Rose Morris made a memorable return to the volleyball court Saturday at Johnson Gym.
After missing seven matches since she dislocated her left pinky finger while blocking against Pittsburgh Sept. 12, the senior captain collected 11 kills, four digs and three blocks to help lead UNM to a 25-7, 25-22, 25-20 victory over Air Force.
The Lobos earned their third-straight win to improve to 11-5 on the season and 3-2 in the Mountain West Conference. Meanwhile, the Falcons fell to 8-9 overall and 0-5 in conference.
“It was awesome to see (Morris) get out there and do so well,” said head coach Jeff Nelson. “She brings an intensity and determination to the court that we missed while she was out.”
Morris’ injury required stitches, and her hand was splinted and heavily wrapped Saturday.
Morris said she played through some pain during the Lobos’ 3-0 win.
“Every time I pass or block, it jolts and shakes my finger,” she said. “I told the athletic trainers that I can deal with it. I mean, I wouldn’t come back early if I had a risk of re-injuring myself.”
Morris wasn’t the only UNM player to get in on the dominating offensive action. Sophomore Ashley Rhoades posted a career-high 15 kills and hit .619. Junior Lisa Meeter chipped in seven kills. As a team, UNM hit .460.
“We all came out pumped up and ready to play,” Rhoades said. “Every conference match matters, and our team knows it.”
UNM jumped out to a 10-1 lead in game one and never looked back. The Lobos hit .667 in the set and didn’t commit a single error en route to the 25-7 shellacking.
“You have to hand it to Air Force: They battled back,” Morris said. “They took a set off of Utah, so they’re not a team who is just going to roll over and give it to you.”
Paced by St. Pius X High School graduate Caroline Kurtz’s team-high 11 kills, Air Force kept it close in games two and three.
The Falcons jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second set and battled evenly to a 19-19 tie. But Morris had four kills in the Lobos’ 7-3 surge to give UNM a two-set lead.
Nelson tapped into his reserves in the third game, as senior Allie Suiter and freshmen Rachel Barber,Jackie Rodriguez and Jordan Russell all saw playing time. But at 20-20, it was Rhoades who put down four of the final five Lobo points to seal the win.
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“Even though someone new is in the lineup, we still know they are going to get the job done,” said setter Jade Michaelsen. “Especially in game three, we showed that everyone on our roster is capable of playing at a high level.”
UNM hits the road this week for a critical three-match road trip. The Lobos visit MWC rivals BYU and Utah this week, before heading south Oct. 13 for a battle against interstate rival NMSU.
“We need to get in some good practices this week to be ready to come out and play,” Michaelsen said. “These are three tough teams, but if we play like we know we can, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t pick up three more wins.”
*Volleyball vs. BYU
Thursday, 7 p.m.
Provo, Utah*
