The New Mexico Lobos struggled to find their rhythm in Friday night's game against the Cal Baptist Lancers, falling 3-1 through four sets.
Head coach Brian Hosfeld spoke about how the team's energy during warm-up and the game affected the team's performance.
“We're gonna have to get better. I don't know if there were some nerves in there, or exactly why we didn't see the synergy that we've had in practice in terms of them working together to create points,” Hosfeld said.
The first set began with the Lobos serving, but CBU quickly took the lead as New Mexico tried to find their footing. The Lobos tied the game and fought hard to pull ahead, but CBU responded each time, turning the set into a back-and-forth battle. After tying at 15-15, the Lobos fell behind again.
Despite their efforts, the Lancers closed out the set 27-25. CBU started the second set, but the Lobos quickly locked them into another tug-of-war match before breaking away with the lead. Finding their rhythm, the Lobos maintained a 14-10 advantage. After a rocky first set, they cleaned up their play and secured the second set 25-18. The Lobos opened the third set by scoring first, but CBU quickly answered, keeping the set competitive.
CBU then pulled ahead, leaving the Lobos trailing 11-5. Despite efforts to rally, the Lancers led 24-16 and a reversed call sealed the set for CBU. In the fourth set, both teams traded the lead in a tight contest. The Lobos fell behind but fought back to tie at 18-18; however, CBU broke the tie and maintained their advantage to win the set 25-22.
“We're not playing together, and after a mistake, the energy was down,” Libero Camila Canedo said.
“There were moments when we found a nice rhythm and made some good attack selections. But for the most part, it was hard all night,” Hosfeld said.
After the loss to CBU, the Lobos will need a quick turnaround as they head to Las Cruces for a match against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane on Sunday, August 30.
Elizabeth Bolke is a freelance reporter at the daily lobo. She can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X at @DailyLobo
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