ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – New Mexico Volleyball battled Grand Canyon through three tightly contested sets and came within a point of taking a 2-1 lead before falling in four (22-25, 25-22, 24-26, 13-25) Saturday afternoon at The Pit - Powered by Nusenda.
The Lobos drop to 9-13 (7-5 MW), with the Lopes improving to 13-10 (7-5 MW).
Seenane Brewer paced UNM with 14 kills, while Mina Stanojevic recorded a double-double with 11 kills and 15 digs, adding all three of the Lobos’ service aces. Madeleine Miller also posted a double-double with 40 assists and 10 digs, contributing five kills without an error on 10 swings (.500).
Campbell Hollister finished with seven kills without an error on 16 attacks (.438) and two blocks, while Addison France added nine kills and 10 digs. Camila Canedo anchored the back row with 24 digs — her eighth match with 20 or more this season — and Reagan Miller led UNM at the net with three blocks.
UNM outdug the Lopes 69-62 and improved its hitting percentage from .066 in Thursday’s meeting to .155 Saturday. Grand Canyon held advantages in kills (56-49), hitting percentage (.221-.155), blocks (11-5) and aces (7-3).
The Lobos mounted a late rally in the opener before falling 25-22, then answered with their most efficient offensive set of the afternoon. UNM put away 15 kills on .270 hitting in the second while holding GCU to .154, with Brewer delivering the final two Lobo points to even the match.
UNM continued to push in the third, responding to an 11-5 deficit with five unanswered points. Trailing 23-21 late, the Lobos strung together a Hollister kill, a block by Hollister and France and a Stanojevic kill to earn set point at 24-23. The Lopes escaped with three consecutive kills from Starr Williams to take the frame, 26-24.
The Lobos opened the fourth with a 5-2 lead, but Grand Canyon pulled away behind a nine-point run and hit .310 in the final frame to close out the match.
UP NEXT
The Lobos hit the road next week for two matches at Air Force Thursday and Saturday. Both matchups with the Falcons will be available to stream via MW+, with live stats for both matches available via GoLobos.com/VBStats. Follow @UNMLoboVB on IG, X and Facebook for match updates and coverage, promotional information, behind-the-scenes content and more.