New Mexico volleyball head coach Jeff Nelson’s search for a starting libero continued in Saturday’s 3-1 victory over Nevada.
For the third consecutive game, Nelson has had to command a jersey swap in the middle of a match due to lackluster performances from the defensive position. UNM (8-6, 1-1 MW) has completed 14 games, but the Lobos can’t seem to find any sort of rhythm at libero.
“We can’t keep playing musical chairs at that position,” Nelson said. “I think it’s frustrating for the coaches, but I think it’s more frustrating for the players, not knowing who is going to just grab that position and own it.”
Defensive specialist Stephanie Chavez received the starting nod from Nelson against Nevada (6-8, 1-1 MW) and came out of the gates strong for UNM. Aside from four receiving errors, Nelson said Chavez’s defense was phenomenal, but her shaky passing warranted an early exit.
Outside hitter Julia Warren said the group is able to conform to whatever roster is on the court. However, Warren said she hopes the position becomes steadier down the stretch so the team doesn’t have to deal with the mid-game roster jumbles.
Despite the inconsistencies at a vital spot on the court, UNM stepped up its offensive attack in the four-set victory over Nevada, following a poor performance in the conference opener against SDSU (5-9, 2-0 MW) on Thursday night.
“We have a lot of soul searching to do,” Warren said. “I think it shows how our team is going to do in the future, after bouncing back from a tough loss like that.”
Not one of UNM’s starting hitters swung for a positive on percentage in the 3-0 loss to SDSU. However, Warren and outside hitter Devanne Sours made sure not to put together a repeat performance from the outside hitting spot, as they each swung over .333.
Warren started UNM off in the right direction against Nevada with her offensive performance, collecting 10 of her 15 kills in the first two sets alone. Warren helped propel UNM to a 2-0 start to the game.
The scorching start hit a bit of a lull in the third set after Nevada found its offensive voice, hitting a remarkable .364 on the back of sophomore outside hitter Madison Foley.
Foley collected six kills in the third set, and finished with a team-high 17 kills on the night. Nelson said the Lobos were able to slow her down a bit after the defense keyed in on her. However, Nevada’s outside hitter continued to swing even with the attention of the Lobo defense, as she swung 52 times.
Foley’s 17 kills tied Sours for the most kills in the contest. Sours’ presence was felt throughout the entirety of the match. Through the first two games, Sours’ right arm was hitting a sound .700 from the field. Although that number tapered off, she would finish the day with a .394 hitting percentage.
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The Lobos desperately needed some sort of consistent play amidst the team’s libero struggles, and both Sours and Warren realized their lackluster play would not be enough for the Lobos to win ball games.
“We put our heads together and just focused,” Sours said. “We realized our team needed us a whole lot more than we’ve been giving, and we fixed it.”
Sours and Warren provided the spark, and the rest of the offense followed. New Mexico hit .354 in the match, following UNM’s collective .035 hitting performance against SDSU on Thursday.
Nelson has been saying all season that the conference is a wide-open race. The head coach said again on Saturday that if the Lobos want a shot at the conference title, they have to come into each match ready to play.
“If you don’t show up ready to play, you’ll be in trouble,” Nelson said. “Today we showed up ready and really took care of business.”
Liam Cary-Eaves is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at assistantsports@dailylobo.com or on twitter @Liam_CE.
