The Lobo beach volleyball team extended its win streak to five matches after defeating Lincoln Memorial and UAB on Friday in Birmingham, Alabama.
“Today was a great day for Lobo volleyball,” head coach Jeff Nelson said in a release. “We only dropped one point and played good, aggressive ball.”
New Mexico (12-9) swept Lincoln Memorial 5-0 in the first match, and then fought off tournament host UAB 4-1 to accomplish its season-high winning streak.
The team has been dominant, winning nine of its past 11 matches and would like to continue the solid play to further improve the record.
UNM needs to win just two of its final five matches to ensure a winning season, and could reach that goal as early as Saturday.
The Lobos will square off against UAB for a second time and take on UT Martin in day two of the Blazer Beach Duals.
New Mexico began day one of the event on Friday against familiar foe Lincoln Memorial (6-10). The Lobos repeated their Mar. 18 performance against the Railsplitters, sweeping their opponent for the second time this season, 5-0.
Julia Warren and Lauren Twitty contributed the first point on court five in two sets (21-16, 21-8).
In the No. 4 spot, Carly Beddingfield and Chloe Crappell saved three match points to come back and win 21-17, 14-21, 16-14.
Marisa Doran and Eastyn Baleto played in the No. 3 position and clinched the duel for the Lobos in two sets (21-14, 21-10).
Devanne Sours and Lise Rugland dominated in the first and third sets to win 21-9, 17-21, 15-6. And on court one, Cassie House and Ashley Kelsey contributed the last point 21-10, 21-18 and complete the sweep.
“It was a good match to start the weekend,” Nelson said of the match. “We got off to quick starts and won all five first games. The match was secured early and we were able to work out of a couple holes.”
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The Lobos made some changes in the lineup to take on the Blazers (10-14).
Warren and Twitty moved to play in the No. 4 position and dominated the match 21-5, 21-11. That victory allowed the duo to tie the second-longest pairs winning streak in program history with seven straight wins.
Crappell paired with Victoria Spragg on court five and won the second point (21-19, 21-18).
The top tandem House and Kelsey clinched UNM’s victory 21-16, 21-13.
New Mexico split the last two three-set matches. Doran and Baleto lost 21-15, 11-21, 15-12 on court three, but Sours and Rugland came back to win 18-21, 21-13, 15-9 in the No. 2 slot to make the final score 4-1 for the Lobos.
New Mexico will play UAB again on Saturday at 11 a.m. after facing UT Martin earlier in the day at 9 a.m.
Bo Yu is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers beach volleyball, track and field, cross country and volleyball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Bo_YuB.
