Bryan Cole / Collegian File Photos
A season-best performance by Baylee Platt, a spark from the bench by Lacey Gera and a victory in set one still wasn̢۪t enough for the Bulldogs to pull away their third conference win of the season.
After starting off with a 27-25 victory in set one, the Bulldogs fell in the next three games by scores of 31-29, 25-21, and 25-19 against WAC rival Nevada at the Save Mart Center Saturday afternoon.
“That first set was the best we played all year,â€Â coach Lauren Netherby-Sewell said. “It’s just tough when the players don’t believe that they can maintain that. What we’re hoping for is that we build on that first set.â€Â
The Bulldogs are 2-5 in WAC play and 5-11 overall on the year. Nevada improves to 3-4 in conference play and 8-9 overall.
Netherby-Sewell pointed out that her team is nearly identical with the Nevada Wolf Pack.
“We’re about even with Nevada, we’re both inexperienced and young but they have more confidence than we do,â€Â Netherby-Sewell said.
Platt had a season-best 22 kills for the day. Junior Allanah Munson had a game- high 52 assists. Lacey Gera finished with five kills off the bench and was given the Fighting Spirit Award by her coach after the game.
“When I came in, I had to do my job and give a little more,â€Â Gera said. “It felt good getting [the award], but it’s too bad we lost.â€Â
Gera̢۪s coach recognized how important it was for her player to ignite the team and keep the game close.
Bryan Cole / Collegian File Photos
“She’s important,â€Â Netherby-Sewell said. “The ability to come in off the bench cold and make things happen is a very difficult role to be in. But it’s such an important one and she did a great job today just coming in, making things happen and giving energy to the team.â€Â
Munson also saw the importance of the spark provided off the bench.
“She really came in and just did her job,â€Â Munson said. “She got kills for us and she got blocks for us which is what she does.â€Â
Last weekend̢۪s home match for the Bulldogs resulted in a sweep by Idaho. But the team felt that their performance against Nevada was an improvement from their performance against the Vandals.
“Last week in practice we all really worked to improve on certain things and I think we brought it today,â€Â Platt said. “It wasn’t so much anything we did; it was more focused and more like wanting to get better. It was just playing hard and practicing hard to get better the whole time.â€Â
The Bulldogs had success with kills and assists against the Wolf Pack on Saturday. Platt and Brianna Clarke totaled double-digits in kills and Munson led the team in assists.
Netherby-Sewell however feels that her team must improve in an area that matters most.
“We always lose the error battle,â€Â Netherby-Sewell said. “If we can just get rid of some of those errors, we’re going to get better.â€Â
For Clarke, momentum is what she believes will help lead to improvement as the year progresses.
“We just got to hold on to the momentum,â€Â Clarke said. “As a team, we kind of let momentum slip a bit. We got into some tight jams, but Nevada played a great game.â€Â
The Bulldogs next game is Oct. 16, and their opponent is the team they just faced on Saturday afternoon.
“Hopefully on Thursday, we’ll come out the better team,â€Â Munson said.