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by Connor Gilbert

Lobos Host Utah State, Boise State to Open MW Play

Lobos Host Utah State, Boise State to Open MW PlayLobos Host Utah State, Boise State to Open MW Play
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With the nonconference portion of its schedule now in the rearview, New Mexico Volleyball (8-3) kicks off conference play at home this week with matchups against Utah State (3-7) on Thursday and Boise State (8-3) Saturday at the Johnson Center.

UNM won both of its last matchups at home as part of a four-match win streak near the end of conference play – the Lobos are 15-5 all-time at home against Utah State and 7-4 at home against Boise. After being picked ninth in the MW preseason poll and starting off the season 8-3 despite missing All-MW returner Lauryn Payne for all 11 nonconference matches, UNM looks to open the season with a statement against preseason favorite Aggies on Thursday.

vs. Utah State
Sep. 25 | 6:30 p.m. MT | Albuquerque, N.M. | Johnson Center

vs. Boise State
Sep. 27 | 11 a.m. MT | Albuquerque, N.M. | Johnson Center

ALL-TIME SERIES
After rallying to defeat Utah State in five sets at home in their last meeting (11/7/24) the Lobos improved to 25-18 against the Aggies all-time, with a 14-5 mark at home – they’re 5-5 against Utah State in Jon Newman-Gonchar’s six-year tenure as head coach. The Lobos snapped a streak of four straight losses to Utah State – it was their first win over Utah State in nearly two years (Nov. 17, 2022). 
UNM trails the all-time series with Boise State by one match at 13-14, with a 7-4 record at home – they defeated the Broncos in four sets on senior night last season in their last meeting (11/14/24). Coach Jon Newman-Gonchar is 4-6 against the Broncos in his tenure as UNM head coach, but the Lobos have won three of the last four meetings. After losing eight of their last 10 matches to the Broncos heading into the 2023 season, the Lobos beat them both at home (9/30/23) and away (11/2/23) in four sets to sweep the season series for the first time since 2014 and secured the series split last year.

LOBO STAT RANKINGS
Heading into this week, the Lobos rank among the Top 100 teams in NCAA D1 in 7 categories -- they rank among the Top 3 in the Mountain West in all of them.

  • Digs per Set – 2nd MW | 84th NCAA (14.80)
  • Hitting Percentage – 1st MW | 79th NCAA (.243)
  • Kills per Set – 3rd MW | 97th NCAA (13.11)
  • Match W-L % – T-1st MW | 64th NCAA (.727)
  • Team Assists – 2nd MW | 61st NCAA (540)
  • Team Digs – T-1st MW | 74th NCAA (666)
  • Team Kills – 2nd MW | 73rd NCAA (573)
  • Team Total Attacks – 3rd MW | 96th NCAA (1,536)

LAST WEEK
New Mexico split its home-and-home series with rival New Mexico State, rallying for a five-set win in Albuquerque before falling in five in Las Cruces. Across the two matches, Addison France emerged as the Lobos’ most consistent scorer, piling up 30 kills (3.0/set) on an efficient .375 hitting clip. France also showed her versatility with 23 digs and 26 assists, finishing with a double-double on Tuesday and following up with just the eighth triple-double of any Mountain West player in the last decade on Wednesday (17 digs, 14 assists, 10 kills). France earned MW Freshman of the Week honors for her performances.
Seenane Brewer joined France in double-figure kills in both contests, totaling 22 across the series while adding 15 digs and three blocks. Reagan Miller provided a spark at the net, hitting .481 for 14 kills in limited swings, while Zoe Leonard added another efficient 11 kills on .364 hitting to go with four blocks. Uliana Yastrub chipped in 15 kills of her own, and Gioia Riccato delivered 13 in the second match to round out a balanced front-row effort after being limited on Tuesday in her return from injury.
Setter Madeleine Miller kept the offense flowing with 76 assists (7.6/set) while chipping in 18 digs. Though the Aggies held the edge from the service line, New Mexico’s defense countered with gritty floor play, led by libero Camila Canedo’s 34 digs (3.4/set). France (23 digs) and Miller (18 digs) also played key roles in stabilizing serve-receive and extending rallies.
At the net, Solia Angilau led the blocking effort with six blocks over the two matches, while Miller and Leonard added four apiece. As a unit, the Lobos averaged 11.4 kills and 11.8 digs per set against the Aggies, hitting .246 over the 10 sets.

FRANCE EARNS SECOND FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK HONORS
After recording the eighth triple-double of any Mountain West player in the past decade, New Mexico’s Addison France has been named Old Trapper MW Freshman of the Week, the league announced Monday.
It’s the third conference weekly award so far this season for the Lobos and France’s second time earning Freshman of the Week honors. The Lobos split a pair of five-set battles with in-state rivals New Mexico State last week, winning in Albuquerque (25-21, 22-25, 19-25, 25-19, 15-11) but falling in five in Las Cruces (18-25, 25-23, 25-18, 23-25, 7-15) to close out the nonconference portion of their schedule.

MW FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
ADDISON FRANCE | FR | S/OH
France recorded a career-high 20 kills on .500 hitting (20 K - 3 E - 34 TA) as the Lobos rallied to defeat NMSU in five sets at the Johnson Center on Tuesday, recording her first career double-double with 12 assists in total. She also added a service ace and six digs.
She followed that up with a triple-double on Wednesday, finishing with 10 kills, 14 assists and 17 digs -- the first triple-double from a UNM player under Head Coach Jon Newman-Gonchar – and only the eighth by any Mountain West player in the last decade.
The true freshman ranked eighth among MW players in hitting % (.375) over the past week and averaged 3.00 kills per set, 2.60 assists per set and 2.30 digs per set.

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.

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.