Volleyball

Sports

UNM volleyball takes down Highlands University 4-0

Thomas Bulger | August 22

The University of New Mexico volleyball team started play in an exhibition game against the New Mexico Highlands University Cowboys on Saturday, Aug. 20. The team won 4-0, showcasing a dominant performance that demonstrates potential for the season ahead. The Cowboys are a Division II volleyball team and finished the 2021 season with a record of 11-18 and ninth in their conference. They lost last season’s leading scorer Lisi Langi, who transferred to Lewis-Clark State.

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Sports

Volleyball: Lobos find new head coach

Matthew Narvaiz | January 22

After 11 years, it’s a new era for the University of New Mexico volleyball program. Jon Newman-Gonchar was named the head coach of the Lobos, the UNM Athletics Department announced on Tuesday. Newman-Gonchar most recently served as associate head coach at Arkansas for the last three years, but has a history in college volleyball that predates that tenure.

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Sports

Volleyball: Lobos outplayed in Rams' sweep

Alanie Rael | October 19

The UNM volleyball team fell for a third game in a row, losing to Colorado State Thursday night at a home game. The CSU Rams defeated the Lobos in a quick three sets, putting the Lobos at a 5-4 record in the Mountain West Conference. The Lobos charted season-low 30 kills, 29 total assists, a .059 hitting percentage and 24 errors. Compared to the .333 hitting percentage delivered by the Rams, any Lobo effort fell short against CSU. With the loss of Carly Beddingfield on the court due to an ankle sprain, the UNM team struggled to find momentum and to get ahead.

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Sports

Volleyball: Lobos first place in conference after pair of wins

Alanie Rael | October 7

In the past week, the UNM Lobo volleyball team was victorious over two Mountain West Conference teams, moving the Lobos to number one in conference ranking. Thursday’s game against the University of Nevada Wolf Pack resulted in a close five matches that resulted in the Lobos winning 15-4 in final set. In the first (25-14) and third (25-17) sets, the Lobos came onto the court powerful. The team showed the determination they lacked in the second (13-25) and fourth (21-25) sets. The team gave up a total of 14 serving error points to the Wolf Pack throughout the match, but put down 57 hard-hitting kills against UNLV.

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Sports

Volleyball: Lobos fall to .500 after straight-set loss to Boise State

Alanie Rael | September 23

The Boise State Broncos defeated the University of New Mexico volleyball team, playing host to the Lobos on Saturday in Idaho. The Lobos (7-7, 1-1 MW) won its conference opener against Utah State on Wednesday, but fell to the Broncos in straight sets, looking like they were steps behind in each of them as they tried to compete. Boise State opened by scoring six of the first seven points to gain an early five-point advantage. That lead swelled to seven as the match progressed, but the Lobos were able to close the gap with a 6-0 run — one that included three kills from outside hitter Lauren Twitty and an ace from libber Mercedes Pacheco to pull with 14-13.

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Sports

Volleyball: UNM set to host Lobo Classic in home opener

Alanie Rael | August 29

The University of New Mexico volleyball team will be looking to carry some momentum from its last match back to Albuquerque as the team hosts the annual Lobo Classic Tournament, where it will face three opponents — culminating in a matchup with the in-state rival Aggies. New Mexico (1-2) had a rough start on the road, dropping its first two matches of the season at the Idaho Volleyball Classic — but grinded out a five-set victory over host school Idaho to salvage the weekend. UNM assistant head coach Pauline Manser said the team has a very different look this year and there were a lot of adjustments made over what was a very competitive weekend.

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Sports

Volleyball: Lobos open season 1-2 after defeating host school in Idaho Volleyball Classic

Alanie Rael | August 27

The University of New Mexico volleyball team dropped its opening match on Friday, but regrouped to earn a split in a double header on Saturday at the Idaho Volleyball Classic. New Mexico (1-2) opened the tournament against Grand Canyon (2-1) on Friday and the schools needed all five sets to determine a winner. The Lobos took the first set 25-17, but couldn't keep the momentum going and dropped the next two sets. UNM fought off defeat by taking the fourth set in convincing fashion, winning 25-11. But the ‘Lopes took the decisive fifth set, 15-13, to snag the 3-2 victory.

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Sports

Volleyball: Lobos set to begin season in Idaho

Robert Maler and Alanie Rael | August 24

The University of New Mexico volleyball team will begin its season on the road, playing three matches over two days in the Idaho Volleyball Classic. New Mexico is no stranger to opening up on the road, having done so in three of the past four seasons. And the Lobos have fared well — winning two of three at the Cyclone Invitational in Iowa last season and doing the same in Indiana to start the 2015 campaign. Another common factor will include the host school for this year’s tournament — Idaho.

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Sports

Volleyball: Lobos defeat San Jose State but fall to Nevada Wolf Pack

Aaron Cowan | November 6

University of New Mexico volleyball had a mixed week at home, defeating San Jose State University in three close sets but getting stopped by the Nevada Wolf Pack in a four-set duel. In the first two sets against San Jose State, UNM posted scores of 25-22, and the third set was even tighter, with the Lobos edging out the Spartans 26-24. In the second matchup, Nevada took the first set 25-19, but UNM recaptured the second set 18-25. However, Nevada got by UNM 31-29 in the third set and scored 25-20 for the match victory. The Lobos last met the Spartans on Oct. 7 in San Jose, California, where they fell 2-3, but this time at home, they seemed ready for whatever their rival could throw at them.

