FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Through the first three sets of Saturday’s contest, Colorado State had kept Chantale Riddle in check.
But, in the pursuit of a record, the Lobo right-side hitter couldn’t be held down for long.
Riddle became the University of New Mexico’s all-time leader in career kills as the Lobos faced off against ninth-ranked Colorado State Saturday, losing 3-1 by set scores of 20-25, 25-18, 18-25, 19-25.
Riddle, a redshirt senior from Roswell, passed former Olympian and UNM Hall of Honor inductee Tania Gooley for the school record in kills during the fourth set against the Rams. Riddle now has 1,580 kills, while Gooley, who played from 1991-94, has 1,579 kills.
“It’s very important,” Riddle said about the record. “It means a lot to be a part of something so big. The Lobo program was so strong when Tania was here, so to beat her finally is amazing.”
Although the Lobos (18-11 overall, 10-6 Mountain West) gave the Rams (26-2, 14-1) a battle in each of the sets, New Mexico struggled to quiet Colorado State’s potent offensive attack as four Rams posted double-digit kills.
“We’re pretty disappointed in the match,” New Mexico head coach Jeff Nelson said. “We made too many errors and we feel like we beat ourselves. We have a lot of respect for Colorado State, but we did feel like they were primed to be beat today.
“We didn’t feel like they played their best, and we didn’t either. Neither team hit their percentages, their averages.”
Riddle, as demonstrated by her school record, is a prolific hitter for the Lobos, but was held to just eight kills on 25 attempts against the Rams. The rest of the Lobos’ pin hitters, Devanne Sours and Cassie House, were similarly limited, with Sours notching 11 kills on 37 attempts and House tallying 10 kills on 36 attempts.
As a team, the Lobos hit only .139, well below their .214 season average.
Still, New Mexico was able to make Colorado State earn their 26th of the year, as the Rams could only muster a .207 hitting percentage with 11 service errors and 25 attack errors.
The first set was a closely played affair, with the Lobos holding strong against CSU as both teams traded points and service errors. Despite falling 16-10, the Lobos fought back to 18-16 and kept the penultimate moments of the set within two to three points.
However, the Rams added a kill and a capitalized on a pair of Lobo attack errors for a first-set victory, 25-20.
While the Lobos hit just .118 in the first set, New Mexico was able to hold CSU to a .175 hitting percentage via solid net control, including a trio of blocks by Skye Gullatt.
New Mexico came back in the second set, jumping to a quick 3-1 lead. The Lobos extended their lead further, taking a 12-8 advantage to force a Rams timeout. New Mexico subsequently scored six of the next 10 points to incite another CSU timeout.
The Lobo, riding their momentum, closed out the set on a 6-3 run, keyed by a resounding and clinching kill by Riddle. UNM again quelled the Rams’ offense in their 25-18 victory, keeping Colorado State to a .135 hitting percentage in set two.
It was the first set that CSU lost at home since Oct. 2 against UNLV.
“We were confident, we were going after it and we were passing well,” Riddle said about the Lobos’ second-set victory.
But the Rams came out with some heat after the break, surging to an 8-3 lead. UNM started to answer CSU’s points, but ended up trading score for score with the Rams before Colorado State upped its lead up to 17-11.
The Rams then translated a 5-0 run into a nine-point advantage, 22-13, before cruising to a 25-18 set win.
“After game two, out passing broke down and that really hurt us,” Nelson said. “We just didn’t take good care of the ball. And Colorado State is a great team; they’re going to find a way to win when you don’t keep the pressure on.”
Set four started with a pair of House kills, giving the Lobos a quick 6-3 lead. Riddle then tallied the next point of the game, giving her the program record.
But both teams continued to exchange scores, with the Lobos taking a 9-6 lead before giving up a 12-4 run to CSU. Three errors by New Mexico pushed Colorado State’s lead to 20-15, before the Rams registered some miscues of their own to make the game 22-19 in CSU’s favor.
But CSU closed out the match behind a pair of kills and an attack error by House.
The Lobos return to action Friday when they travel to Fresno, Calif., to take on the Fresno State Bulldogs for the lone time this season. UNM will then return home to close out their season Nov. 25 against Air Force.