BATON ROUGE, La. — Just like the three-hour weather delay that punctuated Saturday’s action, it took some time for the Lobos to break out and shine.
Despite dropping its first two matches of the Battle on the Bayou on Saturday, the 16th-ranked University of New Mexico beach volleyball team rebounded for a dominant 5-0 win over New Orleans in its third of five matches this weekend.
The Lobos (17-9) opened its final tournament of the year with a 4-1, weather-delayed setback to No. 18 Tulane (20-15) and extended its losing streak to five matches over the past two weeks with a tight 3-2 loss to No. 9 LSU (20-9).
But New Mexico regrouped in its final match of the day, knocking off the Privateers of New Orleans (3-18) to close out a day that featured as many matches as hours spent in delay.
“In our final match tonight, we challenged our players to play good, steady ball and compete for every point,” head coach Jeff Nelson said. “It was a good 5-0 win and hopefully will set the tone for our last two matches tomorrow.”
Although the Lobos struggled out of the gate to open Saturday’s slate at Mango’s Beach Volleyball Club in Baton Rouge, they continued to show the resiliency and resourcefulness they’ve honed over the second year in the sand.
| Marisa Doran | |
Three different pairs won multiple points for New Mexico, and while the scoring was intermittent in the first two games, it came together for the Lobos late as they earned their seventh sweep of the year.
UNM started its day against Tulane, picking up an early 1-0 lead courtesy Eastyn Baleto & Marisa Doran’s 21-14, 21-9 defeat of Hannah Holmes & Cristina Macafee on court four.
But, as Maddie Mayfield & Carson Heilborn fought into a third set on court five, play was halted due to lightning and rain.
Once the stoppage ended three hours later, New Mexico couldn’t maintain its edge, yielding the equalizer to Tulane as Mayfield & Heilborn fell 18-21, 21-10, 15-10 to Anna Chin & Sara Strasner.
“Tulane played very well and really stepped up after the rain delay,” Nelson said. “All the matches were close, but we were up 1-0 going into the three-hour rain delay and really struggled coming out if it.”
The Lobos dropped the top three courts, as well, with Cassie House & Ashley Kelsey falling 21-15, 21-16 on court one; Devanne Sours & Lise Rugland falling 21-16, 21-18 on court two; and Julia Warren & Hannah Johnson falling 21-19, 22-20 on court three.
UNM also fell on the exhibition court, where Allie Askew & Chloe Crappell lost 21-17, 21-19.
After a short break, New Mexico returned to action against a streaking LSU squad on the hunt for a potential berth to the inaugural NCAA Championships next weekend.
And while the Tigers emerged victorious, the Lobos gave their hosts a battle, losing 3-2 despite having chances to upend LSU.
“The LSU match was super close,” Nelson said. “They are a good team, ranked ninth, and we had several opportunities to score that third point and just couldn’t get it.”
Two of New Mexico’s best shots to pick up points came on the Nos. 4 and 5 courts.
But Baleto & Doran dropped just their third match of the season in a 20-22, 21-16, 15-9 loss to Riley Young & Mandi Orellana on the fours court, and Heilborn & Mayfield fell 25-23, 22-20 to Cheyenne Wood & Megan Davenport in a competitive match on the fives court.
“We had game points at the five spot and were up 1-0 at the four and both got away,” Nelson said. “It was a heartbreaking loss against a solid team.”
Although the Lobos were stymied during the first flight, they did capture points on courts one and three.
Kelsey & House defeated Katie Lindelow & Ashley Allmer 22-20, 21-18 on the top-seeded court, while Johnson & Warren knocked off Callan Molle & Cati Leak in a thriller on the threes court, 21-15, 18-21, 20-18.
New Mexico had a shot to mount the comeback, but fell short on the No. 2 court as Sours & Rugland lost 22-20, 21-9 to Helen Boyle & Lilly Kessler.
Crappell & Askew also dropped the exhibition court vs. LSU, falling 21-16, 21-16 to Carly Morris & Roxanne McVey.
However, despite the delay and the losses, the Lobos got back to winning in a tidy sweep of New Orleans.
Baleto & Doran got it started with a 21-13, 21-12 win over Blessing Dunn & Madison Miller on the No. 4 court, followed by Heilborn & Mayfield winning 21-13, 24-22 over Lane Hindenburg & Milica Zmiric on the No. 5 court.
The top courts finished off the match, with House & Kelsey defeating Kaitlin Grice & Celeste Ramirez 21-18, 21-13; Sours & Rugland defeating Lauren Levy & Cara Sander 21-15, 22-20; and Johnson & Warren defeating Brooklyn Frank & Samantha Uline 21-9, 21-11.
The Lobos return to action tomorrow as they close out their season vs. Houston Baptist at 8 a.m. MT and vs. TCU at 11 a.m. MT.