Even in defeat, there is some reward.
The UNM volleyball team, 4-5 overall, dropped a frustrating 3-2 decision to the University of California- Santa Barbara on Sunday.
Despite the five-set loss in the finale of the Comcast Lobo Challenge at Johnson Center, the Lobos came away with the trophy. UCSB, UNM and Southern Methodist University finished with 2-1 records, splitting their matches against each other.
As a result, sets were used to break the tie. UNM (8-5 in sets) was declared the champion, SMU (7-5) was runner-up and UCSB (7-6) ended up third ahead of Sacramento State.
UNM head volleyball coach Jeff Nelson didn’t conceal his frustration in his team after Sunday’s match.
“There’s no joy in winning a tournament when you play like we did,” he said. “They just outworked us.”
UCSB was more consistent, outhitting the Lobos .284 to .190. In the fifth set, UCSB hit .667 to UNM’s .059.
“We pretty much won the match for them,” senior setter Jade Michaelsen said. “We had too many errors.
We were settling for tips and soft shots too much.”
Michaelsen posted 11 kills, 44 assists and 11 digs Sunday. She moved into second place on the UNM career assist list with 3,405, needing only 390 more assists to take over first place from former Lobo Janelle Torres.
For her efforts, Michaelsen was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
Senior right-side hitter Taylor Hadfield was named to the All-Tournament team, posting a team-high 15 kills Sunday against UCSB and had a career-high 22 digs against SMU on Saturday.
“It’s bittersweet,” Michaelsen said. “In the four years that I’ve been here, I don’t think we’ve lost home matches at both of the tournaments we’ve hosted.”
Nelson said the Lobos have to fine tune some things in practice this week prepping for the Aggies.
“We’re going to hit the gym,” he said. “We’ve got to correct a few things and work on fighting harder if we want any chance at winning.”
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