RENO, Nev. — Heading into Thursday’s match, New Mexico had never lost to Nevada in the seven-game history of the series.
And the Lobos weren’t going to break that streak.
Cassie House continued her torrid streak with a game high-tying 15 kills and the Lobos dominated the block as the University of New Mexico volleyball team beat Nevada in four sets, 25-22, 25-19, 23-25, 25-15.
Winners of three straight, the Lobos handled the Wolf Pack in Virginia Street Gym, as House led five Lobos will at least six kills. Like the first matchup of the season, New Mexico won the first two sets and finished by winning the fourth set.
“I thought we played really well,” Lobo head coach Jeff Nelson said. “We ballhandled well, we served really well. It was a lot like our last match with them: They came out in game three and came after us. I thought we were going pull it out, but we didn’t quite get it. But in game four we played really well and took it to them.”
New Mexico hit .280 (50 kills, 15 errors, 125 attacks) via its balanced offensive attack, and limited Nevada’s offense to a .163 hitting percentage (46, 24, 135).
Behind House’s 15 kills, Devanne Sours and Skye Gullatt both finished with nine kills, while Simone Henderson added eight and Julia Warren six. Gullatt also hit .438 (9, 2, 16) and paced the Lobos’ hegemony of the block with seven total blocks.
House stuffed five shots as UNM totaled 10 total blocks. Nevada only mustered 5.0 blocks.
Hannah Johnson finished with a game-best 45 assists and 13 digs, sharing the top honors in digs with Ashley Kelsey.
The first set started off with a quick 2-0 Nevada lead and a New Mexico timeout, but the Lobos immediately rebounded to tie it 3-3. Neither team built much of lead afterwards, heading into a 12-12 tie before UNM broke that tie for lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
Although the Lobos’ largest lead of the set was just four point at 21-17, they weren’t seriously threatened by Nevada as they closed out the set with a 25-22 win.
New Mexico relied on a pair of 4-1 runs for their win, as House posted four kills in the set. UNM hit .258 (.032 lower than Nevada), but made plays during the latter part of the set for the win.
The Lobos built on that momentum in the second frame, leaping out to a 9-3 lead. The Wolf Pack would cut into New Mexico’s lead in a number of instances — getting UNM’s advantage down to three points seven different times — but couldn’t gain the edge.
New Mexico would close on a 4-1 streak to win the set 25-19. Warren had four kills in the set, while Sours and Gullatt added three in the set as UNM hit .344 in set two.
After the break, Nevada took control of set three after the Lobos scored the first two points. Following a 4-4 tie, the Wolf Pack moved up 13-9. But New Mexico would eventually tie the set 18-18, sparking a back-and-forth, point-for-point battle. Despite a 23-23 tie, Nevada would score the final two points for a 25-23 win.
Both teams struggled offensively, with UNM hitting .167 and Nevada just .130.
New Mexico opened up the fourth set with a fast 6-3 lead, which it expanded to 10-5. The Lobos block, fueled by House, Gullatt and Johnson, swatted four Wolf Pack shots in the frame as New Mexico continued to build it lead.
“We really blocked well in game four,” Nelson said. “We really picked it up in game four.”
Nevada would mount a late 7-1 run to get to within four points at 19-15, but UNM finished on a 5-0 run to win the set 25-15.
The Lobos return to action Saturday for a 7 p.m. MT match vs. San Diego State. The Aztecs, who lost in five sets to Air Force Thursday night, won the first match of the season series 3-0 on September 24.