The New Mexico Lobos women’s volleyball team arrived at The Pit to take on Northern Arizona and the University of Arizona in two exhibition matches over the weekend.
The Lobos fought hard against Northern Arizona, but in the end they came up short, walking away with a loss, but the Lobos pulled off a quick turnaround against Arizona on Saturday to take 3 out of the 4 sets.
New Head Coach Brian Hosfeld explained what it means to play in The Pit, a new development for the team, who previously held home games at Johnson Center.
“I think it’s going to be a great fan experience as well, not only for our team who get to play here,” Hosfeld said. “It’s going to be a high-energy place, and as we work on the event as a whole, you know, with all the little things that need to happen for the fans to experience a great thing, it’s going to be great.”
On Friday night, NAU took an early lead, forcing the Lobos to play from behind throughout the first set. The Lobos called a timeout after falling behind by five points, then rallied to tie the set at 22-22 and briefly led after a kill from opposite hitter Addison France. However, NAU regained momentum to win the set. In the second set, the Lobos started strong, blocking NAU’s first serve and scoring the first five points. Although NAU tied the score at 6, the Lobos responded and built a 14-9 lead. Despite NAU’s efforts to close the gap, the Lobos maintained their advantage, securing the set 25-18.
The third set saw NAU take control early, extending their lead to 11-6. The Lobos struggled to regain their footing and ultimately lost the set 25-19. In the fourth set, the Lobos initially led, but NAU quickly responded. Both teams exchanged leads until the Lobos pulled ahead and closed out the set 25-20.
Entering the decisive fifth set with the match tied, the Lobos established a 4-1 lead. NAU rallied to tie the score at 12-12, before the Lobos took over again, leading 14-13. The set remained close, with both teams needing a two-point margin to win. NAU reached 17 first, and after a review, the final call favored the Lumberjacks, who ultimately claimed the win.
“I’m a little disappointed. We worked really hard in the offseason, and NAU’s always been a hard opponent for us, but I was really hoping that we’d be able to do it this time,” France said.
“It comes back to a mindset: if you’re gonna get a set, you’ve got to put it away, and in order to put it away, you’re gonna have to create speed and jump hard, and it’s exhausting to do that over and over and over again; that’s stuff we’ll talk about,” Hosfeld said. “Trying to keep each other more focused and burning the energy at a higher level for a longer period of time.”
In their match against the Wildcats, both teams competed intensely in the first set, with Arizona eventually pulling ahead as the Lobos struggled with errors. The Lobos regained the lead and eventually won the closely contested set 27-25. In the second set, the Lobos started strong, but Arizona quickly closed the gap and led 7-4, prompting a Lobos timeout. Despite renewed energy, the Lobos continued to fall behind and lost the set 25-15. The Lobos opened the third set with four unanswered points. Arizona tied the score and briefly led, but the Lobos regained control, leading 15-9 and ultimately winning the set 25-16. In the fourth set, Arizona took an early lead, but the Lobos fought back, moving ahead 14-12. The Lobos maintained their advantage to win the set and the match.
“It feels good. I think we had a talk in the locker room, and our coaches were like, ‘that’s unacceptable’, and I think we just had to come together,” middle blocker Zoe Leonard said after the game. “This is our home court, we got to defend it as best we can.”
The Lobos will be back to defend their home court on Friday, Aug. 28 against Cal Baptist in the regular season opener.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Elizabeth Bolke is a freelance reporter at the daily lobo. She can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X at @DailyLobo
