Lobos rest up for the Aztecs

Home match most welcome for UNM

The road warriors finally got a little road weary last weekend.

Playing through its fifth road trip in seven weeks, the University of New Mexico volleyball team absorbed a pair of disappointing losses at Nevada and San Jose State. The latter — a match UNM led 13-11 in the fifth set only to surrender four straight points — was particularly frustrating.

“I felt like we got better every week until last week,” Lobo coach Jeff Nelson said. “It seemed like we kind of hit the wall.”

To right the ship, Nelson gave his players three full days off in advance of this week’s home matches. UNM (10-8, 2-4 Mountain West) hosts San Diego State (8-11, 2-4) tonight and faces Fresno State (7-11, 2-4) for Saturday’s annual Lobos Love Pink match.

Get-well weekend? Nelson certainly hopes so. The Lobos face New Mexico State in Las Cruces on Monday.

“We’re right in the middle of the October grind,” he said. “This is the time you’ve got to step and play better. I expect us to bring better energy this week.”

UNM got big performances from middle blockers Mariessa Carrasco (15 kills) and Victoria Spragg (14) at San Jose State, but top outside hitter Lauren Twitty struggled to put balls away during the road trip. Twitty’s hitting percentage was under .100 in both matches.

In tonight’s match, the Lobos will also need to slow SDSU standout Deja Harris, who leads the Aztecs in kills and is hitting .343 for the season.