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. But Nevada responded with a pair of kills from outside hitter Haylee Brown and two more aces from middle blocker Bella Snyder. Nevada followed up with kills from middle blocker Reagan Miller and 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.
