LAS VEGAS, Nev. — It wasn’t the ending the team might have wanted, but in a season where players reached milestone after milestone, it was appropriate that the Lobos capped the year with one more.
Senior outside hitter Devanne Sours notched a game-high 17 kills to reach 1,000 career kills in her final career match as the University of New Mexico volleyball team battled UNLV on Tuesday in a pitched contest in the Cox Pavilion.
Behind solid performances from their senior pinhitters, the Lobos (16-16, 6-12 Mountain West) gave the Rebels (23-7, 12-6) a run for their money in Sin City, falling 25-15, 25-23, 20-25, 25-21 in their season finale.
New Mexico finishes the 2016 season with a 16-16 record for their ninth season at .500 or better under 10th-year head coach Jeff Nelson.
Sours was one of a number of highlights for the Lobos Tuesday night, becoming the fourth player this season to reach the 1,000 mark in a statistical category.
Julia Warren was the first Lobo to achieve this milestone, reaching 1,000 career digs in September, followed by Cassie House’s 1,000th career kill in October and Ashley Kelsey’s 1,000th career dig last week.
Sours is the 13th player in UNM history to reach 1,000 career kills.
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Sours’ 17 kills also paced the Lobos’ attack in the team’s finale, with Warren (13 kills), House (eight) and Victoria Spragg (six) also contributing.
Lise Rugland dished out a game-best 39 assists to key New Mexico’s offense. The Lobos finished with a .153 hitting percentage, registering 46 kills and 25 errors on 137 attempts.
New Mexico serving was a strong point, as Rugland and Sours tallied two aces apiece to give UNM a 5-3 advantage in aces. The Lobos also only had five service errors to UNLV’s 12.
Defensively, Kelsey collected a game-best 22 digs, while Warren chipped in nine and Rugland six. House and Spragg both logged four blocks each.
UNLV won the battle at the net, however, with 15 total blocks to UNM’s seven.
The match opened with the Rebels taking an 8-3 lead, but the Lobos responded with six of the next nine points to draw to within two at 11-9. UNLV, however, would post a 4-0 run to extend its lead to six points at 15-9.
UNM would cut the Rebels’ margin to five points at 16-11, but the Lobos wouldn’t be able to score multiple consecutive points for the rest of the set, falling 25-15 in the opening stanza. Sours and Warren each posted three kills in the set as the Lobos hit .167 (11 kills, six errors, 30 attacks).
Set two was a much closer affair, with 12 ties throughout the frame. New Mexico would claim an early lead a 3-1, but UNLV would go ahead 4-3 after a 3-0 spurt. Neither team would gain more than a two-point advantage until late about midway through the set, when the Rebels tallied an 8-1 run to break a 14-14 tie and take a 21-15 lead.
The Lobos would answer with a 7-2 surge late to make it 24-23, staving off two set points in the process, before UNLV captured the set 25-23.
New Mexico had its best set in the second, as Sours’ four kills carried the Lobos to a .258 hitting percentage (12-4-31). However, UNLV hit .395 (20-5-38) en route to winning.
Coming out of intermission, the Lobos continued to play well, racing to a 7-4 lead behind four UNLV errors. UNLV would come to within two points at 9-7 and 10-8, but UNM gained some separation via a 6-3 run.
Up 16-11, the Lobos’ pinhitters began to work, notching seven of the team’s final nine points as UNM seized the third set 25-20. New Mexico hit .229 (13-5-35) in the set and limited the Rebels to just a .146 rate (13-7-41).
Looking to keep up the comeback, New Mexico charged into the fourth set, but was met by a quick 7-2 lead for UNLV. The Lobos battled back to 7-6 via a 4-0 run before both teams traded 3-0 spurts to make the score 10-6 in favor of UNLV.
New Mexico did take the lead at 12-11 after three Sours’ kills fueled a 6-1 run, but the Rebels came back with a 5-1 run to claim an 18-15 lead that they would not relinquish.
UNM stayed within two points in the waning moments of the set, relying on two more Sours’ kills — including her 1000th to make it 23-21 UNLV — but the Rebels eventually won the set 25-21.
Sours posted six kills in the fourth frame, but the Lobos hit .000 (10-10-41).
With indoor volleyball now concluded, a portion of the indoor team will transition over to the beach volleyball team, with competition slated to begin in the spring.