LARAMIE, Wyo. — Cassie House tallied 11 kills off the bench and Hannah Johnson posted a double-double, but it wasn’t enough as the University of New Mexico volleyball team fell in three sets, 25-19, 25-16, 25-19, to Wyoming.
Trying out a new lineup Saturday afternoon, the Lobos (9-9 overall, 2-3 MW) showed flashes of strong play, but couldn’t crack a strong Wyoming team (15-3, 5-1) that’s receiving votes in the national polls.
“We keep trying things to mix things up because at time we’ve had streaky performances that have caused us to do it,” New Mexico head coach Jeff Nelson said. “… But I did like what we did today with both lineups.”
The Lobos started with middle blocker Simone Henderson at outside hitter and Mercedes Pacheco at libero, and later put House in on the front row in the third set. In each instance, the Lobos looked to infuse some offense against the Cowgirls.
At times, the changes worked — as evidenced by House’s strong showing — but the Lobos’ offense didn’t click consistently during the match.
“We have to get more output across the board,” Nelson said. “We’re getting performances from one or two people at a time, but we’re playing teams that are top-25, so we got to have more people step up.”
Devanne Sours was second for the Lobos with seven kills, while Julia Warren tallied six. Henderson and fellow middle blocker Skye Gullatt finished with four kills and two blocks apiece. Mariessa Carrasco, in her first collegiate start, finished with two kills and two blocks.
Johnson paced New Mexico with 31 assists and 18 digs, both tops for the Lobos.
New Mexico hit .185 (38 attacks, 16 errors, 119 attempts) on the match, while Wyoming hit .303 (44, 11, 109).
Wyoming and New Mexico started the match off with four service aces in the first five serves, and the Cowgirls capitalized on the chaotic beginning for a 9-3 lead. The Lobos battled back to make it 9-6, but Wyoming continued to built its advantage to 19-13.
UNM got to within three points late at 21-18 behind two kills by Warren and a kill by Henderson. But Wyoming would score four the final five points to win 25-19.
The Lobos hit only .146 in the set, but Henderson posted four kills in the opening frame. New Mexico yielded five attack errors and four service errors in the set.
Set two opened more evenly, with both teams tied 3-3 early. Both teams would trade big runs (8-1 for Wyoming and and 6-2 for UNM) but the Lobos were unable to crack the Cowgirls’ lead. After New Mexico’s 6-2 surge, Wyoming answered with its own 6-2 run to go up 19-11.
New Mexico wouldn’t get any closer than seven points in the waning plays of the set, losing the second frame 25-16.
The Lobos came out with more fire after the break, fighting UW to a 8-all tie. House registered nine kills in the set to fuel New Mexico, but the Cowgirls turned a 6-3 stretch during the middle of the set into a 19-14 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.
UNM climbed to within three after a pair of House kills, but the Lobos couldn’t close the gap, falling 25-19 in the final set.
The loss drops the Lobos to 9-9 overall, the latest in a the season that New Mexico has been at .500 since Oct. 21, 2011.
UNM returns home for a pair of matches next week, as they face Fresno State Thursday at 7 p.m. and UNLV Saturday at 1 p.m.