The Nevada Women’s Volleyball team (8-16, 4-10) fell in three straight sets to New Mexico (11-14, 3-11) on Thursday, Nov. 13, at home.
New Mexico opened the first set with an ace from libero Madison Blanco. Nevada responded with a pair of kills from outside hitter Haylee Brown, two more aces from middle blocker Bella Snyder, kills from middle blocker Reagan Miller and kills from outside hitter Gioia Riccato.
A kill by Brown briefly put Nevada ahead 6-5, but the Lobos quickly tied it with a kill from setter/outside hitter Addison France.
From there, New Mexico began to separate, using back-to-back kills by outside hitter Lauryn Payne and setter Madeleine Miller. Errors hurt Nevada throughout the frame, helping fuel an 8-0 Lobo ran that stretched the deficit to 16-8.
Nevada broke the streak with a kill by outside hitter Nicanora Clarke, followed by a block from Snyder and outside hitter Jess Walkenhorst. Payne stopped the momentum with two straight kills to push New Mexico ahead 19-8. The teams traded points until Nevada surged with a 5-0 run powered by Brown, Walkenhorst and setter Audrey Jensen.
The Pack closed the gap to a two-point difference, but couldn’t complete the comeback, dropping the opening set 25-22.
Nevada started the second set stronger, getting early kills from Snyder and Brown for a 3-1 lead. New Mexico responded with three straight blocks to move ahead 4-3.
A kill by Brown evened the score at 5-5, but the Lobos countered with two more blocks. Both teams exchanged small runs until a Clarke block pulled Nevada even again at 17-17.
New Mexico regained control after a Payne kill and back-to-back aces from Riccato to go up 21-17. Nevada added points from Clarke and Walkenhorst, but couldn’t swing the momentum back, falling 25-20 in the second set.
Riding that momentum into the third set, New Mexico jumped out to a 9-4 lead. Nevada generated some offense but continued to struggle with errors and defensive miscues.
The Lobos capitalized with kills from Miller, France and two in a row from Riccato to push the lead to 14-7.
Nevada narrowed the deficit after a kill from outside hitter Kamryn Tifft and consecutive kills by Walkenhorst, bringing the score to 17-11. The Pack never managed to take control, and New Mexico closed out the final set 25-20.
Nevada wraps up its four-game homestand on Saturday, Nov. 15, at 6 p.m. against Grand Canyon University.
