SAN JOSE, Calif. — The University of New Mexico volleyball team dropped a five-set match to San José State Thursday night, falling 25-21, 26-24, 19-25, 27-29, 13-15 at Spartan Gym in San Jose.
Despite 18 kills from Devanne Sours and 16 kills from Cassie House, the Lobos (10-6, 1-2 Mountain West) couldn’t convert a 2-0 match lead or multiple match-point opportunities against the Spartans (8-7, 1-2), losing their second straight five-set contest.
“San Jose battled back really hard,” 10th-year New Mexico head coach Jeff Nelson said. “But again, we had match points again in game four. The focus and the accountability doesn’t seem to be there when it’s on the line.”
Thursday’s setback for the third straight without team captain and leader Julia Warren, and it was the second match, following last Saturday’s defeat to Boise State, where UNM failed to capitalize on a late lead.
“We really lack the leadership and spirit when Julia’s not out there,” Nelson said. “It’s not that other kids aren’t trying, but she’s the one that’s pumping her fists and getting everyone engaged. It’s not an excuse.”
Although the Lobos finished with more blocks and service aces than the Spartans, San José State largely outperformed New Mexico statistically.
UNM hit .219 on the match (59 kills, 25 errors, 155 attempts), but yielded a .311 hitting percentage to San José State (74-23-164).
Sours led the way with a game-high 18 kills, while House chipped in 16 despite suffering an ankle injury in the fourth set.
House returned to the match, and finished with a strong overall statline, adding career highs in aces (three) and blocks (eight).
Freshman Lauren Twitty, playing in the place of Warren, posted 12 kills, while Victoria Spragg notched seven kills.
Carson Heilborn added 46 assists, and Ashley Kelsey logged 19 digs.
After the Lobos scored the opening point of the match, San José State scored three straight to go up 3-1. But the Spartans’ lead in the set was short-lived as New Mexico reeled off seven unanswered point to take an 8-3 lead.
SJSU would cut UNM’s lead to one point at 11-10, but the Lobos responded with five consecutive points to claim a 16-10 lead. The Spartans would make the set interesting late, coming to within two or three points a couple of times, but a House ace and a Twitty kill gave UNM the first set 25-21.
House had five of her 16 kills in the set, hitting .714 to pace New Mexico. The Lobos actually had four fewer kills in the frame, but 16 combined SJSU errors helped UNM win the set.
Set two started off more unevenly with neither team exerting much of an advantage. San José State managed to grab a lead at 12-8 to force a UNM timeout, but the Lobos stayed close, sticking within a few points until they unleashed a go-ahead 6-0 run — featuring two aces and a kill by Kelsey — to take a 21-20 lead.
San José State would tie the set at 22 and 24, but a pair of Spartan miscues finished off the set in UNM’s favor, 26-24.
Sours came alive in the second stanza, notching eight kills, while House added another five putaways.
Both teams came out evenly in set three, fighting to six ties en route to an 11-11 deadlock. The Spartans would edge ahead to 16-13, but New Mexico answered, closing the gap to one point at 18-17.
However, after taking a timeout, San José State would finish off the set with a 7-2 run to win 25-19. Twitty (four kills), Heilborn (three) and Sours (three) led the Lobos’ offense in set three.
The fourth set opened similarly to the previous set, as both teams traded points early. New Mexico would take a 5-4 lead, but San José State scored three in a row to claim a 7-6 lead. The Spartans would open up a two-point lead, holding off UNM until a 3-0 mini-run for the Lobos gave them the lead at 22-21.
New Mexico would get the first crack at match point at 25-24, and then twice more, but San José State scored three straight to win the set 29-27.
“It hurt us in game four when Cassie tweaked her ankle, for sure,” Nelson said.
Spragg, Twitty and Sours all had four kills in the set.
San José State came out hot in the decisive fifth set, bolting to a 7-3 lead. The Lobos would come to within one point at 7-6, but a 5-2 spurt by the Spartans gave San José State a 12-8 lead that they would ride to a 15-13 win.
New Mexico returns to action Saturday as it heads to Fresno, California to take on Fresno State at 2 p.m. MT.