ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The milestones Thursday night were as big as the comebacks.
Combined together, and the Lobos came out big winners.
Julia Warren notched her 1,000th career dig and was one of three pinhitters to notch double-digit kills as the University of New Mexico volleyball team posted an exciting 3-1 win over Arkansas to open the Lobo Classic in WisePies Arena.
Senior outside hitters Cassie House, Devanne Sours and Warren powered New Mexico (6-2) past the Razorbacks (1-6), helping fuel a momentum-shifting 11-1 run in the third set that gave the Lobos a 2-1 lead in the match that they would not relinquish.
UNM won by set scores of 25-12, 20-25, 25-20, 25-17.
“This is a good win,” New Mexico head coach Jeff Nelson said. “Arkansas has a lot of really good athletes and they’re going to figure it out and be really tough on some teams later in the year. It’s a good win for us to take forward as we close out our preseason this weekend.”
The Lobos’ trio of local pinhitters registered 31 of the team’s 39 kills, with House notching 11 and Warren and Sours 10 each. Along with a game-high seven blocks by Victoria Spragg, they helped key New Mexico’s comeback in set three.
But Thursday night’s victory in front of an announced crowd of 1,132 was a strong team effort.
Sours registered her third double-double of the year, adding 11 digs to her 10 kills (on a .444 hitting percentage), and Carson Heilborn posted 29 assists and 10 digs.
Warren came close to her own double-double (10 kills, 8 digs), but still surpassed the century mark in digs with her seventh in the third set. She also added a career high-tying three service aces.
Ashley Kelsey chipped in a game-high 13 digs, with House contributing seven digs.
New Mexico’s defense and a decisive serving advantage also made the difference in the match. The Lobos tallied six more digs (57 to 51) and five more blocks (11 to six), and benefited from four service aces and a whopping 18 Arkansas service errors.
“We just really were tough with passing and serving,” Warren said. “I think the main thing that kept us in this game was serving.”
The Razorbacks did post more kills (49) and assists (44) than UNM (39 and 35, respectively), but hit worse, registering 29 errors (for a .138 hitting percentage) compared to the Lobos’ 12 errors and .248 success rate.
The Lobos came out firing in set one, jumping to a 10-2 lead on Arkansas behind services aces by Kelsey and Warren. The Razorbacks managed to close the gap to six points at 14-8, but UNM reeled off a 7-2 run to post a commanding 21-10 lead.
After a pair of Arkansas points, the Lobos closed the set out with four straight to claim the first set 25-12. UNM hit .350 in the frame and limited the Razorbacks to a -.040 hitting percentage.
The Razorbacks took control early in set two, going up 4-2 early and extending their lead to 8-5. UNM would tie the set at 11-all on a Warren ace, but Arkansas would ride a 6-2 run to take a 17-13 lead.
New Mexico would cut Arkansas’ lead to one point at 17-16 and to two points at 22-20, but the Razorbacks scored the final three points of the stanza to win 25-20.
Arkansas recorded its best offensive performance in the second set, hitting .395 with 18 kills and just three errors. The Lobos posted a .094 percentage, but received four kills from House.
“We struggled a little bit with passing in the second set,” Nelson said. “We really challenged Julia at halftime to keep the ball lower and get it up on the net for Carson.”
The third set looked to be more of the same from the Razorbacks, as they took a 9-5 lead on New Mexico. Warren’s third ace of the match would draw UNM to within one point at 9-8, but Arkansas posted an 8-3 streak to move up 17-11.
But Spragg entered after a UNM timeout and helped stem the Razorbacks’ advantage at the net.
After only posting four blocks through the first two-plus sets, the Lobos’ front line reclaimed the advantage as they scored 14 of the last 17 points — including the final nine unanswered — for a come-from-behind 25-20 win.
“At timeouts and when we came into the middle we were talking all about discipline with our hands are cresting over,” Warren said. “I think we really really took that to heart.”
With momentum secured, New Mexico rolled out to a 9-4 lead in set four, expanding it to 19-13 after nine straight Arkansas errors. The Lobos would continue to capitalize on Razorback mistakes, winning the set 25-17.
The Lobos return to action Friday to face Montreal in an exhibition match at 7:30 p.m. before taking on defending NCAA champion and No. 1 Nebraska at 7:30 p.m. Saturday night.