Lobos Upset Falcons in Mountain West Conference Volleyball Championship Action

Fifth-seeded New Mexico advances to tournament semifinals on Friday.

Amber Smith led the Lobos with 14 kills and 14 digs. New Mexico will play at 7 p.m. on Friday.
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Nov. 24, 1999

PROVO, Utah (Nov. 24, 1999) - In only its third five-game match of the season, No. 5 New Mexico upset fourth-seeded Air Force, 3-2 (15-10, 15-1, 9-15, 10-15, 15-6) to advance to the semifinal round of the Mountain West Conference Volleyball Championship.

New Mexico (11-21, 5-9) was led by Amber Smith who collected her sixth double-double of the season (and her second straight against Air Force) with 14 kills and 14 digs. Micaela Conley and Jessie Goffard combined on 31 of the Lobos' 66 kills. Air Force (17-12, 5-9) hit just .145 for the match, connecting on 55-of-172 attempts with 30 errors. The trio of Shaylor Billings, Tracy Wilkerson and Brooke Effland combined on 42 of the Falcons' 55 kills.

In the first game of the match, fans settled in as the two teams traded points until New Mexico pulled away with the 15-10 win. Conley led the Lobos with a team-best five kills, followed by Erika Sansoni who was four-of-five at the net to produce a game-high .800 hitting percentage. In the second game, the Lobos went up 11-0 before the Falcons were able to put a point on the board. New Mexico hit .297 on 13-of-27 attempts, while the Lobo defense held Air Force to -.068 hitting.

In game three after the break, Air Force jumped out to an early lead and held off a late Lobo charge. The Falcons were led by the trio of Billings, Effland and All-Conference performer Summer Koons who each contributed five kills to the cause. Conley and Jessie Goffard had six kills for the Lobos, but the Air Force defense held UNM to just 12-of-35 attempts with seven errors.

In game four, New Mexico grabbed an early 3-0 lead, but the Falcons came flying back to take a 6-3 lead. Moments later, the Lobos battled back to grab the lead (10-9), but it was short lived as the Falcons rolled on to a 15-10 win to force a fifth and deciding game. The Falcons hit a match-high .268 on 16-of-41 swings, led by Wilkerson who chalked up six kills in the game.

In the decisive game, New Mexico snagged a 8-0 lead in rally scoring before Air Force was able to manage a point. The Falcons pushed the game to 14-6 when the Lobos' Smith tagged the match-winning kill. New Mexico hit a blistering .733 in the game, connecting on 11 kills in 15 attempts with no errors. Smith led the way with a game-high seven kills.

The Lobos will meet the winner of this evening's BYU vs. Wyoming match in semifinal action on Friday. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. (MST) at the Smith Fieldhouse.

Quote Sheet

Air Force Coach Penny Lucas-White:
"Our kids play with a lot of heart. We've had a good year and turned the program completely around. I couldn't be more proud of our players."

"The thing about Air Force teams is they never say die. You always take the other team to the limit. I didn't doubt for a second that we had a chance to win."

"New Mexico did a good job of serving short to take our middle out."

Tharromony In, Setter, Air Force:
"We've had other teams jump out to an early lead, so it wasn't difficult to regain our composure."

Summer Koons, Middle Blocker, Air Force:
"I think it was just a mindset. The first two games we believed we could beat New Mexico--almost too much."

New Mexico Coach Laurel Brassey Iversen:
"We're thrilled to win. I felt like we could have won it in three but it just didn't happen. Air Force came back and really made us work for it."

"I think we had a good overall team effort. Everyone performed."

(on losing the third and fourth games):
"We just got a little flat, a bit tentative and conservative."

"We're playing really well and have nothing to lose, regardless of who we play next. We're having a good time, the girls are having fun and they want to keep playing."