The UNM volleyball team ended a streak Friday night at Johnson Arena - but it wasn't its 13-game losing streak.
For the first time in UNM history, the Air Force Falcons defeated the Lobos in Albuquerque. The Falcons made quick work of the Lobos, beating them in three games 30-16, 30-28, 30-26.
The Lobos drop to 3-19 on the season, and they have yet to win a conference game. UNM has not had a victory since the Comcast Lobo Invitational in early September.
The Lobos jumped out to an early 3-1 lead in the first game due to a series of Air Force turnovers. But the Falcon's Delavane Diaz pulled the momentum in Air Force's favor, planting the ball all over the court. Diaz led all players with 17 kills in the match.
The Falcons controlled the rest of the game as the Lobos struggled to get a good pass to UNM setter Monica Meihack.
Meihack said it takes steps to set up a successful attack, beginning with a controlled pass. However, she said each player can improve the ball each time she touches it.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Meihack takes full responsibility for running the offense.
"If the pass isn't good, it's my job to recover the ball so a hitter can hit it," she said.
UNM kept pace with the Falcons in the second game, though, and neither team would lead by more than two points throughout the game. Air Force put the Lobos away after a long rally and a UNM serving error late in the game.
Air Force head coach Penny Lucas-White said she was glad to finally get a win at UNM, and she thinks the young Lobo squad will mature into a solid team in the future.
"They're a little weak in ball-handling skills," she said. "We passed a little bit better than those guys did, and they missed a lot of serves. But they're really going to be good because they're good athletes. They just need to be trained a little bit longer."
The Lobos led the Falcons in game three until the ninth point. The Falcon's went on a run and built a five-point lead late in the game, but UNM wouldn't give up, coming back to match the score at 24. However, UNM could only pull in two more points before Air Force war.
Meihack said the Lobos have been starting different rotations to find a successful combination.
"We've been mixing up our lineups and right now we're just trying to settle in and work on our serving and work on our blocking - just little things to make us better," she said.
"It's pretty frustrating," Meihack said. "But we just try to focus on the positive things that we do. And we just work on the things we need to work on to deal with our frustrations."
The Lobos will try to pick up a win in Provo, Utah, on Friday when they face BYU. The Cougars (6-3) are seated third in the MWC, behind Colorado State and Utah.
