Lobos Face Colorado St. at Home, Wyoming on the Road This Week in MW Play

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Mexico Volleyball continues Mountain West play at home on Thursday against Colorado State (10-8, 6-2 MW) before hitting the road to face Wyoming (11-7, 3-5 MW) in Laramie, Wyo. on Saturday.

THIS WEEK’S PROMO: Thursday is this year’s CHERRY-OUT day at Johnson Center — Don’t forget to wear your favorite cherry gear to cheer on your Lobos!

The Lobos dropped to 2-6 in MW play after two hard-fought four-set losses at home to San Jose State on Thursday (15-25, 18-25, 25-22, 25-27) and Fresno State on Saturday (22-25, 25-21, 22-25, 29-31). After a week in which all but three Mountain West teams lost at least one match, they’ll get a chance to snap a five-match losing streak against the first-place Rams on Thursday before heading to the eighth-place Cowgirls on Saturday. This week’s action will be the lone regular-season matches against both teams for the Lobos.

Even after an 0-2 week, the Lobos are among the best in the Mountain West at keeping rallies going — UNM has held opponents to .194 hitting on the season so far and enter the week ranked in the Top 100 in the nation in digs per set (40th, 16.28) and blocks per set (92nd, 2.30). They’re leading the Mountain West in digs per set for a third consecutive season.

In 2023, UNM fell to the Rams in straight sets three times and split its two matches with Wyoming, winning at home in four and falling in three in Laramie. They’re 1-4 against the Rams in their last five meetings but 3-2 against the Cowgirls in the same span.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Both matches 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.

vs. Colorado State (10-8, 6-2 MW)
Oct. 24 | 6:30 p.m. MT | Albuquerque, N.M. | Johnson Center

at Wyoming (7-11, 3-5 MW)
Oct. 26 | 12 p.m. MT | Laramie, Wyo.

ALL-TIME SERIES
• The Lobos are 36-63 against Colorado State all-time and 37-53 against Wyoming all-time — they’re 3-5 against the Cowgirls in Coach Newman-Gonchar’s tenure and 2-6 against the Rams in the same span.
• UNM is 14-26 at home against CSU and 14-28 on the road against Wyoming.
• They’ve won one of the last five meetings with the Rams and three of the last five against the Cowgirls. UNM’s last win over CSU — a 3-0 sweep in Fort Collins in 2022 — was Coach Newman-Gonchar’s 50th career win. Prior to UNM’s win over the Cowgirls in 2021, they’d lost seven straight to Wyoming.
•  In 2023, UNM fell to the Rams in straight sets three times and split its two matches with Wyoming, winning at home in four and falling in three in Laramie. They’re 1-4 against the Rams in their last five meetings but 3-2 against the Cowgirls in the same span.

LAST WEEK
The Lobos fell to 2-6 in Mountain West play after a pair of hard-fought four-set losses at home to San Jose State and Fresno State. Despite holding late leads in the fourth set of both matches, New Mexico was downed by late runs that extended their losing streak to five matches.

• Lauryn Payne had another standout week, leading the Lobos with 33 total kills (4.13 kills/set) — she’s now up to 240 kills on the season, averaging 3.43 kills per set.
• Kialah Jefferson continued her strong all-around play, recording 13 kills and 29 digs (3.63 digs/set) in the two matches while recording her 10th double-double of the season against San Jose on Thursday (10 kills, 20 digs).
• The Lobos averaged 12.38 kills per set and hit .170 as a team last week, with their best performance coming against Fresno where they hit .177 on the match.
• Jada Bouyer matched Jefferson’s 13 kills, while Liepa Lavickyte (11) and Naomi Chankoumi (10) both finished with double-digits on the week. All 10 of Chankoumi’s kills came against San Jose on Thursday.
• Madeleine Miller tallied 65 assists across the eight sets (8.13 assists/set), while also contributing 17 digs. Sohila Wafeek added 20 more in four set appearances (5.00/set).
• Falanika Danielson led the Lobos’ defense in the back row with 41 total digs (5.13 digs per set), surpassing 20 digs for the seventh time this season on Saturday with 25. She also added 2 service aces, bringing her season total to 29 aces.

SATURDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS

🏐 Highlights from @FresnoStateVB 3-1 win against New Mexico!#MakingHerMark | #MWVB | #EarnedNotGiven pic.twitter.com/AdHuiqRsWM

— Mountain West (@MountainWest) October 19, 2024

LAST TIME VS. COLORADO STATE
New Mexico Volleyball’s MW Tournament run ended one match shy of the championship in their last meeting with the Rams, as the Lobos fell in straight sets (18-25, 18-25, 27-29) to No. 2-seeded Colorado State on Nov. 23, 2023 at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.

LOBOS ON THE BLOCK

• Elizabeth Woods, the team’s senior middle blocker and lone returning starter from 2023, continues to anchor the Lobos at the net. With a team-high 75 total blocks (12 BS, 63 BA) in 72 sets,  Woods has posted five or more blocks in nine matches this season and has hit above .300 in eight matches. Her consistency has been a key part of UNM’s defense, and she’s added 16 service aces to her repertoire after never attempting a serve in a collegiate match prior to this season. Woods served up five aces to lead UNM in that category last week.
• Liepa Lavickyte has been an important contributor since rejoining the starting lineup, tallying 62 total blocks (7 BS, 55 BA) on the season. She’s finished with multiple blocks in all but two matches so far this year and currently ranks third among Mountain West active leaders with 1.22 blocks per set on the season.

DANIELSON DIGGIN’ IT
Grad transfer Falanika Danielson has been a standout in the back row for the Lobos. After transferring from Temple, Danielson has anchored the defense, accumulating 301 digs at a rate of 4.18 digs per set. She’s led the team in digs in 15 of UNM’s 18 matches and has reached double-digit digs in 15 matches this season, including seven 20+ dig performances. Her efforts have earned her MW Defensive Player of the Week honors three weeks ago, and she currently ranks No. 2 in the Mountain West in digs per set heading into the Lobos’ upcoming matches.

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 eight home matches so far this season, UNM’s averaged 844 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 STATS UDPATE
As of Oct. 22, UNM ranks among the Top 100 in NCAA Division I in four statistical categories:
• Blocks per Set: 92nd nationally (2.30)
• Digs per Set: 40th nationally (16.28)
• Team Attacks per Set: 37th nationally (37.04)

Within the Mountain West Conference, the Lobos rank in the Top Five in three categories:
• Digs per Set: 1st (16.28)
• Opponent Hitting: 5th (.194)
• Team Attacks per Set: 1st (37.04)

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.