Nobody said losing a team’s on-court vocal and inspirational leader would be easy.
With senior outside hitter and co-captain Rose Morris on the sidelines with a pinky injury, the UNM volleyball team came out flat and was defeated by Texas Christian University on Wednesday 25-18, 16-25, 25-22, 25-22 in the Mountain West Conference opener.
It was TCU’s first ever win over the Lobos and not exactly the result UNM had in mind against a team picked to finish fifth in MWC preseason polls.
“We were supposed to start off on the right foot and send a message to conference opponents by winning 3-0,” junior outside hitter, Lisa Meeter, said. “We just didn’t show up.”
Head coach Jeff Nelson didn’t sugarcoat his frustrations, either.
“We played as poor of a match as we’ve played in three years,” he said. “We had basic breakdowns, too many errors and I didn’t see any fight in us.”
Despite bragging about the team’s depth, Morris’ absence was more than noticeable. Sophomore Kelly Williamson started in Morris’ place and hit a negative .142 with one kill and three errors on 14 attempts. Redshirt freshman Rachel Barber replaced Williamson in the third game, hitting a negative .111 with one kill and two errors on nine attempts.
“We did miss Rose,” senior middle hitter Anna Lehne said. “As a senior and a captain, she’s going to be hungry. We definitely needed more of that out there. Our offense just didn’t step up.”
The Lobos finished the match with 40 errors and hit just .139 as a team.
“As a coach, I’ve got to figure out how to get through to a couple of these people that we need more intensity,” Nelson said. “We should be coming out excited and ready to play.”
UNM will have a chance to rebound this weekend as they travel to Tucson, Ariz., for the Wildcat Invitational. The Lobos will face off against No. 25 Arizona; Tulane, which is receiving votes in the latest AP coaches’ poll; and University of Texas at El Paso, which took in-state rival NMSU to five games earlier this season.
“We can’t afford another loss like that,” Meeter said. “We’ve got to put this one behind us, learn from it and move on to our next match.”
Or, as Lehne puts it: “We need to find our mojo — and fast.”
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The Lobos have a history of coming back after injuries. On the road and in a tough battle with Arizona State in 2007, defensive specialist Kelsi Phillips collided with a teammate and caused a bloody nose. UNM rallied to a 15-11 fifth-set win.
In last season’s opener, Meeter exited the game with an injured foot thanks to a bad landing. The Lobos went on to sweep Central Arkansas 25-19, 25-17, 15-18.
Last Saturday, Morris went out of the game at 22-22 in the fourth game against Pittsburgh with a dislocated finger and compound fracture that broke through the skin. UNM responded with three kills for the 26-24 win.
Meeter said an injury is no excuse for poor play.
“This isn’t anything we haven’t experienced before,” she said. “We just need to take each match one game at a time and make sure we are fighting for every point. If we do, we can be successful against anyone we face.”
Volleyball vs. UTEP
Saturday
2 p.m.
Tucson, Ariz.
