Sept. 27, 2005
LOBOS HOST UNLV AND SAN DIEGO STATE
The Lobos look to stay among the leaders in the Mountain West Conference, hosting UNLV on Friday, Sept. 30 in Johnson Gym. New Mexico returns to the court the next day, taking on San Diego State. Both matches are scheduled for 7 p.m. MT. UNM, 9-3 overall and 1-1 in the MWC, is tied with UNLV (5-8, 1-1) and San Diego State (9-5, 1-1) for third in conference action. Utah is also tied with these three in the MWC.
Through 48 games in 12 matches, the Lobos are hitting .218 (645K-283E-1,662TA) while holding their opponents to a .177 average with 369 errors. UNM has also stuffed back 127.5 blocks compared to their opponents 95. New Mexico also edges out their opponents in service aces, dropping in 92 compared to their opponents’ 77.
Senior Chelsea Sondrup leads New Mexico’s everyday players in hitting percentage with a .263 average. She also leads the team in blocks with 68, for a 1.42 blocks-per-game average. Classmate Nicole Ryan has put down a team-high 162 kills, averaging 3.60 per game. Ryan has produced the most points for UNM, recording 189.0. Freshman Sarah Kwasigroch has dished out 543 of New Mexico’s 586 assists, averaging 11.31 per game. Sophomore Kim Cox tops the Lobos’ charts in service aces (20) and digs (143).
LOBOS PROWL ATOP THE MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE
New Mexico, currently tied for third place in the Mountain West Conference, rank in the top-third of the conference in three of the eight statistical categories kept track of by the MWC. The Lobos are second in win percentage (.750) and third in blocks (127.5 total, 2.66 per game) and service aces (1.92 per game). What’s more impressive is that UNM does not place 8th or 9th out of nine teams in any category, which is where the Lobos were picked to finish in the MWC Preseason Poll.
Individually, five different Lobos place on the conference’s top-10 leaderboard. Sophomore Kim Cox is on the list twice while seniors Chelsea Sondrup and Nicole Ryan, junior Kelly Therkelsen and freshman Sarah Kwasigroch are each on there once. Sondrup is second in blocks, averaging 1.42 per game while Kwasigroch stands third in assists, averaging 11.31 per game. Therkelsen is sixth in blocks with 1.18 per game while Cox is seventh in digs (3.04 per game) and eighth in service aces (0.47 per game). Ryan places eighth in kills (3.60 per game).
BYU/UTAH RECAP
The New Mexico volleyball team battled with the 22nd-ranked BYU Cougars to open Mountain West Conference action Friday night, but fell shy of an upset, losing 3-2 at the Johnson Center.
Senior Nicole Ryan put down a team-high 19 kills against BYU and Utah.
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BYU won game one but senior Nicole Ryan hit a team-high .625, putting down five kills, giving the Lobos momentum to take game two. UNM built a 10-point lead in game two before fending off the Cougars for a 30-27 win. UNM hit .389 (19K-5E-36TA), which was its best percentage of the match. BYU took game three with a 3-0 lead and never relinquished it but senior Chelsea Sondrup kept the Lobos going with four kills while Ryan added three. Freshman Gayle Tripp, switching over to the Libero prior to game four, sparked a UNM comeback. The Lobos were down 3-6 when Tripp stepped up to serve, recording two aces and an attack error to even the game. BYU evened the game at 20 but UNM got back the serve, which put the ball in Tripp’s hands. She forced three aces and two attack errors, putting UNM on top for good as the Lobos went on for a 30-27 win.BYU came out red-hot in game five, but held just a two-point lead at 9-7 before Lauren Evans took the serve and held it for a 15-7 win. BYU hit .727 (8K-0E-11TA), getting three kills from Lott and two from Hartsock.
