Eden Steele/Nevada Sagebrush. Jamila Minor spikes the ball against Boise State on Thursday, Sept. 27, at Virginia Street Gym. The Wolf Pack play two road games this week against San Jose State and Air Force.

Nevada Volleyball fell in a tough bout against New Mexico in five hard-fought sets — 25-14, 25-13, 25-17, 25-21, 15-4. New Mexico is now 5-1 at home, while the Pack fell to 1-6 on the road.

Junior Jamila Minor led the Pack with 13 kills on 45 total attacks, tacking on eight assists. Junior Camryn Rocha was second on the team with 12 kills on 26 total attacks. Sophomore Mckayla Wuensch had a career night. Wuensch would accumulate a career-high 35 assists for the Pack, along with another career high in digs, accumulating 13 total. This would be Wuensch’s first double-double of the season, also adding on six blocks.

The Pack would total season-high 12 blocks — seven by Junior Shiloh Peleras. Those seven blocks were a season-high by Peleras, previously set in their game Saturday win with five against Utah State.

Junior Lauren Twitty was dominant for the Lobos, mustering up a team-leading 19 kills on 46 attempts. The 2017 All-Mountain West electee added on 11 digs, and an ace.

New Mexico escaped to an early 7-3 lead after a kill by junior Tia Bierria. The Lobos wouldn’t look back, led by Twitty. Twitty would accumulate five first set kills, as the Lobos stole 13 of the next 20 points, leading to their first set dominance. New Mexico held Nevada to .061 hit percentage, while New Mexico struck at an alarming .500 rate.

The second set was the polar opposite, as the Pack escaped to a 15-10 lead. Nevada would score on five of the next six opportunities, breaking away to tie the match. Nevada would hit at a .545 clip, while New Mexico hit for a staggering .071 percentage.

New Mexico jumped out to a 5-2 lead to begin the third set, but the pack would tie the game at seven. The set, much like the fourth, would go in a back-and-forth battle. No team would really stretch the lead until two Nevada miscues would break out the New Mexico lead to 19-15. New Mexico wouldn’t look away, taking six out of the final eight points of the set. The Lobos held the Pack to a .148 hit percentage, while the Lobos flourished at .379 percentage.

The fourth set would be like the same for the Pack, as the deficit never would eclipse four points until a couple of mistakes by the Lobos would gift Nevada to a 22-17 lead. The Lobos would cut the lead to 24-21, but Nevada would force a fifth set on the very next point. The Lobos committed 11 errors in the fourth set, which led both teams in any set. The Lobos hit for at a .067 clip, while Nevada only hit at a .143 clip.

The fifth set was a Lobo rout as they captured nine of the first ten points. The Lobos would dominate the set scoring six of the final nine points for the Lobos.

The Wolf Pack then moved on to play the rival UNLV. In the first Silver Series matchup, Nevada Volleyball would fall to UNLV in four sets — 25-16, 26-24, 25-13, 25-23 — Saturday night.

In back-to-back contests, McKayla Wuensch would rack up her second double-double of the season. Wuensch would accumulate ten digs, and a career-high in assists, with 38, that was previously set in her the Pack’s most recent matchup against New Mexico.

Jamila Minor, Kayla Afoa and Shiloh Peleras would all lead Nevada on the offensive side racking up ten kills apiece. Redshirt freshman Hailey Maniglia would lead the pack with a .294 hit percentage with eight kills on 17 total attacks.

In the first set, UNLV would start hot getting off to a 4-0 lead. Nevada would cut the lead to 12-10 after a UNLV miscue. The Rebels would convert on five of the next six points, extending the set lead to 17-11. UNLV would convert eight of the final 13 points, winning the set 25-16. The Pack obtained for a .214 hit percentage, while the Rebels had a game-high .440 percentage.

In a hard-fought second set, UNLV would jump out to a 13-9 lead. No team led by more than four points throughout the set, nor either team would score more than three consecutive points until Nevada would score the final four points of the second set, winning the set 26-24. Nevada accumulated a .343 hit percentage, as opposed to the Rebel’s .265 percentage

UNLV would jump out to an 18-7 lead after a five-point streak, taking the set with ease. Nevada mustered seven attack errors — their highest of the game — also hitting for a .000 hit percentage, their lowest on the evening. UNLV would hit for a .286 hit percentage.

Nevada would almost win the fourth and final set, losing 25-23. UNLV would persevere after Nevada tied the game at 21. The Nevada defense would force a game-high three blocks while UNLV acquired a game-high eight attack errors.

Nevada continues their road trip, taking on San Jose State on Tuesday, Oct. 9, and Air Force on Saturday, Oct. 13.  

Matt Hanifan can be reached at dstrugs@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @SagebrushSports.