Lobos Host N.M. Highlands in Exhibition Matchup Aug. 23

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – New Mexico Volleyball fans will get their first chance to catch the Lobos in action when they kick off the 2025 season with an exhibition match against D-II New Mexico Highlands on Saturday afternoon at the Johnson Center.

Admission is free for Friday’s matchup with the Cowgirls – set for a 1 p.m. start – with free promotional schedule posters and an opportunity to get autographs and meet the team after the match along with a free kids’ clinic. Saturday’s action will not be streamed. Find parking and gameday information at GoLobos.com/VBGameday.

vs. New Mexico Highlands (Exh.)
August 23 | 1 p.m. MT | Albuquerque, N.M. | Johnson Center

WHERE TO PARK
With parking options limited due to ongoing construction in the south lot, see GoLobos.com/VBGameDay for a guide on where to park as well as other gameday fan information.

ALL-TIME SERIES
This will be the fifth-straight season in which the Lobos open their season with an exhibition against New Mexico Highlands and the second time in a row they face in the Johnson Center in that span, with the previous three meetings all down the street at The Pit. UNM is 5-0 against Highlands all-time.

EARLY RETURNS FROM MOUNTAIN WEST PRESEASON
New Mexico was voted to finish ninth in the Mountain West Preseason Poll by the league’s coaches ahead of the 2025 season, the league announced last Wednesday.

Utah State is favored to win the 2025 MW regular-season title, having earned 114 points and seven first-place votes. Under the direction of head coach Rob Neilson, the Aggies finished the 2024 season 15-14 overall and 12-6 in Conference action and appeared in the Mountain West tournament for the fourth consecutive year since the event was brought back in 2021.

For the 2025 season, the Mountain West will expand to 12 members thanks to the late addition of Grand Canyon to the conference.

Colorado State has been tabbed the runner-up with 106 points and three first-place votes followed by San Diego State in third with 96 points and the final two first-place votes. In fourth is Fresno State (86 points) and predicted to finish fifth is Boise State (73). UNLV and Wyoming are tied to finish sixth with 72 points each. In eighth is the league’s newest member, Grand Canyon (61), followed by New Mexico with 37. Behind the Lobos are Nevada (32), San José State (31) and Air Force (12).

Fresno State senior Addison Haluska was tabbed the MW Women’s Volleyball Preseason Player of the Year, joined by Boise State’s Bre Mitchell, San Diego State’s Taylor Underwood, UNLV’s Basia Latos, Utah State’s Tierney Barlow and Kayliee Kofe and Wyoming’s Paige Lauterwasser on this year’s Mountain West preseason team.

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.

The Lobos are looking to return to the Mountain West Tournament after missing out in 2024 to snap a streak of three consecutive tournament appearances. In 2024, UNM found its rhythm late in the season, winning four of its last six — with two wins over MW Tournament-qualifying teams — after weathering a nine-match skid. The Lobos led the conference in digs per set (15.77) for the third year in a row and ranked second in blocks per set (2.53) in 2024, finishing ninth in the conference standings at 13-15 overall and 6-12 in MW play.

At the conclusion of the 2024 season, UNM ranked among the Top 100 in NCAA D-I in six statistical categories:

• Blocks Per Set (33rd)
• Total Blocks (44th)
• Digs Per Set (74th)
• Attacks Per Set (81st)
• Opp. Hitting % (82nd)
• Team Digs (86th)

They ranked first in the conference in Digs Per Set (15.77) and Team Digs (1,766), ranked second in Blocks Per Set (2.53), Total Blocks (283.5) and Attacks Per Set (36.21) and ranked third in Opponent Hitting % (.190) and Total Attacks (4,055).

UNM got a breakout season from outside hitter Lauryn Payne, who earned All-MW honors at the conclusion after racking up 370 kills (3.36/set) in her first year as the Lobos’ go-to option at the pins.

In her first season in Albuquerque, middle blocker Liepa Lavickyte picked up steam down the stretch, earning two MW Defensive Player of the Week honors and ranked second in the conference in blocks per set (1.35) at the end of the year.

Madeleine Miller also proved up to the task as a six-rotation setter after moving into the starting role, averaging 7.63 assists per set (7th-most in the MW) and putting up 14 double-doubles on the season — Miller also served up 27 aces and connected on 56 kills while totaling 32 total blocks.

Under Head Coach Jon Newman-Gonchar, UNM has won at a .585 clip over the past four seasons and is 33-18 at home in that span. Last season, the Lobos averaged over 800 fans a game for the third season in a row, with a season-high 1,387 fans in attendance vs. New Mexico State on Sept. 16.

To compete for one of those top six spots, the Lobos need to replace a significant amount of contributors – four starters from last season graduated. The Lobos return eight players that saw real action in 2024 and bring in two freshmen and four transfers, two with D1 experience at previous institutions.

