Dec. 15, 2005
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 envisioned.
Finally, that vision is becoming clear to the Lobo faithful. The team accomplished many feats that had not been achieved in almost a decade. They began with one of the best starts in the history of Lobo volleyball, going 8-2 over their first 10 games. It was the best start under McKee and tied the 1994 team for the fifth best start in the program’s 30-year history.
UNM strung together an impressive six-match win streak early in the season as well. The Lobos won three straight matches at the University of Montana Invitational and at their own Hilton Albuquerque Classic, claiming two tournament titles en route to the ninth best win streak, and the longest since 1996.
Even the tournament championship at the Montana Invitational accomplished something that hadn’t been done by New Mexico since 1993. It was the first tournament title claimed by the Lobos on the road in 12 years.
The Lobos made even more progress with great showings against BYU, Utah and Colorado State. The Lobos beat Utah, 3-2, on Sept. 24 in Albuquerque, ending a 17-match losing streak to the Utes that dated back to 1997. They topped Colorado State 3-1 on Oct. 22 at home, ending an 18-match losing streak. They just missed upsetting then-ranked 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. UNM also put up great fights against UNLV and San Diego State, falling just short in five games.
McKee set a new best with the win at TCU on Oct. 8, which signified the team’s 11th of the season. The victory was the most UNM had achieved under McKee, whose previous high was 10, set in her first year, 2002. The 11 wins also tied the most the program had earned since 1999.
The Lobos finished the season 14-14 overall, producing their first .500 season since 1996. The last time UNM had a winning record was in 1996, finishing 18-11. They have tied the team’s most wins since 1997, when they went 14-15 overall.
With all but three lettermen returning next season and another stellar recruiting class, the Lobos will continue their ascension to the top of the conference, surpassing more milestones in their hunt for New Mexico’s first MWC Championship.
Chelsea Sondrup ends her career atop the UNM and MWC record books.
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SONDRUP BREAKS INTO MWC RECORDS
While visiting San Diego State and UNLV, Sondrup broke into the top-5 of the MWC Career Blocks book. She sits fourth, passing Aspen McPartland of San Diego State’s 398 block assists and places fifth in total blocks, passing BYU’s Jackie Bundy’s 420. She also finished her career in fifth place on the all-time games played list, seeing time in 407. As one of the top blockers in the conference’s history, it seems impossible that she never received a MWC Player of the Week award or placed on the All-Conference team.
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 465 career blocks.
Sondrup also holds the UNM career block assist record with 433. She broke the record of 252 held by Laurel Luman (1990-93) last year. Sondrup is the only Lobo in the program’s history to ever record 400 blocks and one of just four to make 300.
CHANGES FOR CAREER RECORD BOOK
Senior Chelsea Sondrup set two new career records and etched her name on a few other lists. Sondrup is eighth on the all-time Blocks per game page, averaging 1.14 in her 407 games. She has the fifth most games played and tied sixth with 112 matches played. Sondrup also broke onto the career points list with finishing ninth with 1,188.5.
Junior Kelly Therkelsen broke into the all-time block assists at Utah on Oct. 14. She has quickly moved up the charts, now holding the fourth spot with 247. Therkelsen needs three blocks to take over third and six for second. Therkelsen is also tenth in total blocks with 253. She needs four to take over ninth and six to take over eighth.
Freshman Sarah Kwasigroch dished out 1,088 assist in just 100 games.
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Freshman Sarah Kwasigroch had an unbelievable start to her career as the setter for UNM. Through 100 games, Kwasigroch dished out 1,088 assists, averaging 10.88 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 4,300 in 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.
SEASON RECORDS FALL
Freshman Sarah Kwasigroch has placed her name in the season record book for assists and assists per game. She averaged 10.88 assists per game, placing her sixth. Kwasigroch dished out 1,088 assists in her first year as a Lobo, the fifth best production in one season in the program’s history.
Senior Chelsea Sondrup and junior Kelly Therkelsen are all over the blocking records. Sondrup surpassed her own record of 131, set in 2002, to set a new program best with 139. Therkelsen is right on her heels with 120, which leaves her third.
