New Mexico volleyball showed fight, but found itself bogged down in a seven-match losing streak, their latest defeat a 3-1 affair at the hands of Utah State Thursday night in Logan, Utah.
The Lobos (10-11, 1-7 Mountain West) couldn't find their way out of some tough holes in the conference match, were unable to play consistently and falling in four sets (25-23, 25-27, 25-18, 25-19) to the Aggies (8-10, 3-4 Mountain West).
The season-high losing skid is the program’s longest since 2003. New Mexico had won 16 of its 18 matches against Utah State before Thursday, which marked its first loss in Logan since 1986.
Cassie House made a game-high 20 kills and Julia Warren had a double-double with 13 kills and 12 digs, but it wasn’t enough for the Lobos to grab a victory as they hesitated in some crucial moments.
“We started the match playing better ball and even had a comeback to win game two,” head coach Jeff Nelson said. “Unfortunately, our passing and serving broke down in (games) three and four.”
The Lobos led 21-19 toward the end of game one, but gave up the advantage by losing four points in a row to the Aggies, and eventually fell 23-25.
“The little things hurt us in letting game one go,” Nelson said.
UNM bounced back in game two, overcoming a difficult 0-5 start and rebounding when Utah State led 9-3. It responded with a 9-2 run to lead 12-11, and took the intense game 27-25.
The two teams were in a very tight game three, with the Aggies holding a slim 12-11 lead, but Utah State closed with a crushing 10-3 run to finish the game 25-18.
UNM was stuck in a similar situation in game four. Utah State, leading 12-11, went on an 8-3 run to gain control and won 25-19.
Low hitting percentage has plagued the Lobos for weeks. The team hit just .184 on the night (50 kills, 22 errors, 152 attempts), which wasn’t enough to compete with the Aggies’ .262 (60 kills, 22 errors, 145 attempts).
House and Warren combined to contribute 33 of the team’s 50 kills, making up a solid offensive line.
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“Cassie and Julia played very well at the pins,” Nelson said.
Warren also shined on the defense line with 12 digs, while libero Ashley Kelsey had 17 digs.
Senior outside hitter Devanne Sours served three aces and Warren logged two to give the Lobos a 5-4 advantage at the service line. Sours also added seven kills for the team.
The Lobos improved at their setting as Carson Heilborn finished with four kills, four digs and 28 assists. However, decision making was still a problem for the setter.
The middles of UNM struggled again this match. Victoria Spragg hit .091 (2 kills, 3 errors, 11 attempts) and had four total blocks, while Mariessa Carrasco hit .083 (3 kills, 23 errors, 12 attempts) with three total blocks.
“If we could get a little more output in the middle and slow our opponents down a little more, we can turn this bad run around,” Nelson said.
The Lobos have fought as a team through this difficult stretch of the season, and seem to be making gradual improvements, he said.
“We are competing better now and need to take care of making adjustments better and quicker,” Nelson said.
The Lobos will host New Mexico State in the latest installment of the Rio Grande Rivalry at 5 p.m. Sunday for the team's annual "Lobos Love Pink" event, benefiting the UNM Cancer Center.
Bo Yu is a sports reporter at the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Bo_YuB.
