ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The last time New Mexico beat UNLV in Albuquerque, only one current player was on the roster.
Four years later, the Lobos defended their home court.
Cassie House tallied 16 kills and Skye Gullatt tied a career high with 12 kills as New Mexico volleyball dispatched UNLV in four sets, 25-18, 22-25, 25-20, 25-17, on “Lobos Love Pink” day in Johnson Center.
With the win Saturday afternoon, the Lobos (11-9 overall, 4-3 Mountain West) move into a tie with UNLV (11-8, 4-3) for fourth place in the Mountain West, and are a half game out of third place with 11 games left in the conference season.
“UNLV was in second place [in the MW] and it’s a great win for us,” New Mexico head coach Jeff Nelson said. “Last year they got us twice, we were finally able to get them back. They’re a great team … I’m just proud of the way we played.”
New Mexico largely overpowered and outshined one of the premier defensive teams in the Mountain West, converting 61 kills and tallying 12 total blocks against a team that entered the week top-two in the MW in opponent hitting percentage and blocks.
The Rebels entered the match ranked 12th in the NCAA in blocks per set, and finished with two fewer than the Lobos.
UNM’s defense also had 82 digs to the Rebels’ 62, as New Mexico outperformed UNLV in hitting percentage (.230 to .115), kills (61 to 42) and assists (59 to 39).
Along with House’s season-high 16 kills and Gullatt’s tremendous performance, Simone Henderson added 11 kills, with Devanne Sours (nine kills), Julia Warren (seven) and Hannah Johnson (six) also chipping in.
Gullatt and Henderson both paced the Lobos’ advantage at the net with five total blocks each.
“Skye came out and did some things offensively that she hasn’t done before,” Nelson said. “That was exciting.”
Johnson also posted a double-double with team-leading numbers in assists (47) and digs (21). Starting libero Ashley Kelsey added 17 digs, while Stephanie Chavez (14) and Warren (12) also contributed.
New Mexico opened the match on a roll, going up 8-2 on UNLV as the Lobos forced the Rebels into a number of errors. UNLV would continue to struggle against UNM, as UNM extended its advantage to 15-8 at the first-set media timeout.
The Lobos would then reel off a 6-0 run to go up 22-10, which UNLV would answer with a 6-0 streak of its own. But UNLV wouldn’t challenge the Lobos for the rest of the set as UNM captured set one 25-18.
New Mexico clicked offensively and defensively in the set, hitting .323 (14 kills, 4 errors, 31 attempts) and forcing the Rebels into 12 total errors (attack, block, receipt, serve). UNM also had seven blocks in the frame.
“The first set was surprising with seven blocks,” Nelson said. “It creates a little bit of chaos and it’s probably gonna happen more and more.”
The Lobos carried the momentum into the early going of the second set, taking a quick 7-2 lead. But UNLV responded with an 8-2 run to take a 11-10 lead, sparking a back-and-forth battle that saw 11 ties and five lead changes in the set.
Gullatt tied the match at 21 with a kill, but UNM would surrender four of the final five points in the set as UNLV won set two 25-22.
Neither team hit with much success in the set, with UNM hitting .191 and UNLV .205. Gullatt posted five kills in the set.
After the break, both teams traded points to start set three, with New Mexico taking the first substantial lead at 13-10. The Rebels answered with a 5-1 stretch to take a 15-14 lead, but the Lobos came back with an 8-2 spurt to go up 22-17.
UNLV would cut UNM’s lead to three at 23-20, but UNM scored the final two points off of Rebel errors to win set three 25-20.
House added five kills in the set as UNM hit .243 in the third.
The Lobos came out with some fire in set four, leaping out to an emphatic 5-0 lead. New Mexico would build that lead to 12-6, and continued to press on, going up 15-11.
The Rebels would cut the lead to two points at a couple of points, but UNM posted a set-clinching 7-1 run en route to winning the final set 25-17.
UNLV hit just .043 in the set as the Lobos flustered the Rebels into nine total errors. Only one UNLV player, Alyssa Wing, finished with double-digit kills (10) as New Mexico limited preseason All-MW selection Bree Hammel to eight kills.
The Lobos return to action next week as they hit the road for a pair of matches against Nevada on Thursday and San Diego State on Saturday.