UNM VOLLEYBALL
Lobos volleyball falls to Cal Baptist
UNM struggled offensively and could not complete late rallies in a four-set season-opening loss at the Pit.
Opening night at the Pit became an exercise in digging for the University of New Mexico volleyball team.
The hole proved a little too deep.
UNM's offense struggled to find a rhythm and visiting Cal Baptist rode the hot hitting of freshman Nalanie Neal to a 3-1 victory in Friday's season opener in the Pit.
Neal banged home a match-high 18 kills and seemed to provide the big points when the Lancers needed them. That included a key blast with the Lancers clinging to a 23-22 lead in set four that pushed the visitors to match point. CBU ended it on the next point with a stuff block to cap a 27-25, 18-25, 25-15, 25-22 victory.
Mina Stanojevic led the way for UNM, collecting 11 kills, 19 digs and posting the Lobos' only solo block of the match. The final number spoke volumes as Cal Baptist's front line finished with 25 total blocks to UNM's 9.
The Lobos had their moments in the first regular-season game of Brian Hosfeld's coaching tenure. But UNM was not as sharp on offense as it had been in a 3-1 exhibition win over Arizona six days earlier. CBU finished with a .193 attack percentage, while the Lobos hit just .077.
"We have to get better," Hosfeld said afterward. "I don't know if it was nerves tonight or what it was, but we didn't see the kind of synchrony we've had previously. I thought (setter Madeleine Miller) did a good job getting the ball to the outsides and we handled the ball okay, but we didn't have good angles on our attacks and didn't put enough balls away. Cal Baptist did."
The Lancers also played from ahead for most of the evening, quieting an announced crowd of 1,213 in UNM's cavernous home arena. CBU forced the Lobos to play catch-up in every set but the second, and a pair of spirited comebacks by the home team ended up falling short.
"Our defense can be better," said libero Camila Canedo, who put up 17 digs, six assists and a strong night from the service line for UNM. "I thought we started strong but we weren't playing together. Our synergy wasn't there, especially in the third set."
CBU set the tone early, racing to a 13-8 lead in the opening set. UNM battled back to tie the score at 18 and eventually served for the set at 25-24 after a Stanojevic kill. But the Lancers cashed in on a Lobo hitting error and scored the winner when Audrey Heiring slammed home an errant UNM pass over the net.
New Mexico seemed to gain the upper hand in set two, getting six kills from Stanojevic and a timely ace from Canedo while steadily pulling away. But the tide changed abruptly in set three when CBU used a dominant 17-6 run to turn a 5-5 tie into a 22-11 runaway.
"We were either a little flat or a little nervous," Hosfeld said of the one-sided set. "Whatever it was, (CBU) took advantage of it."
The Lobos again dug out of an early hole in set four, using a 9-3 run to even the score at 18-18. But miscommunication on a key point allowed a high pass to drop between two Lobos, giving the Lancers a 23-21 lead that proved too much for UNM to overcome.
Aylin Ravell finished with nine kills and Miller posted 27 assists for the Lobos, who travel to Las Cruces for a neutral match against Tulsa on Sunday at noon. Addison France, who had a team-best 19 kills against Arizona, was limited to five kills on 27 swings Friday.
