New Mexico Posts 3-2 Comeback Victory over Liberty
9/10/2022 5:48:20 PM | Women's Volleyball
Liberty built a 2-0 lead over New Mexico on Saturday before the Lobos rallied for a 3-2 (21-25, 23-25, 25-20, 25-23, 15-7) victory over the Lady Flames at LionTree Arena.
New Mexico (7-1) went 3-0 at this weekend’s UC San Diego Invitational, pushing its winning streak to four matches. Liberty falls to 5-4 after going 1-2 this weekend in a tournament where all three of the Lady Flames’ matches went five sets.
Notable Numbers
• New Mexico outhit Liberty .212-.157, while the Lobos led 66-61 in digs. Both teams recorded seven aces, while blocks were tied at 11-11.
• Uxue Guereca (16 kills, 12 digs) and Kali Wolf (14 kills, 21 digs) both recorded double-doubles for New Mexico. Kaitlynn Biassou sent down 14 kills, while Avital Jaloba posted seven blocks and Meliss Walden dished out 35 assists.
• Trinity Watts scored a match-high 22 kills, while Lydia Burts posted eight blocks. Kate Phillips scored 14 kills, while Delaney Dilfer totaled 45 assists, four aces and a career-high 18 digs. Erica Lowery collected 16 digs.
Turning Point
• Liberty had a chance to close out the match in the fourth set, leading 23-21 after a late rally. However, New Mexico scored the final four points of the set, sealed by a Wolf kill.
• The Lobos kept the momentum going into the fifth set, outhitting Liberty .692-.093 in a 15-7 win to complete the reverse sweep.
Quick Hits
• Liberty and New Mexico met for the first time in volleyball today.
• Prior to this weekend, the last time Liberty competed in three straight five-set matches was Sept. 23 through Oct. 3, 2007, when the Lady Flames posted 3-2 victories over Presbyterian, UNC Asheville and Radford.
• Watts is the first Lady Flame to post back-to-back 20-kill matches since Leah Clayton scored 25 kills against Charleston Southern on Nov. 12, 2016 and sent down 26 kills versus High Point, Nov. 19, 2016.
• Watts has scored double-figures in kills in each of Liberty’s last seven matches. Burts has posted seven or more blocks in each of the last four contests.
Up Next
The Lady Flames return home for their second home tournament of the season, next Friday and Saturday at Liberty Arena. Liberty will take on former Big South rival Radford on Friday at 6 p.m. before facing Coppin State (10 a.m.) and Eastern Michigan (3 p.m.) on Saturday.