ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Lobo head coach Jeff Nelson was sitting on a milestone. Chantale Riddle, striving for her own milestone, made sure Nelson got his.
Behind double-digits kills from their pin hitters, the University of New Mexico volleyball team turned away Mountain West foe San Jose State in four sets Saturday, winning by scores of 23-25, 25-15, 25-17, 25-14.
Despite a lackadaisical opening set, the Lobos surged to their third-straight victory as Riddle notched her 10th double-double of the season and moved into sole possession of second place all-time in career kills.
“I think we just came out a little flat and just kind of hung out and waited to see what they did again,” Nelson said. “… (But) I want to thank (San Jose State) for firing our team up. They were kind of bantering through the net and it got some of our kids fired up and they started playing better ball. Once we got rolling, it was fine.”
Although the Lobos (14-9 overall, 6-4 in MW play) outhit the Spartans (3-19, 0-9) in each set and outhit them for the entire match New Mexico struggled to get to a fast start against a San Jose State team that had dropped its first eight conference matches.
However, UNM rebounded from its first-set loss and claimed the next three sets to wrap up its five-game homestand and give Nelson his 150th-career win at New Mexico.
Riddle also climbed higher in the New Mexico record books, as she passed Maria Gurreri for the second-most kills in program history with 1,478 kills. The program leader, Tania Gooley, has 1,579 career kills.
In the first set, San Jose State marched ?to a quick 5-1 lead, but relinquished it as the Lobos evened the score at 10-all behind kills by Elsa Krieg and Cassie House.
Eventually, after trading points for virtually the rest of the match, the Spartans were able to capitalize on some UNM errors to claim the first set. Although New Mexico tallied a better hitting percentage (.242 to .229), San Jose State out-blocked the Lobos en route to their set win.
However, San Jose State’s victory fueled the Lobos in the following set.
After falling down 2-0 to start the set, UNM stormed to a 12-5 lead via seven Spartan attack errors. San Jose State managed to get the score back to within four points at 13-9, but the Lobos rode three kills by Riddle and a pair of kills from House to win set two 25-15.
New Mexico controlled the net in the second set with seven blocks, as they forced the Spartans into 13 errors and a negative .079 hitting percentage.
“Once we started blocking and they were aware of the block, they started hitting balls out and doing different things,” Nelson said. “… We had seven blocks in game two and I think that got in their face a little bit and changed the way the game was going.”
New Mexico has indeed shifted momentum in set two, and parlayed that into strong play in set three. The Lobos jumped to a 10-5 lead behind more kills from their outside hitters, and continued to fluster the Spartans into errors. San Jose State finished with nine miscues in the third set.
Riddle added five kills in the third set and House added four, while Devanne Sours also aided the cause with three kills of her own, including one that forced a San Jose State timeout.
In the decisive set, San Jose State fought the Lobos to a 10-10 tie halfway through set four, but couldn’t staunch the Lobos. New Mexico’s accumulated momentum led to a match-clinching 15-4 run in the final set.
Simone Henderson and Sours keyed the Lobos with four kills each in the fourth set, as New Mexico blocked the Spartans into submission. The Lobos finished hitting .243 in set four, while San Jose State hit a negative .130.
“All three pin hitters hit really well,” Nelson said. “And then we put Simone in in the middle of the game and she had really good numbers, too. But Devanne and Cassie took really good swings today.”
Overall, New Mexico hit .234, connecting on 50 of their 141 attempts. San Jos? State, constantly hindered by the Lobos’ middle row after the first set, could only muster a .013 hitting percentage, with just two more kills (43) than errors (41).
Riddle led the squad with 14 kills while House added 13. Riddle added another 10 digs for another double-double, while Sours registered 11 kills and Henderson seven kills.
Riddle and Krieg also did considerable work at the net, each with seven block assists. The Lobos out-blocked the Spartans 13.5 to six on the game.
In the back row, libero Julia Warren chipped in 22 digs, while Hannah Johnson dished out 43 assists.
The Lobos return to action when they travel to Boise, Idaho, to face Boise State Thursday before taking on Utah State Saturday in Logan, Utah. New Mexico won both matchups in Albuquerque earlier this year, 3-0 over Boise State and 3-2 over Utah State.