SAN JOSE, Calif. — The University of New Mexico volleyball team received strong performances from its middle blockers, including career highs in kills from Mariessa Carrasco and Victoria Spragg, but it wasn’t enough in a 3-2 loss to San José State on Saturday afternoon.
Despite 15 kills from Carrasco and 14 kills from Spragg, the Lobos (10-8 overall, 2-4 Mountain West) couldn’t hold off the Spartans (12-5, 4-2) over the five-set affair in Spartan Gym, falling by set scores of 25-18, 16-25, 21-25, 25-18, 15-13.
“We started out in game one really poorly, but we played our way into the match and had chances to win it,” UNM head coach Jeff Nelson said. “But we didn’t get what we needed. … We should have won the match. We let a tough one get away.”
After falling in the opening set, the Lobos stormed back to take a 2-1 lead in the match. But the Spartans rallied for wins in sets four and five to post their second straight five-set win over UNM in San José.
Carrasco and Spragg were highlights for New Mexico, as they both hit over .560. Along with a new career best in kills, Spragg also set a new personal record in hitting percentage, finishing with a .571 clip (14 kills, 2 errors, 21 attempts).
Carrasco finished with a .560 hitting average (15-1-25), just 11 percentage points off her career best.
Yasmin Tan tied a career high with eight kills on a career-best .300 hitting percentage (8-2-20), while Carly Beddingfield and Lauren Twitty also notched eight kills each.
As a team, New Mexico hit a respectable .262 (53-19-130), but San José State finished just a few points better at .281 (68-25-153).
The Lobos also out-blocked the Spartans 11 to 9, and finished just three digs behind SJSU, 49-46.
Ashley Kelsey collected a team-high 11 digs, with Carson Heilborn (nine digs), Mercedes Pacheco (seven) and Kayla Long (six) also contributing.
Both teams started the match evenly, with nary a two-point lead between the competitors. The Spartans would score three straight to move ahead 13-8, building a lead that they would not relinquish en route to a 25-18 set win.
New Mexico closed the lead to three points a handful of times, but the Lobos would score more than two consecutive points just three instances the entire set.
Carrasco had six kills on six swings in the opening set, but UNM hit just .167 (12-7-30) in the set compared to San José State’s .520 (14-1-25) effort.
UNM came out with vengeance in the second frame, jumping out to leads of 3-1 and 8-5. San José State would cut the deficit to one point at 12-11, but the Lobos would break the set open with a 7-0 run fueled by four Spragg kills and strong serving from Pacheco.
The Spartans never got any closer than seven points as New Mexico claimed the second stanza 25-16.
Spragg logged four her kills in the set, helping power the Lobos to a .478 rate (13-2-23). New Mexico’s block also came to play, tallying five blocks en route to holding SJSU to a .097 hitting percentage (12-9-31).
Coming out of intermission, San José State created an early advantage, relying on five straight points to go up 12-7. However, the Lobos would chip away at the Spartans’ lead, eventually climbing to within two points at 16-14.
The Lobos remained within striking distance late, unleashing a decisive and set-ending 10-2 run to win the set 25-21. Carrasco and Beddingfield both had two kills during the critical run, with Twitty and Kelsey both notching aces.
New Mexico jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the fourth set, expanding it to 11-6. SJSU would close the gap to two points at 11-9, but the Lobos would enjoy a 15-12 lead at the media timeout.
However, San José State turned the set around after the stoppage, closing the set on a 13-2 run to win it 25-18. The Lobos’ only points after the media timeout came on a Spragg kill and two SJSU service errors.
Spragg logged four kills on four attempts in the set.
Neither team levied much of a lead early in the fifth and final set, with San José State leading 8-6 at the side change. UNM would score five points in a row to take a 13-11 lead and force a Spartan timeout, but SJSU scored the final four points of the set to win 15-11.
UNM actually outhit SJSU, .312 to .231, but the Spartans had double the kills, 12 to 6.
The Lobos are back in action next week as they return to Albuquerque to host San Diego State on Thursday and Fresno State on Saturday.
Fans can follow @UNMLoboVB on Twitter and Instagram for information and updates on the team!