ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – New Mexico took the opening set and gave the Wyoming Cowgirls (8-7, 4-0 MW) all they could handle in the next two sets in Mountain West action Saturday afternoon, but the Lobos (8-7, 0-4 MW) fell in four sets (25-19, 25-27, 25-27, 14-25) at the Johnson Center.
Lauryn Payne and Gioia Riccato both finished with 11 kills to lead a Lobo attack that saw renewed energy but came up just short in two pivotal sets that went into extra points – Addison France (9 kills), Zoe Leonard (8 kills) and Reagan Miller (6 kills) also turned in efficient performances, with both Leonard and Miller hitting above .350 on the match while combining for three solo blocks and seven block assists between them.
Madeleine Miller recorded her eighth double-double of the season with 27 assists and 10 digs, also putting away a pair of kills in the final set. Camila Canedo picked up a season-high 25 digs – including 12 in the opening set alone – to crack the 20-dig mark for the fifth time this year.
The Lobos (8-7, 0-4 MW) hunt for their first Mountain West win on the road next week at San Diego State on Thursday and Grand Canyon on Saturday.
SET ONE - NEW MEXICO 25, WYOMING 19
The Lobos jumped out to a 5-0 start and didn’t look back in the opening set, with Riccato and France both putting away four kills each as UNM converted on 57% of sideouts to weather a 15-kill effort from the Cowgirls with a few points to spare. Canedo cracked double-digit digs in the opening set alone with 12, while six other Lobos picked up at least one.
SET TWO - NEW MEXICO 25, WYOMING 27
In a second set that saw 12 ties and seven lead changes, the Lobos improved to 15 kills on .238 hitting thanks to four kills from Lauryn Payne and three apiece from Riccato, France and Leonard – Riccato and Leonard both came up with three block assists. UNM took a 25-24 lead on Payne’s fourth kill of the set before Wyoming responded with a 3-0 run to tie things up at a set apiece.
SET THREE - NEW MEXICO 25, WYOMING 27
UNM fell behind early but got back into the third with a 4-0 run that tied it up at 9-9 – Reagan Miller came up with a kill and a block solo in succession to give the Lobos their first lead at 13-12, but the two teams continued to trade blows even down the stretch. The Lobos ripped off another timely run with a 3-0 push to take a 22-21 lead and battled into extra points once again, but Wyoming scored six of the final nine points to withstand another set point rally.
Wyoming put down 16 kills for the second set in a row in the third, but this time the Lobos connected on a match-high 17 – Payne led with five while Leonard and Riccato added four each. The third was even more back-and-forth than the second, with 17 ties and eight lead changes.
SET FOUR - NEW MEXICO 14, WYOMING 25
After the Cowgirls picked up where they left off with a 9-4 start to the fourth that forced UNM into a timeout – but they scored eight of the next 12 points coming out of the break to take control the rest of the way. Madeleine Miller put down two kills on setter dumps but the Lobos only put down three others with Reagan Miller, Payne and Leonard all adding one more each.