ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Behind thousands of fans, the University of New Mexico volleyball team battled against No. 1 Nebraska Saturday night, falling in straight sets to close out the Lobo Classic in WisePies Arena.
Bolstered by a supportive crowd announced at 4,473 fans — the fourth-best in program history — the Lobos (6-3) pushed the defending NCAA champion Cornhuskers (6-0) in the first two sets, eventually yielding in the third set.
The set scores were 25-22, 25-20, 25-14.
“It was everything we hoped for,” 10th-year head coach Jeff Nelson said. “Obviously we’re a little disappointed, particularly with game three. But the week as a whole was an amazing tournament. Everybody did such a great job. The crowd tonight was so exciting.”
The crowd was certainly a factor for New Mexico, as thousands of fans came out to The Pit to support the Lobos.
“We knew the crowd was going to be big,” senior Cassie House said. “We knew this game was going to be big because [Nebraska is] a good team.”
The 4,473 fans is the best in 20 years, when 5,114 fans came out to see the Lobos play TCU in The Pit on October 5, 1996. It’s the sixth match in program history with over 4,000 fans.
New Mexico finished second in its second home tournament, collecting wins over Arkansas and Montreal (in an exhibition match). House and senior Julia Warren were also named to the Lobo Classic All-Tournament Team.
The tandem paced UNM against the Huskers, as House tallied 12 kills and three blocks and Warren posted nine kills and nine digs.
Carson Heilborn (24 assists) and Ashley Kelsey (10 digs) also contributed for the Lobos.
Overall, Nebraska won the major statistical categories, including strong advantages hitting (48 kills on a .311 hitting percentage compared to UNM’s 31 kills on a .110 hitting percentage), setting (46-29) and blocking (9-5).
But the Lobos showed well defensively with 38 digs to Nebraska’s 43, and played competitively with the Huskers through the first two sets. Both teams hit under .250 before intermission, with the Lobos giving Nebraska a run early.
“This did nothing but make us better,” Nelson said. “We battled tough point-for-point in the first two games. We served great, and we talked about stressing them with our serving. We did a great job with that.”
Nebraska opened the match hot, taking an 8-5 lead. The Lobos fought back to make it a one-point game at 8-9 before the Huskers reeled off an 8-2 run to take a 17-10 lead.
But New Mexico wouldn’t yield, riding good serving from Warren as it cut the Nebraska lead to three points at 21-18. UNM would hold off two Husker set points late, but eventually fell 25-22.
House notched four kills on a .375 hitting percentage in the first frame, with Victoria Spragg chipping in three errorless kills. Warren also added three kills, with Mariessa Carrasco registering two of her own.
The Lobos rallied in set two, playing Nebraska exceptionally close. There were 11 ties and five lead changes in the second set, including a deadlock at 18-18. 12 of UNM’s points came from Husker errors, with House (six kills) and Warren (two) providing the rest of the Lobos’ production.
However, Nebraska would gain separation late, posting a set-clinching 7-2 run to win 25-20.
Still, UNM’s defense limited the Huskers to a .146 hitting percentage, and posted four blocks to Nebraska’s two.
“I think this shows us the level that we’re capable of playing at,” House said. “… It definitely showed us that we can compete, and that we’re able to push those kind of teams.”
After intermission, Nebraska began to exert itself, taking a 10-5 lead. The Lobos would struggle to find consistent offense, scoring successive points just once, as the Cornhuskers claimed a 25-14 win in the final set.
Nebraska hit .565 in set three, and tallied five blocks. The Lobos finished with nine kills on nine errors.
Nonetheless, the Lobos acquitted themselves well against an exceptionally talented Nebraska team. New Mexico was the only team this year outside of Florida to score at least 20 points in multiple sets vs. Nebraska.
“We had nothing to lose,” House said. “We were going to swing big and high. All of us together made the commitment to just play as best we could and leave it all out on the floor.”
The Lobos return to action next weekend as they wrap up nonconference play with four matches at the UT Arlington Invitational. UNM’s first match is against Houston Baptist at 12:30 p.m. on Friday.