UNM Sweeps CSU

Courtesy: UNM Athletic Department

New Mexico Sweeps Colorado State in Inaugural Season Finale
Lobo sand volleyball swept its doubleheader against Colorado State at it closed out its inaugural season.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The inaugural season of sand volleyball is in the books, and the Lobos ended the final chapter of 2015 with quite the exclamation mark.

The University of New Mexico sand volleyball team swept its doubleheader against Colorado State Saturday as it closed out its inaugural season with a dominating performance at StoneFace Courts in Albuquerque.

The Lobos, behind superlative performances across the board, snapped a 10-match losing streak with its victories and capped off a debut campaign that saw New Mexico play an exceptionally difficult schedule.

“It was awesome to go out on a win and see all the progress that we’ve made this year,” New Mexico senior Ashley Newman said. “… This whole season was super exciting and I’m really stoked that we ended the way that we did.”

Although the Rams don’t officially sponsor sand volleyball — this weekend was a trial of sorts for Colorado State — the matches counted for the Lobos.

New Mexico finished its debut season with a record of 3-11.

And while the losses mounted during the Lobos’ mid-season slide, the team, under head coach Jeff Nelson, grew immensely as a team and a program during its first-ever season.

With eight of the teams first 12 games against top-20 teams, New Mexico had a large learning curve to overcome.

The Lobos’ only win prior to Saturday’s sweep was a 5-0 victory over fellow first-year program TCU on March 8.

But the Lobos gained momentum late into the season, which culminated in UNM’s performance against a talented Colorado State team that was 31-3 and nationally ranked indoors in 2014.

“We’ve definitely got a lot better,” Newman, the team’s lone senior, said. “I think playing really good, top teams throughout the year has helped us improve so much.”

And, on Saturday, it showed.

Game 1: New Mexico 5, Colorado State 0

The Lobos opened their final day of competition in 2015 with a resounding win by Newman and her partner, Lise Rugland.

That tandem, which has been in a number of matches with few wins, had been streaking heading into their first showdown with Colorado State. And they continued to click against the Rams.

The duo had little problem with Colorado State’s Crystal Young/Mariah Green, topping them 21-9, 21-7 on court four.

But, the Lobos were connecting on every court, easily dispatching the Rams on courts three, four and five.

On court three, Eastyn Baleto and Julia Warren returned to their early-season form, topping Colorado State’s Acacia Andrews/Cassidy Denny 21-13, 21-12.

Court five saw Jackie Baro and Maddie Mayfield beat Jaime Colaizzi/Grace Gordon, 21-17, 21-10 in a fury of Spanish-laced volleyball.

Colorado State did give New Mexico’s top two teams more of a contest, forcing both courts to three sets.

But Hannah Johnson and Ashley Kelsey rallied past CSU’s Alexandra Poletto/Alex Reid 21-11, 19-21, 15-6 on court one, while Devanne Sours and Chloe Crappell turned away Adrianna Culbert/Jasmine Hanna 22-24, 21-16, 15-7 on court two.

It was New Mexico’s first 5-0 win since the program’s opening day.

Game 2: New Mexico 5, Colorado State 0

The second match of the day started rather similarly to the opening contest: a quick and effective win by Newman and Rugland.

It ended similarly, too: a 5-0 Lobo win.

Newman and Rugland continued their torrid streak in the second game, running through Young and Green on court four. The won in straight sets, 21-7, 21-10.

Since April 5, the pair has been the team’s best, going 5-1. They ended the season 6-8.

Baleto and Warren also had a strong showing on court three, defeating Andrews and Denny 21-13, 21-14. After their 5-0 start and subsequent four-game slide, the duo won three of their last five to finish with a team-best record of 8-6 on the year.

Elsewhere, Johnson and Kelsey staved off Poletto and Reid 21-10, 19-21, 15-12 on court one. The duo, which first teamed up five matches into the season, earned their first set of wins against the Rams.

Sours and Crappell finished with a 19-21, 21-19, 15-11 triumph over Culbert and Hanna on court two, which was good for their third win together this year.

Like Johnson and Kelsey, they were a mid-season switch, and finished 2015 at 3-7.

Rounding out the Lobos’ results were Taylor Cross and Sami Reynolds, who paired up to capture a 21-19, 17-21, 17-15 win on court five.

Coincidentally, all three of the Lobos’ win were 5-0 sweeps. They were swept 5-0 only three times this year, with most of their losses coming in 4-1 games.

New Mexico, although done for the season, will have some athletes compete in sand volleyball tournaments during the summer in anticipation of the 2016 campaign. The Lobos’ court volleyball team will open in late August.

UNM is also hosting its annual Grass Bash this weekend, with activities slated to continue Sunday at on Johnson Field on the university’s main campus. The Lobos will also host the volleyball program’s banquet on May 1.

Game 1: New Mexico 5, Colorado State 0

Hannah Johnson/Ashley Kelsey (UNM) def. Alexandra Poletto/Alex Reid (CSU) 21-11, 19-21, 15-6

Devanne Sours/Chloe Crappell (UNM) def. Adrianna Culbert/Jasmine Hanna (CSU) 22-24, 21-16, 15-7

Eastyn Baleto/Julia Warren (UNM) def. Acacia Andrews/Cassidy Denny (CSU) 21-13, 21-12

Ashley Newman/Lise Rugland (UNM) def. Crystal Young/Mariah Green (CSU) 21-9, 21-7

Jackie Baro/Maddie Mayfield (UNM) def. Jaime Colaizzi/Grace Gordon (CSU) 21-17, 21-10

Game 2: New Mexico 5, Colorado State 0

Hannah Johnson/Ashley Kelsey (UNM) def. Alexandra Poletto/Alex Reid (CSU) 21-10, 19-21, 15-12

Devanne Sours/Chloe Crappell (UNM) def. Adrianna Culbert/Jasmine Hanna (CSU) 19-21, 21-19, 15-11

Eastyn Baleto/Julia Warren (UNM) def. Acacia Andrews/Cassidy Denny (CSU) 21-13, 21-14

Ashley Newman/Lise Rugland (UNM) def. Crystal Young/Mariah Green (CSU) 21-7, 21-10

Sami Reynolds/Taylor Cross (UNM) def. Jaime Colaizzi/Grace Gordon (CSU) 21-19, 17-21, 17-15