The opportunity was there, but New Mexico volleyball stumbled in crucial moments in a 3-0 sweep at the hands of Wyoming on Saturday afternoon.
Although the Lobos (10-9, 1-5 Mountain West) fought hard at the start, they couldn’t get on the track, falling 25-23, 25-18, 25-14 against the Cowgirls (11-7, 4-1 MW).
“It’s really disappointing,” head coach Jeff Nelson said. “Wyoming is a good team, but there is no excuse for losing game one. There is absolutely no excuse for our performance in game three.”
The Lobos had 29 kills as a team, but suffered 22 errors, a percentage of .068, far from Wyoming’s hitting percentage of .314.
UNM has dropped its past five games in Mountain West play, after winning the conference opener.
“There’s some things that are inconsistent,” Nelson said. “Instead of pulling together, we’re freaking out a little bit.”
New Mexico got off to a good start in set one. It was once 23-19, UNM just two points away from taking its first set in 10 tries, but six straight points from Wyoming ended those hopes.
“That’s the problem we are having with the team right now,” Nelson said in an interview. “We are not playing smart volleyball.”
The Lobos drifted from what was working, changing their setting and starting to swing for the floor.
“When you get to the point you win the game, you don’t abandon what got you to that point,” Nelson said.
The coach took the responsibility for the loss — however, he pointed out that the Lobos were playing as individuals.
“Our hitters take on themselves as, ‘I am going to be the one that wins the game, and the one that gets the side of this,’” Nelson said. “Instead, they get themselves in trouble.”
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It showed in Saturday’s match. Outside hitter Devanne Sours had three slams on the left side at the end in game one. She finally managed three kills, but nine errors led to her -.286 percentage.
“She is a great player, she plays hard and she wants to do well,” Nelson said. “But you can't have an outside hitter have three kills and nine errors in a match.”
The head coach did have strict requirements for every player in the team. He had one-on-one sessions with both of the setters on Friday.
“They set beautifully yesterday,” Nelson said. “They (have to) bring it up onto the court, especially on the big points.”
Cassie House provided a bright spot for UNM en route to the loss, becoming the 12th Lobo ever with 1,000 kills.
“I congratulated her afterwards, that’s special,” Nelson said of the milestone. “She is a great athlete. That's a quality group of people that she just joined.”
House spiked the point in set three when the Lobos tied the Cowgirls 1-1. She appeared to have more leadership on the court, as she shouted to the setter to ask for the point.
“We were happy she does that. At least she is sending the message to the other players that she wants the ball,” Nelson said. “I actually think our team needs more of that.”
The Lobos had more team communication on the court on Sunday. They reminded each other to “hit low,” and were helping each other up when facing hard times on court.
“We know we can play at a level that (is) significantly better,” Nelson said. “We know we should be winning some of these matches.”
Lobos will host conference leader UNLV at 6:30 p.m. in Johnson Center on Tuesday, Oct. 11.
Bo Yu is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He mainly covers Cross Country and volleyball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com.
