Pack falls on senior night
Nevada setter Sonnie Sei jumps for a ball Thursday against New Mexico State. The Wolf Pack fell to the Aggies on senior night 3-2.
The Nevada volleyball team was on the verge of a major upset.
The Wolf Pack (11-13, 6-8) led 2-0 Thursday and needed to win one more set to beat the Western Athletic Conference’s second-place team.
Instead of getting the win, though, the 650 fans in attendance witnessed a stunningly different New Mexico State (17-7, 11-1) team, while Nevada senior Allison Hernandez noticed a different Wolf Pack team.
“We just came out a little less fired up,” said Hernandez, who played her final home game of her career at Nevada on Thursday. Hernandez is the only senior on the team.
The Wolf Pack lost three-straight sets and fell 3-2 to the Aggies on senior night. Nevada also lost to San Jose State Saturday, 3-1.
The Wolf Pack dropped to fifth place in the WAC standings this weekend.
With two more road games on the season against Idaho (9-5) and Boise State (4-10), Nevada will need to win both to get a good seed in the WAC tournament. Nevada beat the Broncos earlier this season, but lost to Idaho in five sets.
The Wolf Pack’s aggressive first two sets against New Mexico State displayed Nevada’s potential. New Mexico State, having beaten Hawaii, came into the match being the top team in the WAC, sporting an 11-1 record. Even with the Aggies’ explosive offense, Nevada was able to outblock them 2-1 in the first two sets, forcing the Aggies to put up negative hitting averages. Nevada’s early success was helped by a strong performance by freshman Erin Garvey, who contributed six kills during the night.
“We are a very energy-driven team,” Garvey said. “A block is the easiest way to fire the whole team up, though the big crowd helps too.”
New Mexico State’s offense came together in the third set hitting no less than a .261 kill percentage the rest of the match. In a role reversal, Nevada was unable to post a positive hitting average after the second set. The end result had New Mexico State running away with the last three sets: 13-25, 9-25 and 10-15.
The loss was bittersweet for the only senior on the Wolf Pack, Hernandez, who was honored at the end of the night.
Despite the loss, Hernandez played a strong game, posting 12 kills and nine digs.
“I’ve always been the only freshman, sophomore, etc. on the team,” Hernandez said. “I guess it kind of put me in my own class this year, as a leadership role.”
Garrett Estrada can be reached at editor@nevadasagebrush.com.
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