Bulldogs Dispatch Lobos in Three
FRESNO, Calif. — New Mexico Volleyball rallied from big early deficits in the first two sets of its Mountain West matchup with Fresno State (12-10, 8-3 MW) but couldn’t equalize after the Bulldogs retook control late in both to hand the Lobos a straight-sets loss (23-25, 21-25, 16-25) Thursday night at the Save Mart Center.
The loss drops the Lobos to 9-12 overall and 2-9 in MW play ahead of Saturday’s matchup with San Jose State (12-3, 9-3 MW).
Lauryn Payne finished with 14 kills on .231 hitting, leading UNM in kills in all three sets after connecting on six in the opening set. Kialah Jefferson poured in eight more while serving up all three of UNM’s service aces and seven digs, with Falanika Danielson surpassing the 20-dig mark for the eighth time this season (23) and both Madeleine Miller (14) and Sohila Wafeek (11) registering double-digit assists.
Naomi Chankoumi added five more kills on team-high .273 hitting and Jada Bouyer added four more to round out a 33-kill night for the Lobos.
UNM matched Fresno with eight team blocks and only picked up two fewer digs (55-57), but the Bulldogs served up nine aces to the Lobos’ three and held the Lobos to .164 hitting while finishing with a .216 average on the match.
UP NEXT / FOLLOW THE ACTION
The Lobos’ road trip continues as they look to snap an eight-match skid against San Jose State (12-3, 9-3 MW) on Saturday, set to get underway at 2 p.m. MT. Saturday’s match will be streamed via the MW Network, with live stream links, live stats and more available at Lobo VB Matchday Central via GoLobos.com/FollowVB.