ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A week after getting blanked at a tournament, the Lobos came back and won one at home.
The University of New Mexico volleyball team captured the MCM Elegante Lobo Invitational Saturday, knocking off UC Irvine in four sets, 25-20, 25-23, 22-25, 25-22, behind strong performances from its stars.
After struggling last week at the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic in Honolulu, the Lobos rebounded with three straight victories at Johnson Center this weekend to improve to 5-4 on the season.
“It was a great match,” New Mexico head coach Jeff Nelson said. “UC Irvine is a great team. … They’re a mature team and we were a little bit immature at times in not continuing to go at them. But I liked the way we played.”
The Lobos, needing some momentum before a five-game, three-week road swing, rebounded from their Hawaii trip with a strong showing across the board.
New Mexico especially benefited from improved passing and serving — which plagued them in Hawaii — as they won all three of their matches this weekend against Montana State, Bethune Cookman and UC Irvine.
“We spent a ton of hours on serving and passing this week and it was much improved over last weekend,” Nelson said. “I feel a lot more comfortable with what we’re doing.”
Chantale Riddle, the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, led the Lobos against the Anteaters, recording her first double-double of the season with 19 kills and 15 digs.
“Chantale had an amazing tournament, particularly the last match with 19 kills, 15 digs (and) five blocks,” Nelson said. “She tore it up and really had a great weekend. She played like she can.”
But the Lobos combined for a strong team effort versus UC Irvine, with All-Tournament team members Hannah Johnson and Skye Gullatt also contributing considerably.
Johnson dished out 40 assists, while Gullatt (seven kills) was one of four Lobos — along with Riddle, Cassie House (nine) and Julia Warren (seven) — to have seven or more kills.
“Hannah played great too,” Nelson said. “She had great leadership and just kept us in a lot of points. … Skye had a really good weekend, both offensively and blocking.”
Ashley Kelsey added 18 digs of her own, tying a season high.
Statistically, New Mexico and UC Irvine performed almost identically, with the Lobos nabbing 50 kills on 142 attempts to the Anteaters’ 48 kills on 146 attempts. Even the digs (60-58 Lobos) and the blocks (12-9 Lobos) were relatively similar.
New Mexico, however, minimized their miscues, tallying 24 errors overall for an attack percentage of .183. UC Irvine posted 29 errors, translating to a .130 attack percentage.
The Lobos opened the match with a 6-2 run, keyed by two Warren kills and a handful of Anteater errors. However, UC Irvine managed to keep the first set close by trading scoring runs with the Lobos, including a 9-4 streak to pull even at 16-all.
Both teams continued to trade points, with UC Irvine taking a one-point advantage at 19-18. The Lobos rebounded with the final five points of the set — featuring two kills by Riddle — to win 25-20.
The second set was another closely played affair, with neither team exerting much of a lead. The Lobos finally inched to a three-point lead at 14-11 via superb play from Gullatt to force an Anteater timeout.
New Mexico maintained their balanced attack and survived a late UC Irvine run en route to claiming set two 25-23.
UC Irvine managed to take control early during the set three, holding a 15-10 lead over UNM halfway through the set. The Lobos couldn’t overcome the deficit despite five late kills from House and Riddle, falling 22-25.
“We made too many errors in game three,” Nelson said. “We just got sloppy right from the start, making errors and it just kind of stuck with us.”
The Anteaters kept their pressure up in the fourth set, marching to a quick 4-1 advantage. New Mexico responded with a 13-3 surge that snowballed into a 20-12 Lobo lead. UNM rode the momentum and withstood a late UC Irvine charge for a match victory, winning 25-22 in set four.
Along with the Lobos’ three members, UC Irvine’s Marisa Bubica and Arden Davis, Montana State’s Kasey Schlatter and Bethune Cookman’s Hazel Ortiz-Rosado were named to the All-Tournament team.
New Mexico returns to action Friday when they take on the College of Charleston at 10 a.m. MT in the SMU Invitational in Dallas. The Lobos’ next home match is Oct. 2 when they host Mountain West rival Utah State at 6:30 p.m.