The UNM volleyball team put on a display of guts and determination in a thrilling comeback victory over New Mexico State University at Johnson Gym Wednesday night.
Trailing 10-1 in the fifth and deciding game, the Lobos used an array of shots to overcome the seemingly insurmountable lead. UNM won the fifth game by a final score of 16-14 when an Aggie shot sailed long and wide.
"One good play happened, it got contagious and the snowball effect happened over and over again," junior outside hitter Anna Reines said. "They fell apart and we exploited their weaknesses."
In the first game, the Lobos were dominated by NMSU and lost by a score of 30-23.
In the second game, UNM began playing better. With the Lobos leading 7-6, senior outside hitter Vanessa Shields blocked an Aggie shot for a 8-6 lead. UNM extended its lead when senior setter Blaire Burns served an ace to give the Lobos a comfortable 10-6 lead. UNM combined the hard hitting of Reines and sophomore blocker Cayse Kaveny to build a 21-12 lead. The Lobos went on to win the second game 30-18.
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In the third game, NMSU took a 6-5 lead on a smash. The Aggies extended their lead to 9-6. With Kaveny serving, UNM cut the lead to 10-9. But NMSU kept pushing and eventually built a comfortable 18-13 lead. The Lobos made a valiant effort to come back but fell short and lost the third game by a score of 30-24.
With its back against the wall, UNM needed to win the fourth game to stay alive and have a chance to win. The Lobos got off to a good start building a 4-1 lead on a nice touch shot by sophomore setter Monica Meihack. The Aggies started to come back though and eventually tied the score 6-6 when Reines' spike went wide. The game stayed tight. With the score tied 11-11, after a tough rally an NMSU player finally went into the net to give the Lobos the lead. The Aggies would not give in though and eventually took a commanding 28-24 lead. With the game and the match in doubt, UNM proved that it still had something left in the tank.
The Lobos battled back to tie the game and then take the lead after a series of blocks by the big girls up front. With a 29-28 lead, UNM saved an NMSU spike and set the ball to Reines on the left side. She went up like she was going to hit it with as much authority as she could muster but fooled the defense when she gently lofted the ball up over two defenders hands. The ball landed in the middle of the court and the Lobos had come back to tie the match at 2-2.
"I got up and I knew that they were sitting back on their heels," Reines said. "They were ready for me to smash it and I tipped it and surprised them."
In the final game, UNM seemed overanxious and quickly found itself trailing by a score of 10-1. Head coach Kelly Sliva called a timeout to rally her troops. The Lobos got back on the scoreboard when Shields split the defense with a powerful slam to cut the lead to 10-2.
"I think it's from practice," Shields said. "We never give up on any ball. We're not going to give up with all of our fans here."
From then on UNM looked like a determined team that would not let this game slip away. The Aggies got as close as match point with a 14-10 lead but the Lobos had the momentum with Shields serving. Reines had a smash and NMSU was called for an over the net penalty as UNM found itself down by only 2 points. A Reines smash tied the score and an ace by Shields gave the Lobos match point. An Aggie return was long and UNM had completed an unlikely comeback three games to two.
"I'm really proud of our team," Sliva said. "It's the first time they've (NMSU) been here in four years and we wanted to beat them on our home court. We started a great tradition."
