eight seasons and sixth-most in the last decade.

NCAA/CONFERENCE STAT RANKINGS
Over the last week, the Lobos ranked among the Top 100 in NCAA D-I in seven statistical categories:

• Digs per Set: 84th nationally (15.89/set)
• Total Attacks per Set: 36th nationally (39.67)
• Team Kills: 50th nationally (115)
• Team Digs: 33rd nationally (143)
• Team Assists: 73rd nationally (101)
• Team Total Attacks: 12th nationally (357)
• Team Total Blocks: 99th nationally (17.0)

On the season as a whole, New Mexico ranks among the Top 100 in NCAA D-I in six statistical categories:

• Digs per Set: 27th nationally (16.58)
• Opponent Hitting Percentage: 97th nationally (0.189)
• Team Attacks per Set: 37th nationally (36.98)
• Match Win-Loss Percentage: 73rd nationally (0.692)
• Team Total Attacks: 44th nationally (1,960)
• Team Total Blocks: 97th nationally (111.0)

They rank among the Top Five in the Mountain West in five categories:

• Digs per Set: 1st (16.58)
• Team Attacks per Set: 1st (36.98)
• Opponent Hitting Percentage: 3rd (0.189)
• Match Win-Loss Percentage: 3rd (0.692)
• Team Total Attacks: 1st (1,960)

Head Coach Jon Newman-Gonchar’s Lobos are coming off their third-straight winning season and Mountain West Tournament appearance, most recently breaking through with a run to the conference semis after finishing the season tied for fourth in the standings – their best finish since 2015. UNM’s five-set win over host UNLV in the First Round of last year’s conference tournament was the Lobos’ first semifinals appearance under the current format as well as their first win in the conference tournament since 2006.

UNM has elevated to another level of consistency in the past three seasons under Newman-Gonchar, winning 62.2% of its matches overall and 53.7% in conference matchups, with a 25-13 (.658) record at home in that span. Finishing 2023 at 19-12 overall and 10-8 in MW play, Newman-Gonchar moved up to No. 3 among UNM coaches (tenured five or more seasons) in winning percentage (.530) and No. 2 in conference win percentage (.453) since the Lobos joined the Mountain West.

In 2023, the Lobos led the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.180) and digs (1,823 total; 15.58 per set) while ranking second in blocks (286 total; 2.44 per set), making it back-to-back years in which they pace the MW in opponent hitting and digs. They swept the season series with Boise State for the first time since 2014 and went 3-1 against UNLV and San Diego State, beating them both on the road in the same week for the first time since 2008.

Senior outside hitters Uxue Guereca and Kaitlynn Biassou were both named MW All-Conference at the conclusion of the regular season, with Guereca earning All-MW Tournament honors as well. The Lobos earned six nonconference all-tournament team selections with three MW Players of the Week.

This time around, the Lobos will be looking to repeat their success without five of last year’s starters, bringing in a variety of experienced transfers to bolster a group of returners with expanded roles.

UNM’s new-look roster features 11 newcomers and six returners – Woods (107 sets played in 2023) and sophomore Libero Giselle Groe (75 sets played) both return after becoming pivotal rotation pieces in 2023.

Among six transfers joining the Lobos for the 2024 season, four already have three or more seasons of D-I experience under their belts:

• Senior outside hitters Jada Bouyer (Toledo) and Kialah Jefferson (VCU) bring 576 combined set appearances to Albuquerque, coming off a 2023 season in which Bouyer racked up 286 kills to go with 71 total blocks and Jefferson finished with 280 kills and 294 digs. 
• Senior setter Sohila Wafeek (UIC) finished her four-year UIC career ranked ninth in program history in assists (3,047) and averaged 8.28 assists per set in 368 set appearances there.
• An 2020 AAC Libero of the Year during her time at Temple, Falanika Danielson joins the Lobos as a fifth-year transfer with 408 set appearances across 108 matches under her belt – she averaged 3.71 digs per set (1,471 total) across four seasons of play at Temple.
• They’ll be joined by junior transfer Naomi Chankoumi – who accumulated 250 kills across 121 sets in two seasons at CSU Bakersfield – as well as redshirt sophomore middle and Norwegian national Liepa Levickyte (Oregon State).

Alongside them, returning letterwinners Lauryn Payne, Madison Blanco and Angela Crosetti all look to play bigger roles this fall, with five true freshmen giving the Lobos depth all over the court.