Lobos Return Home This Week for Rematches with Nevada, Utah State

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Mexico Volleyball returns home for two more Mountain West rematches this week, hosting Nevada (11-12, 4-7 MW) on Thursday and Utah State (11-11, 8-3 MW) on Saturday at the Johnson Center.

The Lobos (9-13) dropped to 2-10 in MW play after falling in three on the road at Fresno State (23-25, 21-25, 16-25) and dropping a four-set battle at San Jose State (21-25, 21-25, 25-22, 13-25) on Saturday — they’ll be looking to snap a nine-match skid in their return to the Johnson Center on Thursday, the first of the Lobos’ final four matches at home this season. Heading into this weekend, Nevada is on a four-match losing streak of their own, while Utah State has won four in a row.

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 .202 hitting on the season so far and enter the week ranked in the Top 75 in the nation in digs per set (72nd, 15.78), blocks per set (73rd, 2.36) and attacks per set (67th, 36.37). They’re leading the Mountain West in digs for a third consecutive season, nearly a dig per set more than No. 2 Boise State (14.85).

In their last meetings with Nevada and Utah State on the road in October, the Lobos dropped four-set heartbreakers to both after surrendering late leads in the final set — they led 24-19 in the fourth against the Aggies before they closed on a 7-0 run to retake control and led 22-19 in the fourth against the Wolfpack two days later before they responded with six straight to win in similar fashion.

In 2023, UNM went 2-0 against Nevada in a pair of five-set matches but went 0-2 against Utah State, falling in four at home before the Aggies dispatched them in straight sets in Logan. They’d won three straight against the Wolfpack before that streak was snapped in their first meeting and are looking to snap a four-match skid against the Aggies.

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. Utah State (11-11, 8-4 MW)
Nov. 7 | 6:30 p.m. MT | Albuquerque, N.M. | Johnson Center

vs. Nevada (11-12, 4-8 MW)
Nov. 9 | 1 p.m. MT | Albuquerque, N.M. | Johnson Center

ALL-TIME SERIES
• The Lobos lead the all-time series against both teams — they’re 14-17 against Utah State all-time and 19-3 against Nevada, with a 10-5 mark on the road against the Aggies and a 10-2 mark in Reno against the Wolfpack.
• UNM has won three in a row over Nevada but lost three in a row against Utah State — the Lobos are 9-1 in their last 10 matches against the Wolfpack and 5-5 against the Aggies in their last 10 meetings.
• Coach Jon Newman-Gonchar is 6-1 against Nevada and 4-4 against Utah State in his time at UNM.

LAST WEEK
The Lobos dropped to 2-10 in MW play after falling in three on the road at Fresno State (23-25, 21-25, 16-25) and dropping a four-set battle at San Jose State (21-25, 21-25, 25-22, 13-25) on Saturday.

• Lauryn Payne led the Lobos in kills yet again, putting away 21 (3.00/set) to go with three block assists and a solo block.
• Naomi Chankoumi continued her resurgent play with the second-most kills on the team last week (13) — in her last five matches, she’s produced 35 kills after only putting away just one in the prior five matches.
• The Lobos averaged 10.43 kills per set and hit .168 as a team last week, with their best performance coming against San Jose State, where they hit .172 on the match.
• Kialah Jefferson matched Chankoumi’s 13 kills, while Jada Bouyer (12) also finished with double-digits on the week. Jefferson served up a team-high five aces in total – nearly half of the Lobos’ 12 on the week.
• Madeleine Miller and Sohila Wafeek combined for 58 of UNM’s 69 assists across the seven sets while combining for 19 digs.
• Falanika Danielson led the Lobos’ defense in the back row with 38 total digs (5.43 digs per set), surpassing 20 digs for the eighth time this season last week. She also added two service aces, bringing her season total to 20 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. NEVADA (Oct. 12)
New Mexico Volleyball’s late push for a fifth set was undone by a late 6-0 run from Nevada as the Lobos fell in four (27-25, 25-27, 22-25, 22-25) in their Mountain West road matchup with the Wolfpack (10-8, 3-3 MW) Saturday afternoon at the Virginia Street Gym.

The Lobos (9-7, 2-4 MW) won a back-and-forth affair in the opening set 27-25 with 15 kills despite hitting just .095 – they lost the second set by the same score as the Wolfpack tied things up despite putting up 15 more kills while hitting for a match-high .382 average, but were held below .160 in the final two sets as Nevada snuffed their hopes of another five-set rally late.

