Lobos Take Down Air Force in Four for Third Straight Win
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – New Mexico Volleyball wore out Air Force in four sets (14-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-18) in Mountain West action at the Johnson Center Tuesday night for the Lobos’ third straight win, completing a season sweep of the Falcons and staying alive in the race for a Mountain West Tournament bid.
The Lobos (12-13, 5-10 MW) continued their recent resurgence since snapping a nine-match skid last Thursday with another stifling defensive effort, holding the Falcons to .102 hitting while outblocking them 13-8 and outdigging them 69-59. Tt’s the fourth straight match in which they’ve finished with double-digit team blocks and outpaced their opponent at the net.
UNM trailed nearly the entire third set before a late push to tie it at 20-all – the Lobos scored five of the next eight to take a 2-1 set lead they wouldn’t relinquish, hitting .275 and putting away a match-high 16 kills in the next frame to take control for good and keep it to four.
Kialah Jefferson and Lauryn Payne both led UNM’s attack with 16 kills each, with Payne hitting .220 on the match and Jefferson hitting .244 while picking up 14 digs to record her third consecutive double-double and 13th of the season. Elizabeth Woods finished with seven kills, Liepa Lavickyte added six more on team-high .308 hitting and Jada Bouyer rounded things out with five.
Madeleine Miller also recorded her third double-double in a row after a 34-assist, 14-dig performance that saw her serve up an ace and put away two kills – Sohila Wafeek collected 11 more off the bench while picking up a pair of digs, with Falanika Danielson dishing out four while coming just one shy of her ninth 20-dig performance of the season with a team-high 19.
Reigning MW Defensive Player of the Week Liepa Lavickyte led UNM in blocks yet again with seven block assists and a solo block, one of four Lobos to finish with multiple alongside Jada Bouyer (7 BA), Elizabeth Woods (1 BS / 4 BA) and Jefferson (3 BA).
Another post-victory chat with Coach JNG at Johnson 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/IIBLWSSmGY
— New Mexico Volleyball (@UNMLoboVB) November 13, 2024
HIGHLIGHTS
🏐 Highlights from @UNMLoboVB‘s 3-1 win over Air Force!#MakingHerMark | #MWVB | #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/O5NQjkaWvp
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) November 13, 2024
ALL-TIME SERIES
With the win, the Lobos improve to 46-7 against Air Force all-time and 23-2 against the Falcons at home. Coach Newman-Gonchar is now 7-2 against Air Force in his six-season tenure at UNM — the Lobos have won eight of the last 10 meetings.
UP NEXT / FOLLOW THE ACTION
Thursday’s Senior Night festivities with Boise State are set to get underway at 6:30 p.m. MT. The 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.
