by ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Seenane Brewer recorded 14 kills as New Mexico fell 3-1 to Grand Canyon on Saturday at The Pit, dropping the second match of the Lobos’ two-match home series with the Lopes by set scores of 25-22, 22-25, 26-24, 25-13.
Brewer played all four sets and finished with 14 kills against eight errors on 37 attempts, adding two digs and one block assist for 14.5 points. She hit .162 in a match where Grand Canyon held New Mexico to .155 hitting as a team.
Grand Canyon took the opener 25-22 after building a 16-8 lead and holding off a late New Mexico push to 23-21. The Lobos answered in a second set featuring 17 ties and nine lead changes, scoring three straight from a 21-21 tie to win 25-22 and even the match.
The third set proved pivotal. Grand Canyon led 11-5, New Mexico tied it at 13-13, and the Lopes led 23-21 before the Lobos scored three straight for set point at 24-23. Grand Canyon’s Starr Williams then delivered three consecutive kills to steal it 26-24. The Lopes ran away in the fourth behind Aubrey Bellus’s serving — three aces in an eight-point surge that turned a 7-6 lead into 15-6 — and won 25-13.
Williams led Grand Canyon with 13 kills, Bellus added nine kills on .500 hitting with three aces and five blocks, and Aubrey Goodere had nine kills and a team-high six blocks. Grand Canyon finished with 56 kills on .221 hitting and advantages of 7-3 in aces and 11-5 in blocks.
The loss completes Grand Canyon’s two-match road sweep of the Lobos, after Thursday’s 25-19, 25-15, 25-20 win. Grand Canyon improved to 13-10 and 7-5 in Mountain West play. New Mexico heads on the road for back-to-back series at Air Force on Nov. 5 and 7.
