Jeff Nelson's Lobos earn 3-0 Sweep of NMSU Aggies
New Mexico Lobos Volleyball – Monday – At Johnson Center
New Mexico 3, New Mexico State 0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-20)
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
New Mexico State Aggies often bring the best out of Lobos and that was the case Monday night in Johnson Center. The Lobos were pretty darn good.
But there was more than simply “the best” that needed to come out of Jeff Nelson’s Lobos.
They also needed to kick out some frustrations and that also happened in a dominating 3-0 non-conference sweep that saw Lobos Chantale Riddle and Hannah Johnson register double-doubles which was Riddle’s ninth and Johnson’s 11th.
Riddle did it with 11 kills and 11 digs. Johnson did it with 28 assists and 11 digs.
The frustrations the Lobos brought to the court were the product of a four-game losing skid – two on the Mountain West road and two in Johnson Center.
“It took heart for us to come back from it (losing streak),” said Lobo Skye Gullatt, who had seven kills while hitting .667 and adding six blocks. “What better game to do it than the Aggie/Lobo game.
“We were playing for more than just us, so we pulled it out. We all were up for it. We knew it wasn’t just about volleyball. It was a state thing. We were playing for something bigger than ourselves.”
The first game was the toughest for the Lobos. It was a see-saw battle and the Lobos trailed 20-19 before firing up down the stretch for the hard fought 25-22 win. The next two sets saw the Lobos take early leads and pretty much cruise into comfortable wins at 25-19 and 25-20.
“It was a big night tonight because we really needed a win and it was against our instate rival,” said Lobo Coach Jeff Nelson. “It was great to see this kind of crowd on a Monday night. There were people all the way up to the rafters.
“Chantale had a big night. She put up double-digit kills and dug a lot of balls for us.”
Riddle’s 11 kills, however, were not the most of the night. Cassie House had 12 kills. UNM had 44 kills to 31 for the Aggies, who hit .058 on the night — .108, .000 and .059 in the final game. UNM went .225, .229 and .229 to hit .227 in the three-game sweep.
“We managed the ball really well tonight,” said Nelson. “We were able to run plays and it freed things up for everybody and allowed everyone to do their job.”
The Lobos also got eight digs from Julia Warren and Simone Henderson added five kills for the winning cause. The win pushed UNM to 12-9 on the season while the Aggies fall to 11-8.
“Our passers did really well tonight,” said Gullatt. “They gave everything they had to set me up in the middle. I give everything to them.
“Coming off that (win) should take us higher. We had never been lower than this (after four-game losing streak).
Nelson started freshmen Eastyn Baleto and Stephanie Chavez and the Lobo coach said he was pleased at how well they performed under the pressure.
“It was a big rivalry game and probably the most pressure they have all year. Both of them really came through.”
First Set: New Mexico 25, New Mexico State 22
The teams went back and forth with neither team taking a lead bigger than two points in forming a 14-14 tie. UNM climbed out of a 10-8 hole into a 14-12 lead before NMSU formed that 14-all tie. The Lobos got the biggest lead of the game up to that point at 17-14 and then 18-14. The Aggie took a timeout down four points. The Lobos came out of the break and went up 19-14 before NMSU finally broke the Lobo run at 19-15.
The Aggies got on their own roll and a 19-19 tie convinced Coach Nelson to pull his team over for a talk. NMSU went up 20-19 before the Lobos stole back the lead at 21-20 and 22-20. The Aggies called time. The Aggies cut their hole to 23-22 before a Riddle smash set UNM up for game point. The Lobos got it off an Aggie spike that went long.
UNM hit .225 in the first set while the Aggies were a .108. UNM had 15 kills to 11 for State. The hitting percentage pretty much determined the first set winner.
Second Set: New Mexico 25, New Mexico State 19
The Lobos jumped to a quick 4-0 lead forcing NMSU into a timeout. UNM then muscled into an 8-1 lead. UNM still had that seven-point lead at 12-5. The Aggies cut their gap to 12-10 threatening to make it a game. UNM then pulled into a 16-11 lead and NMSU called for a team huddle. The Aggies were simply in too big a hole. UNM went up 20-15 and 23-17 and a monster spike by House ended it at 25-19. UNM coasted into a two-game lead heading into the break.
The Lobos went into their locker room with two solid hitting games: .225 and .229 in the second set. The Aggies went .108 and .000 in the second set. House had nine kills and Riddle had eight after two games. Riddle had seven digs and Hannah Johnson had seven digs. Julia Warren had six digs and Johnson had 20 assists. Jordan Abalos had five kills for NMSU
Third set: New Mexico 25, New Mexico State 20.
Like the second set, the Lobos took control of the third set from the beginning. UNM went up 7-3, and 13-6 before the Aggies called time. UNM went up 15-7, 22-15 and again coasted to an easy win, this time 25-20.