The New Mexico volleyball team evened its record of the season at Nevada on Wednesday, and will try to close things out with wins in their final two matches.
The Lobos earned a sweep over Nevada and a return home to host San Diego State in their final home match before heading back to Nevada to finish the season on the road against UNLV.
Nevada head coach Lee Nelson said the Lobos had the capability of taking down the Wolf Pack, especially if the team lacked focus or became complacent. Nevada played well, but New Mexico withstood some runs and took advantage of closeout opportunities to take the victory.
The Lobos have dominated in the all-time series against Nevada. They have won all nine matches since the Wolf Pack joined the conference in 2012, though it was the first meeting between the teams this season.
Things are different for the Aztecs, as they lead the all-time series 36-20, and have won nine of their last 12 contests against the Lobos since 2010.
New Mexico (15-15, 5-11 Mountain West) will play San Diego State (16-14, 8-8 MW) for the first and only time this season. The team is aiming to go over .500 on the season with a win over the Aztecs, before finishing against UNLV (22-5, 11-4).
Although it is the Lobos’ first meeting with its opponent this season, head coach Jeff Nelson said the teams are quite familiar with each other.
The opportunity should be there for New Mexico in the upcoming matches, and Nelson expects the Lobo seniors to take care of the ball and do a better job in blocking.
UNM’s trio of pin hitters — Julia Warren, Devanne Sours and Cassie House — have continued their solid performances in the past weeks.
Warren and Sours have posted double-digit kills in the last three matches, while Warren has registered three straight double-doubles.
Setter Lise Rugland will be expected to help thread the three weapons together with her passing and setup ability. Her career-high 67 assists last Saturday was the most for the team since 1999.
Libero Ashley Kelsey would always shoulder the defense line. She just registered a career-best 28 digs last Saturday, which was only six digs away from the 1000-dig milestone. She registered 11 digs Wednesday to eclipse the mark.
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San Diego State started the season strong with a 12-7 record, but has struggled since October. The Aztecs had lost five of their last six matches, but enter Saturday on a two-match winning streak.
San Diego State swept UNLV on Wednesday, 3-0. Lauren Utchen tallied 38 assists in the three set match, while Devyn Pritchard led the team with 17 digs.
For San Diego State, Alexandra Psoma has been a big weapon as she set a career high with 24 kills last Thursday and ranked eighth in the conference with an average of 3.33 kills per set.
Danielle Bolden could also be a threat to the passing of UNM as she ranks second in serves, with 0.36 aces per set.
The Lobos hope to send out their seniors sonorously on “senior day” in Saturday’s final home match. Four seniors, including trio pin hitters and Marisa Doran, will be recognized.
Bo Yu is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers cross country and volleyball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Bo_YuB.