For the match, Ryan put down a team-high 19 kills and hit a team-best .359 (19K-5E-39TA). Sondrup added 12 kills and three blocks while sophomore Samie Weber chipped in 11 kills and tied for a team-high with five blocks. Junior Kelly Therkelsen also had five blocks to accompany her eight kills. Sophomore Kim Cox led the Lobos in digs (11) and freshman Sarah Kwasigroch dished out 51 of UNM’s 54 assists.
New Mexico ended a 17-game losing streak again Utah, dating back to 1996, with a 3-2 win in Albuquerque Saturday evening. The Lobos, 9-3 overall and 1-1 in the Mountain West Conference, tied last season’s win total and are one win shy of tying the program’s high under head coach Kelley McKee’s tutelage. The Lobos jumped out to a 2-0 game lead taking game one, 30-26 and game two, 30-27. Senior Nicole Ryan put down nine kills over games one and two while senior Chelsea Sondrup and freshman Michelle Miller added eight apiece. New Mexico also recorded 10 of its 17.5 total blocks in games one and two. Utah’s Shelly Sommerfeldt got the Utes back in the match, putting down 14 of her game-high 22 kills in games three and four. Utah took game three, 30-22 and game four, 30-18. Utah out-hit UNM in both games, posting a .256 average in game three and .425 average in game four. New Mexico headed into game five for the fourth straight match. Both teams battled evenly with nine score ties and seven lead changes. The nine tied and seven lead changes were at least three more than any of the previous four games. With the score even at 12, junior Kelly Therkelsen went back to serve. Therkelsen got an attack error on her first serve and a kill from sophomore Samie Weber on her second serve for a 14-12 lead. Utah got the serve back but Weber slammed down a kill for game point (15-13).
Sondrup recorded a double-double in the overall match, putting down 12 kills with 12 blocks. Ryan posted a team-high 19 kills while Miller added 11, complimenting her team-high 14 digs. Sophomore Kim Cox tied Miller with 14 digs. Freshman Sarah Kwasigroch dished out 52 of UNM’s 54 assists.
COMING OF AGE
The last three years have been a growing process for the Lobo volleyball program. New Mexico came under the leadership of Kelley McKee and her staff in 2002 after winning only five games in 2001 under first-year coach Tom Peterson. McKee doubled the team’s win total in 2002 but 2003 and 2004 saw a decline as McKee worked to get the program and its players in the direction she invisioned.
Head coach Kelley McKee has the 2005 team off to one of the best starts in program history.
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Finally, that vision is becoming clear to the Lobo faithful. The team is off to one of the best starts in the history of Lobo volleyball. UNM strung together an impressive six-match win streak and are 8-2 over their last 10 games. This past weekend, the Lobos made even more progress with great showings against BYU and Utah. The Lobos beat Utah, 3-2, to end a 17-game losing streak to the Utes that dated back to 1997. They just missed upsetting No. 22 BYU, falling in five games. However, it was the first time since 1992 that UNM had played to five against the Cougars and only the second time since 1994 that the Lobos had not been shut out.
Friday’s match could be the day that UNM ties its best season win total under McKee. The Lobos have 16 guaranteed games remaining including eight at home. With the current pace, UNM should reach at least 15 wins this season, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since the 1996 team won 18.
