ALL-TIME SERIES
• The Lobos are 36-64 against Colorado State all-time and 37-54 against Wyoming all-time -- they’re 3-6 against the Cowgirls in Coach Newman-Gonchar’s tenure and 2-7 against the Rams in the same span.
• UNM is 14-26 at home against CSU and 14-28 on the road against Wyoming.
• They’ve won one of the last five meetings with the Rams and three of the last five against the Cowgirls. UNM’s last win over CSU -- a 3-0 sweep in Fort Collins in 2022 -- was Coach Newman-Gonchar’s 50th career win.
L.P. IS BACK
After missing the entire nonconference slate due to injury, All-MW returner Lauryn Payne returned to form quickly in her first two matches of the season last week – the senior outside put away 3.00 kills per set against Utah State and Boise State and recorded her first career double-double with 11 digs on Saturday.
Payne enjoyed a breakout year after becoming the Lobos’ go-to attacker in 2024, ranking in the Top 10 among MW individuals in kills per set (3.36) and points per set (3.56) while leading UNM in both. After accumulating 76 kills in her first two collegiate seasons, she put away 370 in 2024, ending the season with a new career-high of 26 kills in a five-set loss on the road to UNLV.
COACH JNG NEARING 100 WINS
Coach Jon Newman-Gonchar is just eight wins away from his 100th career victory as UNM’s head coach. Currently in his seventh season at the helm, Newman-Gonchar holds a 92-83 record at UNM (.525) with a 45-61 (.433) mark in Mountain West matches.
LOBO STAT RANKINGS
Heading into this week, the Lobos rank among the Top 150 teams in NCAA D1 in eight categories -- they rank among the Top 3 in the Mountain West in seven.
Digs per Set – 2nd MW | 92nd NCAA (14.79)
Hitting Percentage – 2nd MW | 117th NCAA (.229)
Match W-L % – 3rd MW | 110th NCAA (.615)
Team Assists – 3rd MW | 88th NCAA (608)
Team Digs – 2nd MW | 82nd NCAA (769)
Team Kills – 3rd MW | 106th NCAA (647)
Team Total Attacks – 3rd MW | 103rd NCAA (1,783)
INDIVIDUAL STAT RANKINGS
Madeleine Miller
Aces per Set – 2nd MW | 82nd NCAA (0.44)
Assists per Set – 4th MW | 100th NCAA (8.88)
Aces (total) – 1st MW | 53rd NCAA (23)
Total Assists – 2nd MW | 42nd NCAA (462)
Camila Canedo
Digs per Set – 3rd MW | 139th NCAA (3.79)
Total Digs – 2nd MW | 101st NCAA (197)
Addison France
Kills per Set – 11th MW | 305th NCAA (3.00)
Gioia Riccato
Kills per Set – 13th MW | 421st NCAA (2.74)
LAST WEEK
New Mexico opened Mountain West play last weekend with two hard-fought matches at Johnson Center, falling in three to preseason favorite Utah State (19-25,22-25,16-25) and in four to Boise State (25-23, 22-25, 22-25, 14-25).
Senior Lauryn Payne led the Lobo attack across the weekend with 21 kills (3.0 per set), including 14 in Saturday’s matchup with Boise State. She also chipped in 11 digs and a block to provide steady two-way production. Addison France added 12 kills while balancing her game with nine assists, nine digs, and four blocks – Gioia Riccato added 12 more of her own.
In the middle, Solia Angilau made her presence felt defensively, finishing the weekend with nine total blocks in just five sets (1.80 per set) to go with seven kills – she came up with a career-high eight blocks in Saturday’s four-set loss to Boise State. Reagan Miller also stood tall at the net, posting eight kills and eight blocks, including five against the Broncos.
Setter Madeleine Miller directed the offense with 46 assists (6.57 per set), while also showing her all-around game with 20 digs and seven blocks. At libero, Camila Canedo anchored the back row with a team-high 23 digs (3.29 per set) to go along with nine assists and a service ace.
Defensive contributions came from all over the floor — Riccato (10 digs), Payne (11 digs), and Madison Blanco (9 digs) each added stability in serve-receive and transition play. The Lobos also finished with four total service aces, with one each from Angilau, Canedo, Madeleine Miller, and Seenane Brewer.
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.
