RENO, Nev. – It wasn’t easy for the Lobos but they got it done.
The University of New Mexico volleyball team took Nevada in three straight sets by scores of 25-22, 25-18 and 25-22, taking advantage of Nevada’s mistakes and putting together a few runs to claim their second Mountain West win on the road of the weekend.
“Winning on the road in conference is always good,” said head coach Jeff Nelson. “We led most of the time and in game three we got behind but we picked it up. I’m really happy that we won two on the road. It was a rough trip as we traveled in between schools. Overall, we’re off to a good start and we can go home and work on some things. There are things after the weekend that we definitely need to tighten up before Utah State on Thursday.”
Senior Chantale Riddle led the way with her fifth double-double of the season, tallying 15 kills on just 30 swings and 12 digs. On the right side, she picked up five blocks. She hit .367 for the match, including a.429 hitting percentage in the first set and collecting eight of her 15 kills.
“She had another great match,” said Nelson. “The bigger thing is that she had 15 kills with only 30 swings, which means that she put 50 percent of her balls away. She is taking care of the ball for us. She is getting it all done for us.”
Backing up Riddle, was sophomore Cassie House as she had seven kills. Junior Skye Gullatt put down five kills and three blocks. Junior Hannah Johnson tallied 32 assists while sophomore Julia Warren dug seven balls. “Hannah is finding the hitters in the right place.”
Overall, New Mexico hit .271 for the match, collecting 38 kills, 35 assists, 37 digs and a total of nine team blocks, averaging the blocks per set.
“Numbers wise our team is getting better and going in the right direction. I would like to see a little bit more chemistry and a little bit more dynamics. I definitely think we are getting what we need to.”
The first two sets the Lobos led for the majority of each set, trading points with the Wolf Pack early. The third set caused a little bit of struggle as they came from behind. Each set the Lobos used kills from Riddle to get things done, including the final point of the match.
The Lobos improve to 7-5 on the season and 2-0 in the Mountain West. They return to Johnson Center next week as they take on Utah State on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. MT and Boise State at noon MT on Saturday. Tickets are available by visiting GoLobos.com or by calling 925-LOBO.