HONOLULU, Hawaii – It was another tough day in paradise for the University of New Mexico volleyball team as the Lobos dropped their second consecutive match on Friday at the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic. The Lobos went down in three straight sets to St. John’s by scores of 22-25, 18-25 and 23-25.
It is not your typical Lobos out there on the volleyball floor in Hawaii. The Lobos have struggled over the last two matches with the basics of serving and passing.
“We have really struggled both at the outside position and passing,” said head coach Jeff Nelson. “Quite frankly, I’m sorry I brought us over here. I brought us over here to make us tougher, to make us better and ready for conference. Instead we have kids over here that have decided to be on vacation. We had another match where our best production on the outside was a .100 percentage and with two hitters at zero.”
There are some positives in the last two days, coming from the middles and right side hitter Chantale Riddle. Riddle has led the team the last two matches, including a 10 kill performance in today’s match with St. John’s. The middles have also shown some excitement. Simone Henderson tallied eight kills behind Riddle. With the struggle in the Lobos passing, Hannah Johnson has really stepped up for this team.
“ Our middles hit well in the St. John’s match and Chantale hit well on the right side but because of the passing and the production on the left side, we have just struggled.
“It is hard to find the good in it. I guess the good in it is that Simone Henderson continues to play really well. We’ve blocked pretty well. But the basics of the game, the serving and the passing, are bring us down.”
The first set, the Lobos were down early but came back in the last few points. The second set was also close but St. John’s used kills from Karin Palgutova, who led the Red Storm with 17 total kills, Briana Guzman and Aleksandr Wachowicz. The final set came down to the wire as the two teams traded points but a couple passing and attacking mistakes left the Lobos behind.
“We lost two really good games and they were both winnable but I think that some people have to take accountability for their actions. All four DS’ have had opportunities this weekend and they have been inconsistent. They have to go out there and play ball. They have to toughen up. I’m going to keep playing them until one of them shows me that they are ready to do that.”
The Lobos drop to 2-3 on the season which is the ninth time the Lobos have started the first five matches with that record. The last time they had a 2-3 record to start a season was in 2011. UNM will play its final match in the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic tomorrow afternoon against No. 22 ranked Oregon at 2:30 p.m. local time/6:30 p.m. MT.