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Sports

Volleyball: Lobos conclude a week without wins

Aaron Cowan | October 22

Despite strong performances from individual players and heartbreakingly-close scores, the Lobo volleyball team went winless last week, falling to New Mexico State on the road and to Wyoming and Colorado State at home. The Lobos (11-2, 3-7 MW) started the week with an away game on Monday, where they faced their Rio Grande Rival, New Mexico State University, but things quickly went awry, and they found themselves shut out in three straight sets. The final scores put the Aggies in line for the win, 25-18, 25-16 and 28-26, on their home turf in the Pan American Center.

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Sports

Volleyball: Lobos finish weekend with split

Aaron Cowan | October 15

The Lobo women’s volleyball team earned a split at home this week, dropping their first game to San Diego State but recovering for a solid win against Fresno State. The University of New Mexico’s latest win broke a three-game losing streak, putting the team’s record at 11-9 overall and 3-5 in Mountain West Conference play. UNM started strong against the San Diego Aztecs, capitalizing on early errors to take the lead and win the first set 25-20. However, the Aztecs proved to be tough competitors and fought for every point, edging their way past UNM 25-23 in the second set. Momentum shifted in the Aztecs’ favor, carrying them to a set three win 25-16 and a narrow victory in set four, putting the final scores at 20-25, 25-23, 25-16 and 27-25.

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Sports

Volleyball: Lobos drop both games over weekend

Aaron Cowan | October 8

The New Mexico volleyball team went on the road this week to Reno, Nevada and San Jose, California where it played against the Wolf Pack and the Spartans, respectively, coming up short in both matches. It was UNM’s third week playing against Mountain West Conference competition, but the Lobos weren’t able to walk away with any wins on the trip. Despite strong individual player performances, close scores and hard-fought battles, the Lobos ultimately went home with 0-2 for the week, falling to the University of Nevada in four sets and to San Jose State after five sets. UNM’s record now stands at 10-8 overall and 2-4 in the Mountain West.

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Sports

Volleyball: UNM remains consistent, taking two of three matches at Lobo Invitational

Aaron Cowan | September 10

The New Mexico volleyball team finally got an opportunity to play in front of its home crowd after opening the season with six consecutive matches on the road. Even though the Lobos were able to get to play on their home court, the results continued to mimic the ones the team has experienced on the road. The Lobos swept UT Arlington in three straight sets, 25-17, 25-18 and 25-14, to open the Lobo Classic on Sept. 8 at Johnson Center. UNM followed up that performance with another win later that same evening, as it waged a marathon, five-set battle against the Portland Pilots, eventually coming out on top, 25-19, 28-30, 26-24, 22-25 and 15-10.

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Sports

Volleyball: New Mexico goes 2-1 again, this time at Glory Road Invitational

Aaron Cowan | September 4

The New Mexico volleyball team opened the season with two wins and a loss at the Cyclone Invitational and duplicated those efforts over the weekend in another impressive showing. UNM racked up two victories to start the Glory Road Invitational in El Paso, Texas, which began on Sept. 1. The team notched wins over the Youngstown State Penguins and UTEP Miners, before getting stopped by the North Dakota Fighting Hawks. The Lobos swept the Penguins in straight sets 25-19, 25-20, 25-16 on Friday at Memorial Gym and followed it up on Saturday by shutting down the Miners, the Glory Road Invitational host school, in another three set sweep, 25-22, 25-18, 25-22.

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Sports

Women’s Volleyball: Lobos score two victories and suffer one loss at Cyclone Invitational

Aaron Cowan | August 27

The Lobos began the volleyball season in familiar fashion, sweeping their opponent in the opener on Thursday at the Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. Lobo women’s volleyball has not lost an opening game in the 11 years that Jeff Nelson has been the head coach, a release said. That streak continued with their win against the University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks in three straight sets 25-21, 25-17 and 25-20. With nine new freshmen players on the roster, many of the student-athletes may have felt they had something to prove to the head coach that placed his trust in them — and the new recruits delivered.

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Sports

Women’s Volleyball: Cherry tops Silver in exhibition match

Aaron Cowan | August 21

With 22 practices under their belt, Lobo players made final pre-season preparations, hosting their Cherry vs. Silver intrasquad exhibition match, Saturday at 6 p.m. in Johnson Center. Cherry came out on top, dominating all three sets and racked up scores of 25-17, 25-20 and 25-16. Head Coach Jeff Nelson offered his take on the game saying, "I was actually quite happy with how we played. We have nine new players. I thought they were nervous...They had to step up, and they did." Sophomore outside hitter Lauren Twitty echoed Nelson’s views, saying, “Overall I thought the energy and effort was good. I think it was a good chance to get the nerves out of the freshmen and to get them some playing time.”

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Sports

Beach Volleyball: Lobos expect a winning home weekend

Bo Yu | April 5

The Lobo beach volleyball team will host its only two home matches of the season on Friday and Saturday at Lucky 66 Bowl. Taking on the familiar team Colorado Mesa twice this week, the Lobos are aiming at two easy wins, as they achieved in the 4-1 victory one month ago in Arizona. “I am looking forward to play at home,” head coach Jeff Nelson said in an interview. “We played them earlier this year. We have to be more focused and ready to go, because they keep improving and their coaches are doing a good job.” The Division II school doesn’t seem to bring much threat to UNM, as New Mexico dominated in all four matches between the two teams so far.