UNM OFF TO RECORD START
The Lobos were 8-2 through the first 10 games of the regular season. It was the best start for UNM under head coach Kelley McKee and tied the 1994 team for the fifth best start in UNM history. The best start was 10-0, set by the 1986, 1988 and 1990 teams. The best 10 starts to a season through 10 games are:
New Mexico’s Top-10 Best Starts
| Rk. | Record | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | 10-0 | 1986 |
| 1988 | ||
| 1990 | ||
| 4. | 9-1 | 1983 |
| 5. | 8-2 | 2005 |
| 1994 | ||
| 7. | 7-3 | 1981 |
| 1992 | ||
| 9. | 6-4 | 1991 |
| 2004 |
WIN STREAK MAKES TOP-10
New Mexico had a six-game win streak after winning three games at the University of Montana Invitational and three as the host of the Hilton Albuquerque Classic. The win streak tied the 1981, 1983, 1988 and 1989 teams for the ninth longest win streak in UNM history. The longest win streak in the program’s history is 16 games, strung together by the 1991 team from Oct. 11 through Dec. 6. Here is a complete list of the top-10 win streaks dating back to the 1980 season:
Longest UNM Win Streaks
| Rk. | Win Streak | Year | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 16 games | 1991 | 10/11-12/6 |
| 2. | 15 games | 1988 | 9/8-10/7 |
| 3. | 10 games | 1982 | 9/26-10/9 |
| 1986 | 9/5-9/26 | ||
| 1990 | 8/31-9/20 | ||
| 6. | 9 games | 1983 | 9/3-9/17 |
| 7. | 7 games | 1996 | 9/27-10/19 |
| 1981 | 11/5-12/4 | ||
| 9. | 6 games | 2005 | 9/9-9/17 |
| 1981 | 10/1-10/6 | ||
| 1983 | 9/24-10/2 | ||
| 1988 | 10/13-10/22 | ||
| 1989 | 9/16-10/7 | ||
| 1989 | 10/14-11/3 |
Senior Chelsea Sondrup is etching her name throughout the UNM career record books.
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SONDRUP SETS UNM BLOCKING RECORDS
Senior Chelsea Sondrup set a new UNM career blocking record at the Montana Invitational. Sondrup, who entered the tournament tied with Linda Archuleta (1980-82, ’84) for the record of 326, stuffed back 19, moving her career total to 345. She now has 381 career blocks.
Sondrup also holds the UNM career block assist record with 360. She broke the record of 252 held by Laurel Luman (1990-93) last year.
CHANGES ABOUND FOR UNM RECORD BOOK
Senior Chelsea Sondrup has already set two new career records and is looking to place her name on a few other lists. Sondrup is currently tied 9th on the all-time Blocks per game page, averaging 1.10 in her 346 games. She needs just 11 more matches under her belt to tie for 10th with 107 matches played and is just 25 games away from tying the 10th most games played (381). Sondrup could move up even higher than 10th on those lists but it is unlikely she could overtake the lead, needing 22 for the matches played record and 71 games played. Sondrup could also break onto the career points list, needing 148.5 to tie 10th place with 1,139.5.
Sophomore Samie Weber currently occupies the eighth best blocks per game average (1.14) in New Mexico’s history. With 157 total blocks in her career, she could crush the current record held by Sondrup with a projection of 410 provided she can maintain her current average.
Freshman Sarah Kwasigroch is second in the MWC in assists.
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Freshman Sarah Kwasigroch has gotten off to an unbelievable start as the setter for UNM. Through 48 games, Kwasigroch has dished out 543 assists, averaging 11.31 per game. Her current per game average is way above the previous record held by Jocelyn Funk, who averaged 10.07 apg. If Kwasigroch can maintain this average, she is set to accumulate over 1,200 assists this year and 5,000 over a four-year career. The 10th most assists at UNM is 1,490, which Kwasigroch should pass as a sophomore. The most assists in a career at New Mexico is 3,794 set by Janelle Torres from 1996-99.
Senior Nicole Ryan is extremely close to etching her name on the kills per game list. Ryan is currently averaging 3.40 kills per game. The 10th best avg. is held by Pauline Manser with 3.43. Ninth place is just one-hundredth of a point higher at 3.44 kills per game.
Junior Kelly Therkelsen should also break into the all-time block assists and total blocks records. Therkelsen is 18 block assists away from tying the 10th best total (205). With 16 games remaining in the 2005 season and a 1.21 blocks per game average, Therkelsen could make her move on the list this year. She is also 50 total blocks from the top-10, which Therkelsen should accumulate early next year if she maintains her current pace.
