The UNM volleyball team lost its ninth straight game last night, being swept at Johnson Arena by BYU 30-18, 30-28, 30-25.
"When it comes right down to it, you have to be able to pass under pressure and you have to be able to side out," head coach Kelly Sliva McKee said." We weren't able to do that."
The Lobos started off on the wrong foot when freshman Kelly Therkelsen shanked a pass on the first serve of the game. But the Lobos pulled together and were able to keep up with the Cougars for most of the opening game. Senior Anna Reines matched the score at nine with a kill from the outside.
The Lobos were found out of rotation by officials midway through the first game, then fell apart when the Cougars scored seven points in a row.
BYU sophomore Melanie Togo scored the Cougar's last two points and put the Lobos away 30-18. Togo is an Albuquerque native and a graduate of Cibola High School.
UNM shook off the first loss and continued to give the Cougars a challenge in the second game. BYU gave up a sideout on the first possession as the result of a long hit.
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Reines once again brought UNM to BYU's level, tying the game at seven on a kill.
Junior libero Adah Burke played aggressively, diving for a couple of dangerous saves.
After colliding with freshman Lauren Dunsmoor, Burke made an incredible save on the following play. After a long rally, the Lobos got the sideout and the point, to give them the lead 21-20. The Cougars quickly caught up, and the game ended in a UNM error at the net.
Although the Cougars were expected to blow out the Lobos, the teams' numbers matched up comparatively.
Cougar outside hitter Kimberly Wilson and UNM middle blocker Jennifer Heasty led both teams at the net, posting 11 kills each.
Then came Carrie Bowers of BYU and Chelsea Sondrup of UNM with nine kills.
Reines and Dunsmoor each added seven kills for the Lobos.
However, BYU got the better of the Lobos hitting .363 percent of its attacks, while UNM killed only .176 percent of its attacks.
"It was really nothing they did, it's just what happened on our side of the net," Reines said. "We need to work on getting our block together and seeing the hitter. Passing was our biggest obstacle."
Dunsmoor had the most defensive passes for the Lobos, with seven.
UNM was not able to utilize one of its greatest tools. The Lobos usually beat their opponent in blocking, but the team blocked only 3.5 balls all night, while the Cougars blocked seven Lobo attacks.
Sliva McKee said it is frustrating to lose such close matches, but added the players are not letting themselves get down.
"You have to learn how to weather yourself, bounce back, be able to do some good things and keep fighting," she said. "We did that better tonight than we have in a long time."
The Lobos will play the Utah Utes at Johnson Arena tonight. The first ball will be served at 7 p.m.
