by Brandon Call
Daily Lobo
The UNM volleyball team was two points from winning the Lobo Invitational this weekend.
But a Gonzaga kill and a Lobo hitting error left UNM as the
runner-up.
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The Bulldogs topped the Lobos 23-30, 30-27, 29-31, 30-22, 15-13 in five games in the championship match at Johnson Gym on
Saturday.
With the loss, UNM falls to 8-2 on the season.
Head coach Jeff Nelson said the Lobos should have been the tournament champions.
"In a lot of areas, we outplayed Gonzaga," he said. "We outhit them, we outdug them by a lot. They outblocked us, but by the amount we outhit them by, we should have been able to win
the match."
The Lobos outhit the Bulldogs 79-70. UNM also led in digs with 71 versus 61 for Gonzaga.
Nelson said errors led to his team's downfall.
"We didn't lose to Gonzaga because of what they did. We lost because of what we did," Nelson said. "Every time we would get a lead, we would make a couple of hitting or passing errors, and we have to fix that trend."
Junior outside hitter Jeanne Fairchild paced the Lobos with a career-high 30 kills. Freshman outside hitter Lisa Meeter notched 18 kills and 14 digs for her third double-double of the tournament. Both received All-Tournament honors for their performances.
Fairchild said that while receiving the award was an honor, a team win would have been better.
"It feels good to be named to the All-Tournament team," she said. "But obviously, it would have felt better coming off with the team win. We played great this weekend, and I'm happy with the way we fought and battled for each win."
En route to the finals against Gonzaga, UNM defeated Bowling Green 30-27, 31-29, 33-31 and Northern Colorado 30-17, 32-34, 30-24, 30-16 on Friday.
Nelson, who is in his 13th year coaching collegiate volleyball, earned his 250th career win Friday over Northern Colorado.
Fairchild said having Nelson reach a milestone at UNM was
fitting.
"I'm so glad that we picked up Coach's 250th win on Friday," she said. "He has done so much for this program in terms of turning us around and making us a better team. I'm just happy that we could give him (his 250th win)
in return."
With the tournament, UNM finished its nonconference schedule. The Lobos face Colorado State on Saturday in Fort Collins, Colo.
Nelson said his team is ready to take on the Mountain West
Conference foe.
"CSU is a tough match," he said. "But it prepares us for the whole rest of the way. I look for us to go up there and battle and see what we are made of and really be
tested."
Fairchild said UNM, picked to finish fourth in the MWC in preseason polls, has the potential to cause a few upsets.
"We are supposed to place fourth," she said. "But we've been working really hard, and we know that we can do so much better. We're going to give (the other MWC teams) a run for their money."
Volleyball at
Colorado State
Saturday, 7 p.m.
Fort Collins, Colo.
