FORT WORTH, Texas — The 12th-ranked University of New Mexico beach volleyball team dropped its third straight match Saturday morning as it lost 3-2 to the University of Louisiana at Monroe to close out the Cowtown Classic.
After falling to TCU and No. 1 USC on Friday to open the two-day event at the TCU Beach Volleyball Courts, the Lobos (16-7) continued to struggle in their early morning dual against the Warhawks (10-14).
“ULM played a great match, we were just a little inconsistent which kept us under pressure,” UNM assistant coach Pauline Manser said. “We were exposed to a higher level of play all weekend, so we now have to reset and work harder in practice to play at a high level more consistently.”
Although New Mexico posted some solid scores and tallied the match’s first and final points, it couldn’t push past ULM on a couple of courts for the win.
The Warhawks managed to clamp down during the middle of the contest as they swept two courts and held off a rally on another for the win.
“Even though some matches were two setters, they were close,” Manser said.
Still, the Lobos dropped three straight for the first time since an 11-game slide last season. This comes on the heels of a 13-1 streak from mid-March to mid-April, which included two undefeated weekends.
Eastyn Baleto & Marisa Doran put the Lobos on the board first in Saturday’s dual as they defeated ULM’s Tara Jenkins & Claire Crossfield 21-16, 21-12 on the No. 4 court.
The win moves Baleto & Doran to 21-2 on the season, who have only lost to No. 6 Arizona and No. 1 USC this season.
UNM picked up their second point on the threes court, where Hannah Johnson & Julia Warren posted a come-from-behind win over Kaitlyn Shearer & Delaney Driver, 16-21, 21-16, 15-13.
“Hannah and Julia battled and fought off a fiery opposition to win in three,” Manser said.
Johnson & Warren’s win also broke a fascinating streak. Prior to Saturday, the duo’s record (and, more specifically, the record for UNM on the No. 3 court) exactly mirrored the team’s record: Whenever Johnson & Warren won, so did UNM and vice versa.
However, despite making the final score just a one-point difference, this win — which improved the tandem to 16-6 on the year — snapped that trend.
Elsewhere, New Mexico didn’t have much more success. On the No. 5 court, Carson Heilborn & Maddie Mayfield took ULM’s Bayleigh Hoffman & Catherine Griffith to three sets before falling 18-21, 24-22, 15-13.
On the top two scores, the Lobos lost both in straight sets, with Cassie House & Ashley Kelsey losing 21-16, 21-19 to Hope Pawlik & Taylor Zaeske on the No. 1 court and Lise Rugland & Devanne Sours losing 21-16, 23-21 to Hadley Swartz & Kori Simpson on the No. 2 court.
New Mexico returns to action in two weeks as it heads to Baton Rouge, La., for five matches at the Battle on the Bayou. UNM will take on Tulane, New Orleans, Houston Baptist and host LSU before playing a rematch with TCU in its season finale.
Next week, the Lobos are hosting their 10th Annual Grass Bash volleyball tournament at Johnson Field on the main campus of UNM.