HONOLULU, Hawaii – The University of New Mexico volleyball team dropped its final match in paradise on Saturday afternoon. The Lobos fell to No. 22 ranked Oregon by scores of 18-25, 26-24, 19-25 and 19-25.
The Lobos picked up their play in today’s match, taking down the ranked Ducks in the second set. But it just quite wasn’t enough to get over the losing hump. The play was better as the Lobos hit .262 as a team and had great performances from Chantale Riddle, Skye Gullatt, Hannah Johnson, Julia Warren and Ashley Kelsey.
“I definitely thought we were more stable today,” said head coach Jeff Nelson. “We passed the ball a lot better. We had runs where we struggled and gave up big points but Oregon is a good team. That is the fastest offense we have played against. They were really quick to their middles and right sides. We struggled with their right sides. Overall, much better.”
Riddle, who made the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic All-Tournament Team, led the team in kills with 16. She picked up four block assists and a .353 hitting percentage.
“Chantale had a really good weekend. She played big time against big time opponents and led the tournament in blocking as a right side which is amazing. And then, she put up big numbers today. She had 16 kills against a top 20 team and hit .353, which is really outstanding. She had a great tournament and definitely deserved that honor. It is probably rare that we got that when we went 0-3 on the weekend but she played big time ball.”
Warren collected a season-high 13 kills while Gullatt also had a season-best with eight kills. Johnson tallied 42 assists and 12 digs while Kelsey tallied 15 digs in the back row.
“We played a lot better. But we still have to solidify some of our defense and passing positions. We really have to get our L1 position (outside) going. It is a position where we have really good players, we are just struggling really hard right now but we are going to work on it this week and be better at it next week. I do think though, overall, we regained our poise a little bit and player better.”
The Lobos were right in the match with the Ducks as they took the second set right down to the wire. They used the offense from Simone Henderson to take the lead at 25-24. She picked up a dig on the next play which set up Riddle perfectly for a smash to take the set 26-24.
The final two sets were close as well through the first 20 points but the Lobos couldn’t finish off the Ducks as they took the final two sets 25-19.
The Lobos drop to 2-4 on the season and will return home from Paradise late tomorrow night. This next weekend, New Mexico will be hosting the MCM Elegante Lobo Invitational which will feature Montana State, Bethune Cookmane and UC Irvine. The Lobos first match is Friday, September 12 at 7:30 p.m. against Montana State. Tickets are available at GoLobos.com or by calling 925-LOBO.
2014 Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic All-Tournament Team
| Tai Manu-Olevao | Hawai’i |
| Liz Brenner | Oregon |
| Chantale Riddle | New Mexico |
| Karin Palgutova | St.John’s |
| Kacey Nady | Oregon |
| Frankie Shebby | Oregon |
| MVP: Olivia Magill | Hawai’i |