Aug. 26, 2008
Up Next For Lobo Volleyball
Matches #1-3 — MCM Elegante Lobo Classic
Friday, Aug. 29 7 p.m. (MDT) vs. Central Arkansas
Saturday, Aug. 30 1 p.m. (MDT) vs. Idaho State & 7:30 p.m. (MDT) vs. Loyola Marymount
Johnson Center Albuquerque, N.M.
Live Stats, Audio and Video: Link on www.GoLobos.com … Former Lobo Michelle Miller will provide the play-by-play for all home matches in 2008.
MCM Elegante Lobo Classic: The Lobos will host the University of Central Arkansas, Idaho State University and Loyola Marymount University in the annual MCM Elegante Lobo Classic. The Lobos won the tournament in 2007 with a three-match sweep of Florida Atlantic, Grambling State, and San Jose State.This will be the first meeting between the Lobos and Central Arkansas. UNM is at an even 3-3 against Idaho State, and down 3-5 in the Loyola Marymount series. For a full schedule of events and links to live stats and webstreaming, go to www.GoLobos.com.
Up Next: The Lobos will spend the month of September on the road for 12 consecutive matches. The travel miles start racking up with a trip to the Washington D.C. area for the George Mason Patriot Invitational in Fairfax, Va. UNM will face Rutgers, LaSalle, St. Francis (PA), and host George Mason in the two-day tournament, Sept. 5-6.
QUICK HITS
Lobos Picked No. 4 … New Mexico was picked fourth in the 2008 Mountain West Conference Preseason Poll in early August. The Lobos finished one point behind BYU in third place. Colorado State was picked to win the league, followed by Utah in second place.
2008 Mountain West Conference Preseason Honors … Senior outside hitter Jeanne Fairchild was named to the 2008 All-MWC Preseason Team, while senior Gayle Tripp was selected as the top libero in the league.
Crowd Factor … Lobo volleyball crowds at the Johnson Center made a great impact on the UNM season in 2007. The Lobos had seven consecutive home crowds of over 1,000 fans to end the regular season. A season-high 1,506 watched the Lobos take on Colorado State on Saturday, Nov. 17. The overall season average was 847. During the eight MWC matches, it jumped to 1,158.
Lobo Volleyblog … Every Monday during the season a different Lobo will share her thoughts on the previous week in UNM volleyball. Blogs are currenlty available from Sarah Kwasigroch and Lisa Meeter.
LAST TIME OUT … Aug. 23, vs. Alumni, W, 3-0
The University of New Mexico volleyball team beat a squad of Lobo Alumni on Saturday night at the Johnson Center, 25-18, 25-11, 25-17. The two teams went on to play a fourth set with the Lobos winning, 25-23. The fourth set gave the officials, game staff and Lobos one more opportunity to get more match situation practice before the season begins on Aug. 29 with the MCM Elegante Lobo Classic.
“It was nice to play someone else instead of scrimmaging in practice,” said Lobo head coach Jeff Nelson. “Having (assistant coach) Lisa (Beauchene) setting against us and Vanessa (Shields) in the middle was a big challenge for us and it presented some scenarios that we hadn’t seen in practice yet.”
Junior Rose Morris led the 2008 Lobos with 11 kills, followed by sophomore Lisa Meeter with 10. Setters Jade Michaelsen and Sarah Kwasigroch split time with 29 and 23 assists, respectively. Libero Gayle Tripp led the defense with 16 digs, while middle blocker Allie Suiter led the team with 4 blocks.
For the Alumni, Vanessa Shields (1999-2002) led with 12 kills and 3 blocks. Adah Burke (2002-04) and Alex Tixier (2001) both had 11 digs. Lobo assistant coach Lisa Beauchene showed why she was a four-time all-Big Sky Conference selection for Sacramento State with 22 assists, 9 kills, and 16 digs to help out the former Lobos.
About Central Arkansas (Head Coach Steven McRoberts) … The UCA Sugar Bears return 10 players from the 2007 squad that finished 24-9 and set a school record for winning percentage … McRoberts is in his fourth season as head coach at UCA … Junior setter Robyn Smith and sophomore Chloe Smith were named to the Southland Conference Preseason Team. Both players have been the league’s Freshman of the Year. Robyn averaged 12.50 assists per set last season, while Chloe averaged 3.85 kills per set … The Sugar Bears are expected to finish in the top three in the East Division of the SLC … This is the first meeting between the two teams.
About Idaho State (Head Coach Chad Teichert) … Chad Teichert is in his first season as the head coach of the Bengals after a successful high school coaching career … ISU returns nine players, including three starters from the 2007 team that was 6-23 overall … Junior Emily Waldron is the top returning hitter with 265 kills and 11 double-doubles … The Bengals were picked eighth in the Big Sky Conference preseason poll.
All-Time vs. Idaho State (3-3; H: 1-1, A: 1-0, N: 1-1)Pre-1980 L10/10/80 W, 3-0 Albuquerque10/15/81 W, 3-0 Pocatello9/22/84 W, 2-0 Provo, Utah9/5/97 L, 1-3 Albuquerque8/30/03 L, 1-3 Fresno, Calif.
About Loyola Marymount (Head Coach Steve Stratos) … Steve Stratos is in his 19th season as the head coach at LMU, wrapping up his 18th consecutive winning season in 2007 … The Lions will rely on all-West Coast Conference pick Emily Day. Day, a senior, was among the league leaders in points (4.84) and kills (4.00) per set … LMU was selected to finish sixth in the WCC in the preseason poll.
All-TIme vs. Loyola Marymount (3-5; H: 1-1, A: 1-2, N: 1-2)11/3/83 W, 3-1 Los Angeles10/10/86 W, 3-0 Flagstaff, Ariz.9/7/91 L, 2-3 Long Beach, Calif.9/1/95 W, 3-1 Albuquerque9/6/96 L, 0-3 Los Angeles9/17/99 L, 0-3 Albuquerque9/8/01 L, 1-3 Los Angeles9/12/03 L, 0-3 Pullman, Wash.
An Olympic Connection … Former Lobo assistant coach “Jenny” Lang Ping served as the head coach of the United States National Volleyball Team that competed for a gold medal in Beijing over the weekend. Team USA finished the 2008 Olympics with a silver medal, coming up short against Brazil, 3-1. Lang Ping was an assistant for Blase Czerniakowski and Laurel Brassey from 1987-89 and 1993-93 at UNM. The native of Beijing already owns Olympic medals as a player and coach for China and was inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2002 culminating a career that established her as one of the finest female volleyball players ever. Currently, Lang Ping is a the only female head coach among the top 20 countries listed in the FIVB World Rankin, a rarity in international women’s volleyball circles.
Playing Against the Best … The Lobos have seven teams on the 2008 schedule that participated in the 2007 NCAA Tournament, including Mountain West Conference members BYU, Colorado State and UNLV. Three non-conference foes will be participating in the Ameritas Players Challenge – St. John’s, LSU, and host Nebraska. In-state rival New Mexico State also advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2007.