UNM volleyball outlasts NAU to cap 2-0 opening day

The UNM volleyball team was without some of its big guns Friday night, but the Lobos found just enough bullets to get the job done.

New Mexico pulled out a five-set thriller over Northern Arizona to cap a 2-0 opening day at the Lobo Invitational. The Lobos swept Manhattan 3-0 in a 9:30 a.m. contest and finally edged NAU roughly 12 hours later.

Gioia Riccato made the most of her first day as a Lobo, racking up 22 kills in UNM's 17-25, 25-19, 25-16, 26-28, 15-13 victory over the Lumberjacks. Freshman Addison France chipped in 13 kills and Naomi Chankoumi had 12 for UNM, which got 51 assists and 15 digs from setter Madeleine Miller.

NAU's Hannah Stoddard had a match-high 25 kills on 68 attacks.

The decisive fifth set was tied at 12 before New Mexico got kills from Riccato and Chankoumi to reach match point. NAU fought off one and appeared to have tied the set at 15 but UNM challenged that a previous ball had touched the floor. The challenge was successful and the Lobos celebrated avenging a five-set loss to the Lumberjacks last season in Flagstaff.

Short-handed? UNM certainly was that. Senior Lauryn Payne did not play in either of Friday's two matches, while middle Reagan Miller was out against NAU. Middle Liepa Lacickyte limped off the court late the first set and did not return.

Still, Riccato, France and Chankoumi provided enough punch to give the Lobos a chance, and UNM got numerous key contributions from its bench.

Friday night's match was a marathon battle, unlike the day's three previous contests. All three were decided in 3-0 sweeps, including UNM's 25-10, 25-21, 25-16 romp over Manhattan.

The Lobos came out firing and never really looked back, getting 11 kills apiece from Riccato and France. UNM hit a solid .292 in the morning contest and limited the Jaspers to a .000 attack percentage.

In other matches, NAU and Manhattan both earned 3-0 sweeps over Houston Christian.

The Lobo Invitational concludes Saturday with two matches. NAU faces Manhattan at 11 a.m., followed by UNM-Houston Christian at 1:30 p.m.