The UNM women's volleyball team fought hard against Brigham Young University Saturday, but failed to capture a homecoming victory at Johnson Arena.
The Lobos (3-17, 1-10 in the Mountain West Conference) lost in three straight games, 30-18, 30-18 and 30-21, against the taller Cougars (15-4, 8-2). BYU's height troubled the Lobos from the start, resulting in 55 kills to the Lobos' 33.
Head Coach Tom Peterson said the height deficit initially got the team off task.
"They are such a tall team with a nice block and I think they frustrated us first with blocking some balls," he said. "Normally you can hit off blocks or get it through blocks but they are so big and very talented."
During the first game, the Cougars' complex offense wreaked havoc on the Lobo defense, leaving them scrambling to pick up spikes and tips.
Sophomore middle blocker Anna Reines said the team had to adjust to the constant tips by bringing the players on the left side into the middle.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
"The setter had a good dump," she said. "We weren't able to pick that up and had to adjust."
The second game started similar to the first, with an array of Cougar kills and tips. The Lobos quickly picked themselves up and got back into the game after a Reines' kill and a few Cougar errors. The adjustment made in the first game seemed to be working as the Lobos were picking up the setter dumps. The Lobos came within three points of the Cougars at the 12-9 mark but could not get any closer.
The final game began with the Lobos matching the Cougars point for point, but UNM could never gain the advantage. The Lobos continued to give the Cougars all they could handle, with senior outside hitter Malena Thompson using a short corner serve to confuse the Cougar defense and score a couple of points. A kill by freshman Cayse Kaveny at 28-20 looked as if it might rejuvenate the Lobos, but they ended up scoring only one more point in the game. BYU's Karina Puikkonen finished off the set and the match with a service ace.
Peterson gives his team a lot of credit for playing competitively against the high-powered Cougars.
"They never gave up, it's easy to give up when somebody beats you up a little bit," he said. "Somebody that is really tall and talented and is supposed to win. I give (BYU) credit, they are as talented as anybody in the country."
Though the team lost Peterson said he feels that the team still gained something positive from the experience.
"We learned we are getting better and we can beat some of these teams," he said. "Now we are going into these matches thinking if we play good we are going to win."
Reines said she agrees with Peterson.
"We ended better than we started and got better as the game progressed," she said. "That's our goal throughout the season."
Reines and Thompson led the team with 10 kills each.
The Lobos weekend began with a loss against 15th ranked University of Utah, losing 3-1 (34-32, 20-30, 28-30,19-30) Friday.
UNM's next match is against intrastate rival New Mexico State University Tuesday in Las Cruces.
