ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Down eight points in the third set, the Lobos couldn’t allow another two-set lead slip from their grasp. It happened last Saturday against Ball State, and with head coach Jeff Nelson’s 400th career win in the balance once again, the Lobos knew they had to rally.
And rally they did.
Nelson earned his 400th career win as a head coach and the New Mexico volleyball team kicked off the two-day Lobos Classic with a bang as it turned away Santa Clara in straight sets Friday night at Johnson Center.
The Lobos, who won 25-22, 25-20, 25-20 over the Broncos, put together one of their best performances of the young season, rallying in a dramatic third set to secure Nelson’s milestone win.
Nelson has a 400-235 overall record in his 21-year career, with a 158-89 record with the Lobos.
“It feels great [to win No. 400],” Nelson said, “but what really feels good is great volleyball tonight. I think that’s the best ball we’ve played in here in a number of years.”
The Lobos (3-1) managed to pull out the victory versus the Broncos (3-1), but Santa Clara — an NCAA tournament team from a year ago — didn’t give up anything easily.
The teams started off the match trading points in the first set, but the Lobos responded with an 8-1 run. The Broncos managed to tie the score back up at 19-all, but the Lobos scored the final three points (including a House serve ace that clipped the top of the net) to claim set one 25-22.
New Mexico carried that momentum into the second stanza, jumping to a 5-1 lead. Santa Clara then came back with its own run to take an 8-7 lead before UNM started to exert its size in the middle to go up 18-12.
Santa Clara then rattled off a 6-0 run to tie the set, but New Mexico registered six of the last seven points of the set to claim the 25-20 win.
But, at the break, the Lobos were in the same position as they were versus Ball State last Saturday: up two sets to none with Nelson’s milestone win just a set win away.
And Santa Clara almost forestalled Nelson’s 400th win, as the Broncos leaped out to 12-4 lead.
“We were down seven or eight points in game three and called a timeout and everyone said, ‘this isn’t happening,'” Nelson said. “We pulled it together, took a deep breath and went out and battled.”
After taking time, the Lobos tallied an 8-2 run to put the score at 14-12 in favor of Santa Clara, and, after swapping points, New Mexico pulled ahead at 18-17.
The Lobos staved off a final push from the Broncos en route to winning the third set 25-20.
“It’s awesome,” junior outside hitter Devanne Sours said. “It’s really cool to experience it and be able to celebrate with him. He’s really happy. It’s really cool to be here.”
Neither team posted big advantages statistically, with Santa Clara holding the leads in kills (38 to 36) and digs (56 to 43). But the Lobos relied on cleaner offensive play (a .184 hitting percentage and 17 errors compared to the Broncos .085 success rate with 26 errors) and better blocking (11 total blocks to 9) for the edge.
Sours lead the Lobos with 10 kills, but no other Lobo had more than eight kills. Hannah Johnson finished with 30 assists, while Mercedes Pacheco (14 digs) and Julia Warren (12) led the team defensively.
New Mexico returns to action tomorrow for day two of the Lobo Classic. UNM plays Cal State Fullerton (0-4) at 1 p.m. MT before hosting SMU (3-1) in the finale at 8 p.m. MT. SMU defeated Cal State Fullerton in three sets to open the Lobo Classic Friday.