Lobos Fall on the Road in Season Finale

LAS VEGAS – New Mexico Volleyball fought hard to force a fifth set in its season finale on the road with UNLV but couldn’t make up the difference down the stretch (25-14, 19-25, 25-27, 25-17, 15-13) Saturday at Cox Pavilion.

The Lobos conclude the 2024 season with a 13-15 record overall and a 6-12 mark in Mountain West matchups. After going 2-10 through the first 12 matches of conference play, UNM won four of its final six to close the season.

Lauryn Payne set a new career-high for the third time this season with 26 kills on .373 hitting, with Jada Boyer (14 kills) and Kialah Jefferson (11 kills) both joining her in double-digits in their final match as Lobos. Jefferson picked up 12 digs to finish the 2024 season with 16 double-doubles in total.

The Lobos hit for a .266 average on the match while holding the Rebels to .184 hitting, bouncing back from a Thursday match in which they finished with three blocks with 14 team blocks in total vs. the Rebels – Elizabeth Woods finished with a team-high seven blocks assists in her final match at UNM, with Liepa Lavickyte adding one solo block and six block assists and Madeleine Miller finishing with five while notching her 15th double-double of the season (40 assists, 17 digs).

Despite winning two sets in lopsided fashion, UNM finished the match with 66 kills to the Rebels’ 65 and 86 digs to UNLV’s 87, outblocking them 14-13.

Falanika Danielson came one dig shy of her ninth 20-did performance this season with a team-high 19 while dishing out eight more assists. Madison Blanco also cracked double-digit digs with 15, with Bouyer adding eight and Seenane Brewer finishing with six.

Miller also served up two of UNM’s five aces on the night, with Woods, Jefferson and Danielson all serving up one each.

This story will be updated.