LOS ANGELES — After dropping their first two matches of the weekend and the first two sets to Idaho State, the Lobos needed a spark.
Julia Warren gave the Lobos just that and added a career-high-tying 16 kills, powering New Mexico volleyball to a thrilling five-set comeback win against Idaho State to close out the USC Classic in Los Angeles.
The Lobos (5-4) rallied from a two-set deficit to win the match 16-25, 18-25, 25-18, 25-18, 17-15, relying on a superb team effort in the final three sets to claim the victory at the Galen Center.
“We started pretty slow and were down 0-2, and I think our team just really came together,” Warren said. “We found some fire that I think we’ve been looking for all year, and we came back and won it in five. I’m just really proud of our team.”
New Mexico finished the USC Classic with a 1-2 record, falling in the first two matches to Pepperdine (3-1 on Thursday) and to No. 6 USC (3-0 yesterday). Senior setter Hannah Johnson earned a spot on the USC Classic All-Tournament team for the Lobos.
But Saturday, the headliner was Warren, who exploded for 16 kills to help fuel New Mexico’s fervent rally against Idaho State (6-5).
“Julia had a great match offensively,” New Mexico head coach Jeff Nelson said. … “Everything’s clicking. She’s passing better and her and Hannah found a rhythm.”
The match opened up with both teams exchanging scores, heading into a ties at 7-all and 8-all. But Idaho State posted a 4-0 run to move up 12-8, and held off an inconsistent Lobo squad as the Bengals grew their lead to 17-13.
Three kills by Simone Henderson kept New Mexico in the conversation late at 20-15, but Idaho State finished scoring four of the final five points for a 25-16 set win.
Set two saw both teams match each other early, with six ties. But after the sixth tie at 10-all, Idaho State scored six straight to go up 16-10.
The Lobos got back to within four points multiple times and even came within three at 18-21, but couldn’t stop Idaho State’s offense as the Bengal registered seven kills late. ISU finished with a 4-0 streak to seal the set 25-18.
But the Lobos regrouped during the break, and found another spark to complement Warren’s dazzling play.
“First two games, we struggled,” Nelson said. “We didn’t pass the ball well and we struggled to make plays. In game three, we had a game-changing moment with a controversial call on a serve, and it got our team fired up. It really helped us get going and from there on out, we just seemed to built and got better.”
New Mexico was a different team in the third set, charging to leads at 6-4 and 11-7. With Ashley Kelsey moved to libero, the Lobos were more controlled in the third stanza, converting shots and limiting Idaho State’s offensive attack.
The Bengals managed to close the gap at 12-11, but New Mexico continued to pressured and reeled off a 6-0 run to go up 18-11. Idaho State wouldn’t get within four points for the rest of the match as the Lobos claimed the set 25-19.
UNM’s offense clicked in the third frame, as the Lobos hit .318. But New Mexico’s defense really keyed the third-set victory, as Idaho State was stifled into a .088 success rate.
The Lobos continued to ride their newfound momentum in set four, going up 8-1 via kills by Warren (three) and Mariessa Carrasco (one). New Mexico kept rolling the Bengals in the set, capitalizing on ISU’s attack errors and service aces by Allie Askew, Devanne Sours and Kelsey.
Idaho State wouldn’t get within five points of the Lobos for the rest of the set despite a late rally, as UNM parlayed a .393 hitting percentage to a 25-18 set win.
In the decisive fifth set, both teams traded points, recording 11 ties in the set. New Mexico eventually edged ahead to 14-12, but yielded two ISU scores for a 14-14 tie.
Both teams swapped points again for a tie at 15, but Idaho State committed two miscues to secure the Lobos the set 17-15 and the match 3-2.
New Mexico hit .281 (53 kills, 15 errors, 135 total attacks) in the game, with Warren and Henderson (12 kills) leading the offense. Cassie House (nine kills) and Sours (six) contributed to the Lobos’ attack, while Carrasco had one block solo and eight block assists.
Defensively, four Lobos tallied at least nine digs, with Sours 10 leading the pack. Marisa Doran, Kelsey and Johnson each had nine digs, while Johnson added 43 assists and Sours chipped in five service aces.
UNM also was able to smother Idaho State’s offense after the first two sets, cutting down the Bengals’ .364 hitting percentage through two sets to just .248 for the match.
The Lobos are back in action Friday as they host the Days Inn and Suites Lobo Invitational next weekend at WisePies Arena aka the Pit. New Mexico hosts CSUN, LIU-Brooklyn and LSU for a four-team, round-robin tournament, starting with matches Friday afternoon at 5 p.m. MT.