Sondrup set a new season record for total blocks with 152. Therkelsen is tied for fifth with 123.
Sondrup also posted the second best blocks per game average, 1.41. First place is 1.84 bpg, set by Sue Guinn in 1983. She is also on the list at fifth (1.25 in 2002) and tied at ninth (1.16 in 2004).
THERKELSEN EARNS ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT HONORS
Junior Kelly Therkelsen had a break-out season, climbing into the all-time blocking record books.
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Junior Kelly Therkelsen has been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VI volleyball team,as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Therkelsen, who garnered third team honors last year, had the highest GPA is the district, posting a 4.15 as a Political Science and Economics major.
Therkelsen has guided the Lobos to their best record (13-11) under head coach Kelley McKee and the program’s best record since 1996. She ranks seventh in the MWC in blocks per game and tied for the ninth most blocks in a single match with 10 vs. Wyoming on Oct. 20. Therkelsen broke into the all-time Block Assists record at UNM this year with 238, needs just 15 to take over second. She is also 10th all-time in total blocks with 244. Therkelsen is currently fourth on the season list for most blocks assists with 108. She needs just two more total blocks for 10th on the season list.
In order to be nominated for the CoSIDA All-Academic team, a student-athlete must be a sophomore in athletic and academic standing, have at least a 3.20 GPA and be a starter or important reserve on the team. Once nominated, a vote is taken by members of CoSIDA to determine who is named to the team.
ATOP THE MWC
New Mexico, finishing seventh in the Mountain West Conference regular season, ranks in the top two-thirds of the conference in four of the eight statistical categories kept track of by the MWC. The Lobos are second in service aces (1.85 per game). They are fourth in blocks (2.68) and opponent hitting percentage (.200 avg.). UNM tied for the fifth best overall win percentage (.500 avg.). What’s most impressive is that UNM has achieved success despite being picked to finish eighth in the MWC Preseason Poll.
Individually, three different Lobos place on the conference’s top-10 leaderboard. Senior Chelsea Sondrup on the list twice, placing third in blocks, averaging 1.39 per game and eighth in hitting percentage with a .289 avg. Freshman Sarah Kwasigroch stands sixth in assists, averaging 10.88 per game and Therkelsen is ninth in blocks per game (1.13).
As a team, the Lobos hold the best hitting percentage for an individual game in the MWC, hitting .452 against Delaware State. They posted the fourth most aces of any team in the conference with 16 against Air Force on Nov. 11. The Lobos tied for the sixth most blocks in a game, registering 19 vs. Wyoming on Oct. 20, and the 10th most blocks on Sept. 16 with 18.5 vs. Oral Roberts.
Sondrup is tied for the most blocks in a game with 12 against Oral Roberts and 12 against Utah on Sept. 24. Senior Nicole Ryan is fifth for most attempts in a game with 66 at TCU and tied for sixth in most kills in a game with 24 at TCU. Sondrup recorded the seventh best attack percentage in a game this year, hitting .650 against San Diego State at home and recorded the seventh most blocks with 11 vs. Wyoming. Sondrup and junior Kelly Therkelsen tied for the ninth most blocks with 10 against Montana and Wyoming, respectively.
ATTENDANCE SPIKE
The 2005 team drew over 9,000 fans, always making time to sign autographs following the games.
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The Lobos brought in a total of 9,056 fans over 15 home matches in 2005, the highest under head coach Kelley McKee and the most since the team played in The Pit. They averaged 604 per match, also a record for McKee’s team. The last team to draw better than these numbers was the 1998 team, with a season total of 10,193 for a 784 per match average.
TEAM TOPS CHARTS
New Mexico topped its block assist season record, posting 499 in 2005. The previous record was 480, set in 2002. Head coach Kelley McKee was also the coach of the team who produced the third best total, 462 in 2004.
The Lobos served up 202 aces this year, the third most in the program’s 30-year history. The last time a team moved onto this chart was in 1994, when they posted 194. The top two spots belong to the 1980 and 1981 teams, which recorded 215 and 292, respectively.
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.