The New Mexico volleyball team will host Utah State on Saturday, expecting revenge at their penultimate home match against an Aggies squad that beat the Lobos 3-1 last month.
The Lobos (14-14, 4-10 MW) dropped to No. 9 in the conference after falling in both of their road matches last week.
Despite the losses against Wyoming on Thursday and Colorado State on Saturday, UNM went the distance against the Rams, playing them in a five-set battle before eventually falling.
“That’s the best match we’ve been involved in all year”, New Mexico head coach Jeff Nelson said. “I was really proud of the way the girls stepped up and played.”
The 2016 season is coming to an end for the Lobos, with only four more matches remaining, including two at home.
“Our schedule is a little better closing out,” Nelson said. “We have two at home, two away, all single matches. We are not double-prepping anything which is nice.”
UNM leads the all-time series with Utah State 16-11. This Saturday’s match against the Aggies (11-14, 6-8 MW) could be a tough one for the Lobos, as they are hitting .227 as a team compared to UNM’s .209.
The duo of outside hitters for the Aggies is ranked in the top 10 in the conference in kills per set. Kaylie Kamalu-Smith owns 3.44 kills per set (sixth), and Lauren Anderson posted 3.39 (seventh).
Senior setter Erica Moscoso placed fourth in the Mountain West with an average of 10.63 assists per set.
“I feel like our players are looking forward to it,” Nelson said. “They feel like they didn’t do their best (last time). It was a tough night and I think that there’s definitely some revenge on their minds.”
The Lobos will again rely on their trio of pin hitters — Julia Warren, Cassie House and Devanne Sours — to lead them. The three players all orchestrated double-digit kills in both road matches last week and led New Mexico at the front row.
“Particularly Devon Sours has really battled well for us,” Nelson said. “She’s given us everything she’s had.”
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Lobo Libero Ashley Kelsey will contribute to the defensive line, bringing her total of 449 digs on the season and average of 4.20 per set, good for second in the conference.
Setter Lise Rugland, who just registered her career-high 50 assists on Saturday, may have to shoulder the distribution task herself as starting setter Carson Heilborn was injured last Thursday.
“We had three really bad injuries and when that happens, it’s easy to give up,” Nelson said.
However, the Lobos never surrendered, and they have found good ways to compete and show strong performances this season.
“Good character steps up and good people keep fighting,” Nelson said of the team.
“I’ll tell you what the girls said in the locker room Saturday night,” Nelson said. “They said if they could have corrected a couple things or held it together a little better, they feel like they could be sitting at 20-8, or even 22-6 right now.”
The Lobos are aware of what has been an inability to win decisive games this year — they only grabbed two victories out of seven full-set matches. However, with the leadership of Warren and Sours, UNM still expects a solid performance.
“I think the seniors will battle going out and I think that if the other kids do their roles, we can have a lot of successes in the following weeks,” Nelson said.
The schedule of Saturday match has changed to 12 p.m. due to a the time conflict with Lobo women’s basketball.
Bo Yu is a sports reporter at the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers cross country and women’s volleyball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Bo_YuB.
