ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Five sets is becoming a tendency between the Fresno State and the University of New Mexico volleyball teams and tonight’s match was not in the Lobos favor, falling by scores of 18-25, 26-24, 25-22, 22-25 and 14-16.
The Lobos took an early 3-1 lead in the first set after kills from sophomore Cassie House, senior Chantale Riddle and junior Skye Gullatt. The Lobos kept that lead until the Bulldogs used two aces to come within one, 8-7. A couple of Lobo mistakes gave the Bulldogs a 15-10 lead before the Lobos got back-to-back kills from sophomore Devanne Sours and Riddle.
Fresno State used big play at the net to extend its lead to 18-13 and eventually 22-17. Three straight kills from the Bulldogs ended the set and put the Lobos down one set.
The Lobos picked up their play in the second set as they jumped out to a 8-5 lead after kills from Riddle, Sours and House. The Bulldogs worked their way back in tying the match at 11-11 and trading points with the Lobos the rest of the way. The Lobos closed out the set by taking an attack error from the Bulldogs and a kill from junior Simone Henderson.
UNM started out behind in the third set 6-4 but Henderson put one to the floor for a kill and an ace to tie the set at 6-6. Again, the two teams went point-for-point until a 5-0 run by the Lobos, giving them the 15-12 lead over Fresno State. The Bulldogs came from behind to tied the set at the 16 and 17 mark but kills from Henderson and House put the Lobos up 19-17. The Lobos extended the lead to 22-20 after after a Bulldog service error and ended the set on a kill from Riddle.
The fourth set proved to be all Fresno State as the Bulldogs came out to a 7-5 lead. A 5-1 run by the Lobos put them up 10-8 but a couple of errors by the Lobos and big net play from Fresno State gave the Bulldogs a 19-15 lead. The Lobos had a hard time stringing the good plays together while Fresno State kept a consistent pace to end the set 25-22.
The fifth and final set started out in Fresno State’s favor. The Bulldogs were up 8-4 and 10-8 before the Lobos tied the set up at 11-11. The rest of the set went point-for-point, as the Lobos got crucial kills from Sours, Riddle and House. But two back-to-back kills for the Bulldogs ended the set and the match.
This was the fourth match in a row against Fresno State that went to five sets and the Lobos have only been on the winning side in one of those matches since Fresno State joined the Mountain West league in 2012.
Riddle recorded her 14th double-double of the season with 21 kills and 14 digs, inching her 20 kills closer to the Mountain West career kills record. Hannah Johnson tallied 54 assists and six digs while Julia Warren collected 13 digs. Henderson put together 11 kills for a .529 hitting percentage to go along with five blocks. House and Sours combined for 25 kills with House collected 14 and Sours with 11, respectively. Sours hit .417 and Riddle hit .381.
For the match, the Lobos outhit the Bulldogs .338-.329 and out-blocked them 12.5-5.
The Lobos are now 18-12 on the season and 10-7 in the Mountain West. The Lobos finish up the 2014 season on Tuesday in front of their home crowd against Air Force for Senior Night. Riddle and Elsa Krieg will be honored before the match.