The Nevada women’s volleyball team (0-6, 0-0) lost in three hard-fought sets against the Weber State Wildcats (5-1, 0-0) on Thursday, Sep. 10 at home, posting their sixth consecutive loss of the season.
The Wolf Pack started the first set off strong, with a kill by freshman outside hitter Paige Thies. The Wildcats followed with a kill of their own from senior opposite hitter Rose Moore, before Thies served two back-to-back aces.
Both teams fought hard, but after a timeout down 15-12, the Pack lost momentum.
Despite capitalizing on mistakes from Weber State, Nevada was not able to come back, and the set ended with a service error from Wolf Pack senior libero Masyn Navarro to give the Wildcats a victory of 25-20.
The second set showed the Wildcats asserting their dominance early, with a block and kill from fifth-year middle blocker Stacia Barker setting the tone, and helping Weber State go up 5-1.
Three kills from the Pack’s junior outside hitter Malia Pilimai helped to swing some of the momentum in Nevada’s favor, before an ace from freshman setter Adriana Dorn further cut down the gap to 10-8.
Shortly after, Nevada did not give up a fight despite falling 13-9 after an ace from Weber State senior setter Addison Eastwood. Three kills from Thies brought the Wolf Pack back into the match at 15-14, but once again, Nevada was unable to capitalize and continue that momentum.
In the end, Pilimai killed a ball in an attempt to get a comeback for Nevada going, but Weber State yet again took the set 25-20.
The Wolf Pack continued to show their struggles early on in the third set, allowing Weber State to go up 3-0 after a service error from Dorn and two Wildcat kills.
After a timeout down 8-3, Nevada saw an opportunity to turn the tide and find their rhythm, and equalize the score 8-8.
This potential comeback was short-lived however, and a decisive back-and-forth rally at 22-15 killed any chance at a Wolf Pack Revival.
In the end, Weber State’s freshman middle blocker Sophia Sparrow delivered the final blow, and Nevada lost the third and final set 25-16 to lose their sixth match in a row.
The Wolf Pack will have their next opportunity to get their first win of the season on Sunday, Sep. 13, at 1 p.m. against the Kansas State Wildcats (4-0, 0-0) to finish off the homestand.
