ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – New Mexico Volleyball (8-4, 0-1 MW) rallied late in the second and carried the momentum into the third in its Mountain West opener with Utah State (4-7, 1-0 MW) Thursday night at the Johnson Center, but the Aggies’ attack proved too much down the stretch as the Lobos fell in straight sets (19-25, 22-25, 16-25).
Addison France led the Lobos with eight kills and Lauryn Payne put down seven in her first appearance of the year after being out with injury for the entire nonconference – Gioia Riccato added five more and Reagan Miller finished with three, with Seenane Brewer, Uliana Yastrub and Solia Angilau all adding one each.
Madeleine Miller produced 12 assists while France dished out eight and Camila Canedo contributed three more – Canedo finished with a team-high seven digs with France and Miller just behind with six each.
UNM scored eight of the last six points of the second set and led 12-8 midway through the third before Utah State responded with a 17-4 run to close things out and avoid going to a fourth set. The Lobos posted match-high .222 hitting in the second – buoyed by all three of Reagan Miller’s kills and two more apiece from Payne and France – but were held to .135 hitting in the following set.
UP NEXT
The Lobos (8-4, 0-1 MW) stay home for Saturday’s morning matchup with Boise State (9-3, 1-0 MW), set for an 11 a.m. first serve. Saturday’s match will be free to stream via the MW Network at GoLobos.com/Watch, with live stats at GoLobos.com/VBStats. Find parking and gameday information at GoLobos.com/VBGameday. Follow @UNMLoboVB on IG, X and Facebook for matchday updates, highlights, promotional information, behind-the-scenes content and more.