Lobos Rematch Nevada, Air Force on the Road This Week

New Mexico Volleyball hits the road for rematches with Mountain West foes Nevada (8-16, 4-10 MW) on Thursday and Air Force (14-12, 6-8 MW) on Saturday. 

After starting the conference portion of their schedule 1-9, the Lobos have split the last two weeks at home and are on the hunt for their first road conference win of the season -- they're coming off an inspired four-set win over San Diego State on Senior Day last Saturday. In their last meeting with this week's opponents, they swept Nevada Oct. 30 at the Johnson Center but fell to the Falcons in straight sets two days later.

Both matches 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.

At Nevada (8-16, 4-10 MW)
Nov. 13 | 7 p.m. MT | Reno, Nev. 

at Air Force (14-12, 6-8 MW)
Nov. 15 | 1 p.m. MT | U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo.

ALL-TIME SERIES
• UNM leads the all-time series against both teams, with a 21-4 record against the Wolf Pack and a 46-8 record against the Falcons – the Lobos are 10-3 on the road at Nevada and 23-5 in matches at Air Force.
• Coach Newman-Gonchar is 10-2 against UNR and 8-4 against AFA in his tenure. Last year, the Lobos went 3-1 against the two opponents, splitting a pair of matches with Nevada and sweeping the season series with Air Force. They’ve won seven of the last 10 meetings with the Falcons and eight of the last 10 against the Wolf Pack.

CANEDO HOLDING IT DOWN
With four matches left to play in the regular season, Camila Canedo leads the Mountain West by a healthy margin in both total digs (235) and digs per set (4.70) – the closest MW player in digs per set is Air Force’s Jordan Suan (3.80/set).
Canedo has finished with 20 or more digs nine times, including a season-high 30 vs Grand Canyon on Oct. 18. She’s cracked double-digit digs 20 times and has led UNM in digs in 21 matches, earning MW Defensive Player of the Week honors once.

BLANCO’S BIG WEEK
In her final two home matches in a Lobo uniform, Madison Blanco led the Lobos in digs on Thursday (8) and served up a team-leading four aces on the week. She also produced three assists.

REAGAN MILLER: A FORCE AT THE NET
In the last four matches, Reagan Miller has put away 23 kills while hitting .488 – the highest of any Lobo in that span by far – while averaging a team-leading 1.08 blocks per set (4 BS / 10 BA). She and Zoe Leonard have produced 26 of UNM’s 34 total blocks in that span.

In UNM's four-set victory over SDSU on Saturday, Miller put away seven kills on team-best .636 hitting, leading the Lobos with five total blocks.

Reagan SHUTTING IT DOWN ⬇️

'Bos on a 6-0 run as they look to close this out!

S4 | Lobos 21, SDSU 15 pic.twitter.com/X9ZBUdcRQj

— New Mexico Volleyball (@UNMLoboVB) November 8, 2025

LOBOS PICKING UP SPEED
After going 1-9 to start Mountain West play, the Lobos have gone 2-2 in the last two weeks at home – they’re still on the hunt for their first road win against a conference foe. In the first 10 matches, UNM hit .173 as a team while opponents hit .236 against them – in the last four, UNM has hit .207 as a team while holding opponents to a .202 hitting percentage despite getting swept twice.

In their last two wins, the Lobos hit .289 as a team with 13.57 kills per set -- in their last two losses, they were held to .114 hitting with 10.50 kills per set.

LAST WEEK

New Mexico closed out its home slate with a split week, rebounding from a straight-set loss to UNLV with an inspired four-set victory over San Diego State on Senior Day.

After being swept by the Rebels on Thursday, the Lobos responded with one of their most balanced team efforts of the season on Saturday, hitting .241 as a team against SDSU while racking up 11 total blocks and serving up eight aces.

🏐 #MWVB Highlights from @UNMLoboVB's 3-1 win over San Diego State pic.twitter.com/xwWCeHnLtC

— Mountain West (@MW_OlySports) November 8, 2025

Lauryn Payne powered the Lobo offense with 21 kills (3.00/set) over seven sets, highlighted by a 16-kill performance against the Aztecs. Addison France followed with 16 kills on .196 hitting and added three total blocks. On the pins, Gioia Riccato contributed 12 kills and 9 digs, while Uliana Yastrub hit .241 with 11 kills and three aces across four sets.

Setter Madeleine Miller continued to steer the attack with 64 assists (9.14/set) while also contributing 12 digs and four block assists. Camila Canedo anchored the defense with 29 digs (4.14/set), while middle blocker Reagan Miller provided 15.0 total points behind 10 kills and a team-high eight total blocks.

At the net, the Lobos averaged 2.43 blocks per set, with Zoe Leonard adding seven block assists to go with five kills. As a team, UNM posted a .930 serving percentage while limiting errors and maintaining a 1.71 aces-per-set mark.

COACH JNG NEARING 100 WINS
Coach Jon Newman-Gonchar is just five wins away from his 100th career victory as UNM’s head coach. Currently in his seventh season at the helm, Newman-Gonchar holds a 95-92 record at UNM (.508) with a 48-70 (.411) mark in Mountain West matches.

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.