Sept. 3, 2008
Up Next For Lobo Volleyball
Matches #4-7 — George Mason Patriot Invitational
Friday, Sept. 5 11 a.m. (MDT) vs. Rutgers & 3 p.m. (MDT) vs. LaSalle
Saturday, Sept. 6 10 a.m. (MDT) vs. St. Francis (PA) & 4 p.m. (MDT) at George Mason
George Mason Fieldhouse Fairfax, Va.
Live Stats: Links available on www.GoLobos.com.
George Mason Patriot Invitational: The Lobos have played this weekend’s four opponents a total of one time. UNM is 1-0 against Rutgers, a neutral site 3-0 win on Sept. 13, 1997 at Iowa State. It will be the first meeting between the Lobos and LaSalle, St. Francis (PA) and George Mason. The trip to Fairfax begins a month on the road for 12 consecutive matches.
Up Next: The travel miles continue to rack up with a trip to Lincoln, Neb. for the Ameritas Players Challenge hosted by the University of Nebraska. UNM will face St. John’s in the first round on Sept. 5, then LSU or Nebraska on Sept. 6.
QUICK HITS
Mileage Rewards … The Lobos hope to rack up some wins in September to go along with the frequent flyer miles. The first week will be 3,744 roundtrip miles to and from Fairfax.
Crowd Factor … Lobo volleyball fans at Johnson Center were solid for the first week of the season. An average of over 600 fans came out for the six matches of the MCM Elegante Lobo Classic on Aug. 29-30. The Lobos will not return to the friendly confines of Johnson Center until Oct. 2 vs. BYU on The Mtn.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.
Tournament Win and Honors … The Lobos won the MCM Elegante Lobo Classic with wins over Central Arkansas, Idaho State and Loyola Marymount. Gayle Tripp was named the tournament MVP and was joined by teammates Jeanne Fairchild, Anna Lehne and Jade Michaelsen on the all-tournament team.
Lobo Volleyblog … Every Monday during the season a different Lobo will share her thoughts on the previous week in UNM volleyball. This week’s blog is by freshman outside hitter Rachel Barber.
About New Mexico (3-0) … The Lobos are won the 2008 MCM Elegante Lobo Classic with wins over Central Arkansas (3-0), Idaho State (3-0) and Loyola Marymount (3-0) … Libero Gayle Tripp was named the tournament MVP … Jeanne Fairchild, Anna Lehne and Jade Michaelsen were also named to the all-tournament team … Fairchild leads the team with 5.00 kills per set … Lehne leads in blocks with 1.89 per set … Michaelsen averages 11.75 assists per set … Tripp passed 50 digs for 5.56 per set.
About Rutgers (0-3; Head Coach CJ Werneke) … The Scarlet Knights are 0-3 on the season after losing to Binghamton, Northern Arizona and Akron at the Hilton Garden Inn/Northern Arizona Invitational … This is CJ Werneke’s first season as the head coach at Rutgers. He spent the past six seasons as the head coach at Fairfield University … Rutgers has four players averaging over two kills per set, led by sophomore Emma Chrystal … Kallie Pence leads the team with 9.50 assists per set … Jamie Godfrey is averaging 3.22 digs per set, while Hannah Curtis leads the team with 1.38 blocks per set.
All-Time vs. Rutgers (1-0; H: 0-0, A: 0-0, N: 1-0)9/13/97 W, 3-0 Ames, Iowa
About LaSalle (1-2; Head Coach Dave Stever) … The Explorers are 1-2 after the season-opening LaSalle Invitational against Lafayette, Rider and Northern Colorado … Dave Stever is in his sixth season at LaSalle … Christa Dominick leads LaSalle with 2.90 kills per set … Setting duties are split between Kourtney Clark (4.22 ps) and Carly Conlon (4.78 ps) … Rachel Stemper leads the team in digs with 3.00 per set … This is the first meeting between the two teams.
About Saint Francis (PA) (1-3; Head Coach Chuck Mullen) … The Red Flash began the Chuck Mullen era with a 1-2 performance against Marist, Duquesne and Loyola (Md.) in the Duquesne Tournament. Saint Francis also had a loss at Robert Morris on Saturday night … Kristin Butler and Shirley Miller are two of the top hitters for the Red Flash … Rikki Myers and Alexa Ebert are splitting time at setter … This is the first meeting between the two teams.
About George Mason (0-3; Head Coach Pat Kendrick) … The Patriots are 0-3 after the D.C. Volleyball Challenge over the weekend. GMU lost to Georgetown, George Washington and American in the tourney … Pat Kendrick is 396-322 in her 24th season at GMU … Rebecca Walter leads the Patriots with 3.27 kills per set, while Fernanda Bartels leads with 8.82 assists per set … Three Patriots average 2.50 digs or more per set – Walter, Bartels and Kelly McCarter.