Trailing 2-1, the Lobos started picking up momentum in the fourth with a 7-0 run and eventually led 22-19 before the Wolfpack responded with a 6-0 run — two kills, two blocks and two UNM attack errors — to swipe the set and end things before the Lobos could force a fifth.

Four different Lobos put away double-digit kills – Jada Bouyer (15), Lauryn Payne (12), Kialah Jefferson (11) and Elizabeth Woods (10). Woods and Madi Blanco both served up three aces each as UNM served up eight in total – this week, the Lobos have served up an average of 1.75 aces per set after averaging only serving up two across eight sets last week (0.25/set).

The opening set was all Woods — she led UNM with five kills on .375 hitting while serving up a pair of aces — before Jefferson poured in five of her 11 total kills to lead the way in the second while receiving 10 serves without an error. But it was Bouyer who took the rest of the way, putting away 11 of UNM’s 24 kills over the final two sets with just one error in that span. In the fourth set alone, she connected on seven of UNM’s 13 kills on .538 hitting without a single attack error to go with five block assists.

Jefferson picked up 11 digs for her ninth double-double of the season and second match in a row surpassing double-digits in both kills and digs. Giselle Groe also finished with 11, with Blanco picking up five more. Falanika Danielson surpassed the 20-dig mark for the sixth time this season with 22 to lead the Lobos, which narrowly outdug Nevada 63-62 — Madeleine Miller produced 39 of UNM’s 46 assists while finishing with two kills and five digs to go with a solo block and a block assist. UNM came up with a season-high 17 blocks, nearly doubling up on the Wolfpack’s nine. Jada Bouyer led the way with a team-high nine block assists – five of which came in the fourth – with Woods finishing with one solo block and seven block assists and Liepa Lavickyte adding seven block assists.

LAST TIME VS. UTAH STATE (Oct. 10)
New Mexico Volleyball forced a fourth with a gritty 31-29 win in the third set of its Mountain West road matchup with Utah State (6-10, 3-3 MW) at the Estes Center on Thursday but came up just short of going to five for the fifth time this season after the Aggies closed out with a 7-0 run to retake the lead late and win in four (24-26, 15-25, 31-29, 23-25).

The Lobos (9-6, 2-3 MW) return to the court Saturday for a road matchup with Nevada (9-8, 2-3 MW) in Reno, with first serve set for 1 p.m. MT.

Kialah Jefferson recorded her eighth double-double of the season while finishing with team-highs of 13 kills and 11 digs, with Lauryn Payne adding 12 more and Madeleine Miller putting away a career-high eight kills while producing 31 of UNM’s 41 assists.

Elizabeth Woods led UNM with a career-high 11 block assists for five total blocks while adding six more kills, with Liepa Lavickyte coming up with 4.5 total blocks (1 BS, 7 BA) while adding three more kills. Falanika Danielson served up three of UNM’s six aces while picking up five digs and dishing three assists, with Woods, Madison Blanco and Miller all serving up an ace each as well. Blanco finished with the second-most digs (9), with Miller picking up six more.

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 93 total blocks (14 BS, 79 BA) in 72 sets. Woods has posted five or more blocks in 10 matches this season and has hit above .300 in nine. She’s also added 18 service aces to her repertoire after never attempting a serve in a collegiate match prior to this season.
• Liepa Lavickyte has been an important contributor since rejoining the starting lineup, tallying 79 total blocks (10 BS, 69 BA) on the season. She’s finished with multiple blocks in all but two matches so far this year and currently ranks No. 2 among Mountain West active leaders with 1.20 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 363 digs at a rate of 4.17 digs per set. She’s led the team in digs in 17 of UNM’s 22 matches and has reached double-digit digs in 19 matches this season, including eight 20+ dig performances. Her efforts have earned her MW Defensive Player of the Week honors, and she currently ranks No. 1 among Mountain West individual active leaders 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 Nov. 6, UNM ranks among the Top 100 in NCAA Division I in four statistical categories:
• Blocks per Set: 73rd nationally (2.36)
• Digs per Set: 72nd nationally (15.78)
• Team Attacks per Set: 67th nationally (36.37)

Within the Mountain West Conference, the Lobos rank in the Top Five in three categories:
• Digs per Set: 1st (15.78)
• Opponent Hitting: 5th (.202)
• Team Attacks per Set: 1st (36.37)

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.