ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico beach volleyball team made its debut in the national polls, coming in at No. 15 in the nation in the most recent edition of the DiG Magazine Beach Volleyball Poll released Tuesday.
The Lobos, winners of nine of their last 10 matches, are ranked in the 20-team DiG Magazine poll for the first time in the program’s two-year history. New Mexico is also receiving votes in the 10-team AVCA poll, unofficially sitting at 13th.
“It’s great for our program,” Nelson said of the rankings. “It provides exposure and knowledge to all the kids around the country that we have a program and it’s a good program.”
New Mexico is currently 12-4 on the season, with two wins over Arizona State and additional victories against California, San José State, CSU Bakersfield and CSUN.
Marisa Doran & Eastyn Baleto have led the charge from the No. 4 position, going 15-1 to open the season. Right behind them is the No. 3 duo of Hannah Johnson & Julia Warren (11-4) and the No. 2 team of Lise Rugland & Devanne Sours (8-2).
UNM’s No. 5 pair of Carson Heilborn & Maddie Mayfield have also contributed, going 10-5, while top-seeded tandem of Cassie House & Ashley Kelsey are 6-5.
Overall, New Mexico has won 54 of a possible 80 points this season, with four 5-0 sweeps.
Pepperdine is the top-ranked team in the poll, with No. 2 USC, No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 Hawai’i and No. 5 UCLA rounding out the top five.
So far this season, UNM has played Florida State, Arizona (currently ranked sixth), Grand Canyon (10th), California (16th) and South Carolina (19th), with matches against USC, LSU (12th) and Tulane (18th) upcoming.
The Lobos are back in action next week as they head to Northern California for matches against Pacific, Sacramento State, Washington and SJSU. Pacific and Washington are both receiving votes in the DiG poll.