Junior Jennifer Heasty has recorded 57 service aces in just over two full years of competition. Averaging just over 25 per season, Heasty is on pace for 102 career aces. If she can reach that plateau, Heasty will sit eighth all-time in career service aces.
Junior Kelly Therkelsen made the Montana Invitiational and Hilton Classic all-tournament teams.
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RYAN, SONDRUP AND THERKELSEN MAKE TWO STRAIGHT ALL-TOURNEY TEAMS
Senior Chelsea Sondrup and junior Kelly Therkelsen made their second straight all-tournament team at the Hilton Albuquerque Classic. Sondrup was named the Hilton’s Most Valuable Player. Sondrup had a team-high 38 kills and 21 blocks, averaging a team-best .382 hitting percentage. Her 12 block assists against Oral Roberts was the second-most stuffed back in one match. The record (14) is also held by Sondrup.Therkelsen put down 34 kills with five assists, nine aces, 16 digs and 15 total blocks while hitting .225. Both made the University of Montana Invitational.
Senior Nicole Ryan earned her second consecutive bid to an all-tournament team on Sept.10 at the UM Invite. Ryan, who made the All-Comcast Lobo Invitational team, was named the Most Valuable Player of the Montana Invitational.
LOBOS’ TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIPS ON THE ROAD
Winning the tournament championship at Montana accomplishing something that hasn’t been done by the program in over a decade. The last time New Mexico won a tournament championship on someone else’s court was in 1993. The Lobos won the Buffalo Invitational after beating Pittsburgh (3-1), Buffalo (3-0) and Hofstra (3-0).
HISTORY LESSON
UNLV holds a 9-6 series advantage over New Mexico. The Lobos are 4-4 against the Rebels in Albuquerque and 2-5 at Las Vegas.
The last time UNM beat the Rebels was in Albuquerque on Nov. 6, 2003. UNLV has won two in a row.
New Mexico won four of its first six meetings with UNLV while the Rebels have won four of the last six against the Lobos.
San Diego State holds a 24-10 lead in the series with UNM. The Aztecs are 8-6 in Albuquerque, 13-4 in San Diego and 3-0 at neutral locations.
The last meeting between the two was Nov. 14, 2004 in Albuquerque. The Lobos won that game, 3-0 to end an 11-game losing streak to SDSU.
The previous five matches between SDSU and UNM have all ended 3-0.
LOBO SCOUTING REPORT
UNLV Rebels
UNLV is 5-8 overall and 1-1 in the Mountain West Conference. The Rebels are 2-4 at home, 1-1 on the road and 2-3 at neutral sites. UNLV is hitting .215 while its opponents average a .263 attack percentage. The only statistic the Rebels hold a better average than their opponents is in service aces (1.54 compared to 1.26).
Maria Aladjova holds the team’s best hitting percentage of everyday players (.268) and leads them in kills (167) and kills per game (3.55). Melody Nua averages 11.36 assists per game, dishing out 568 this season. Ashley Flahaven and Brittani Lumsden each have a team-high 19 service aces while Jada Walker had a team-high 207 digs. Flahaven averages a team-high 0.83 blocks per game but trails Lauren Miramontes by one total block for the team high (36).
San Diego State Aztecs
San Diego State enters the weekend 9-5 overall and 1-1 in the MWC. The Aztecs are 4-3 at home, 1-2 on the road and 4-0 at neutral locations. SDSU stops at Air Force before coming to New Mexico. As a team they are hitting .236 and average higher numbers than their opponents in every category except blocks.
Kristen Castillo’s .414 attack percentage leads the Aztecs and Melanie Greene’s 3.61 kills per game average is a team high. Castillo also leads the team in assists with 315 but splits time as the setter with Leah Lathrop, who has 246 assists. Alicia Waller has a team-high 22 service aces and Aime Cordeiro leads SDSU in digs (215). Lindsey Mahan has a season-high 47 blocks while Lindsey Noll averages a team-high 1.07 blocks per game.