OUTSIDES/OPPOSITES
After a breakthrough season that saw her put away a team-high 370 kills and 393 total points to earn the first All-MW honors of her career, senior outside Lauryn Payne returns to lead the Lobos’ attack alongside fellow returners Naomi Chankoumi (70 SP, 96 kills) and Seenane Brewer (36 SP, 45 kills). Payne picked up momentum near the end of the 2024 season as the Lobos snapped a seven-match skid to win four of their last six, connecting on double-digit kills in each of her final six and setting a new career-high with 26 in total against UNLV in the season finale.
Grad transfer Gioia Riccato (University of Verona) brings a bevy of high-level experience despite this being her first D1 season – the 6-1 outside has played for three Italian clubs while attending University of Verona prior to heading to Albuquerque for one season of eligibility. Ukrainian transfer sophomore Uliana Yastrub (Rutgers) and redshirt freshman Amanda Tremeroli also will make their Lobo debuts this season to round things out.

LIBEROS
The Lobos got one of the most productive single-season efforts from a libero in program history from grad transfer Falanika Danielson in 2024, but have plenty of options to replace her contributions this season.

Junior Giselle Groe (168 career sets played) and redshirt junior Madison Blanco (119 career sets played) both have extensive experience in the back row at UNM, with Brazilian junior college transfer Camila Canedo and freshman Anna Johannson (Minneapolis, Minn.) making it a four-way competition for the starting libero role. Whoever doesn’t start at libero will likely still get plenty of defensive rotations and serving opportunities.

SETTERS
One of the most productive setters in the Mountain West in 2024, Madeleine Miller ranked seventh in the league in assists per set (7.63) and returns as the Lobos’ highest-volume option at the position. She’s backed up by a pair of newcomers in 6-3 true freshman Addison France and NMJC transfer junior Sude Omercikoglu, with left-handed France able to play at opposite as well. Omercikoglu was a part of an NMJC team that advanced to the NJCAA Tournament in 2023 and has led the Thunderbirds in assists per set in each of the last two seasons.

MIDDLES
Two-time MW Defensive Player of the Week Liepa Lavickyte is positioned to lead the Lobos at the net while they look to replace the contributions of 2024 captain and five-year senior Elizabeth Woods – the Norwegian junior racked up 123 blocks in total (1.35/s) to lrank second in the conference in blocks per set in 2024.

6-1 sophomore Reagan Miller (32 sets played in 2024) and 6-3 redshirt freshman Zoe Leonard will both likely get their share of reps alongside Lavickyte, with 6-1 CBU transfer sophomore Solia Angilau also in the mix.

2025 SCHEDULE

This year’s slate includes 14 home matches at the Johnson Center that kick off with this year’s Lobo Invitational, a multi-team event that will feature matchups between and against Manhattan, Northern Arizona and Houston Christian (Aug. 29-30).

NONCONFERENCE
After the Lobo Invitational, UNM heads to Stephenville, Texas for tournament action hosted by Tarleton State – they’ll face the Texans on that Thursday (Sept. 4) before meetings with Northwestern State (Sept. 5) and Prairie View A&M (Sept. 6).

They’ll be in Riverside, Calif. the following weekend for one more weekend of round-robin matchups hosted by Cal Baptist, opening up with Portland State (Sept. 11) and Cal State Fullerton (Sept. 12) in neutral-site action before facing host Cal Baptist on Sept. 13.

MOUNTAIN WEST PLAY
Conference play will include an 18-match format with each MW team playing nine home contests and making nine road trips during league action. League play begins on Tuesday, Sept. 23, and concludes Saturday, Nov. 22.

The Lobos will begin conference play with four home matchups in a row, beginning with Utah State (Sep. 25) and Boise State (Sep. 27) in the Johnson Center for Week 1 before matchups with Colorado State (Oct. 2) and Wyoming (Oct. 4).

After a three-game road swing featuring dates at San Diego State (Oct. 9), new conference opponent Grand Canyon (Oct. 11) and UNLV (Oct. 16), UNM returns home for a rematch with the Lopes (Oct. 18) before another road swing to Fresno State (Oct. 23) and San Jose State (Oct. 25).

Another four-match home stretch takes place from Oct. 30-Nov. 8, with UNM hosting Nevada, Air Force, UNLV and San Diego State in that span – the Lobos’ matchup with the Aztecs will be Senior Day at the Johnson Center. After heading to Nevada (Nov. 13) and Air Force (Nov. 15), the Lobos close out the season with road dates at Wyoming and Colorado State on Nov. 20 and 22nd, respectively.

If the Lobos qualify for the conference tournament, they’ll be returning to Vegas the following week to begin postseason action. League play will determine the seeding for the 2024 MW Volleyball Championship, which will start Wednesday, Nov. 26, and conclude Saturday, Nov. 29, in Las Vegas at the Cox Pavilion on the UNLV Campus.

UP NEXT
Following next Saturday’s exhibition, UNM welcomes Manhattan, Northern Arizona and Houston Christian to the Johnson Center the following weekend (Aug. 30-31) to open the regular season as hosts of the Lobo Invitational. Fans can snag tickets to all three UNM home matches next weekend for the price of two with the Lobo Invitational Tournament Pass, available via the single-game tickets link at GoLobos.com/VBTickets that goes live on August 18.

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