SAN DIEGO – Simone Henderson, Cassie House and Devanne Sours all tallied 10 kills and the Lobos controlled the block, but it wasn’t enough as New Mexico volleyball dropped a five-set decision to San Diego State Saturday night.
Despite handily winning the first two sets, the Lobos (12-10, 5-4 Mountain West) couldn’t stave off a furious Aztec (7-16, 4-6) rally in Peterson Gym on the campus of San Diego State University.
The set scores were 25-16, 25-16, 15-25, 23-25, 9-15.
Although the Lobos outhit the Aztecs .213 (50 kills, 20 errors, 141 attempts) to .200 (65, 33, 160) and outblocked them 15 to 10.5, New Mexico dropped the season series to SDSU.
San Diego State won in three sets back in Albuquerque exactly a month ago, and it looked like New Mexico might flip the script early on.
Although the match opened with a 4-4 tie in set one, New Mexico took control quickly, using an 8-2 run in the middle of the set to take a 17-9 lead. The Aztecs never threatened New Mexico in the opening frame, and New Mexico scored five of the last eight points to win 25-16.
Henderson and Sours had three kills each to pace the Lobos’ offense, as UNM hit .348 as a team in set one. New Mexico’s defense was also on point, limiting San Diego State to a .071 hitting percentage with six total blocks.
Set two was more of the same, as the teams tied early (this time at 6-6) before the Lobos handily took control with a 7-2 run. New Mexico continued to build its lead all the way to 18-13, staving off a late Aztec push for another 25-16 win.
The Lobos stifled SDSU into a just 11 kills with 11 attack errors for a .000 hitting percentage, as they hit .281 as team. Julia Warren produced four kills in set two, while House posted three.
After the break, both teams followed the same script, but it was San Diego State that turned an early tie at 8-8 into a 16-10 lead. The Aztecs, who won set three 25-15, scored 17 of the last 24 points, while the Lobos only had five kills against five attack errors.
The fourth set was a far closer affair, as neither team had a lead larger than three points. The set opened with a 10-10 tie, but New Mexico climbed ahead 15-12. The Aztecs would eventually tie the set at 20-all, and finished with a 5-3 advantage late to win the fourth set 25-23.
New Mexico actually hit well in the set despite the set loss, converting .355 of their attempts. But San Diego State hit .333.
The Aztecs then jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the fifth set, and maintained that lead for the rest of the frame en route to a match-clinching 15-9 win.
Along with her 10 kills, Henderson hit .444 and added a game-high eight blocks, while House posted five blocks to go with her 10 kills. Sours also had 10 kills, followed by Warren and Skye Gullatt, who both had eight kills apiece.
Gullatt notched seven blocks, and Warren and setter Hannah Johnson both had four.
Johnson tallied a double-double, as well, dishing out a game-best 42 assists to go with 11 digs. Ashley Kelsey also had 11 digs for the Lobos.
New Mexico returns to action on Tuesday as it opens a four-game homestand with a 6:30 p.m. match vs. Air Force.
NOTES: New Mexico hasn’t won at San Diego State since Halloween 2009 … Mercedes Pacheco recorded her first career kill (and attack) vs. the Aztecs … The Lobos entered the match 10-3 when winning the first set and 9-1 when winning the second set … New Mexico is now 1-4 in five-set matches in 2015