Sept. 30, 2008
Tickets Still Available for BYU and Utah, Oct. 2 and 4
Up Next For Lobo Volleyball
Match #15 — vs. BYU
Thursday, Oct. 2 7 p.m. (MDT)
Johnson Center Albuquerque, N.M.
The Mtn. (Comcast channel 276 / DirecTV channel 616)
Sponsored by Route 66 Casino Hotel
Live Stats, Video and Audio: Links available on www.GoLobos.com.
Lobos on The Mtn.: Thursday night’s match will be the first of two televised home matches for the Lobos. Anne Marie Anderson and Amy Gant will call the action for The Mtn. on Thursday.
UNM vs. BYU: The Lobos are 9-61 against BYU in a series that dates back to 1970. UNM has won two of the last four meetings between the two teams. The Cougars ended UNM’s 2007 season with a 3-2 showing in the quarterfinals of the MWC Tournament on Nov. 22. The two teams split their regular season matches with each team winning on the road.
Up Next: The Lobos host Utah on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 1 p.m. in Johnson Center.
QUICK HITS
20th Anniversary Lobo League … The Lobo League, a local recreational volleyball league operated by the Lobo volleyball program, is celebrating its 20th Anniversary on Thursday night at the Lobos vs. BYU match. Lobo League is the third-largest league in North America. Lobo League members can contact Lobo League Director Dave Buchholz at 277-2742 for more information.
Greeks At The Game … The UNM Greeks will be in attendance at Thursday night’s match-up with BYU. There will be a special T-shirt giveaway for all Greeks in attendance.
Lobo Luau on Thursday … Lobo volleyball fans showing up in Hawaiian attire at Thursday night’s match against BYU, get in for $1.
Route 66 Casino Hotel … Route 66 Casino Hotel is sponsoring Thursday night’s match and will be giving away 200 hats to the loudest fans.
Fairchild Leads MWC … Senior All-America candidate Jeanne Fairchild continues to lead the Mountain West Conference in kills (4.50 ps) and points (4.91 ps) this season. Fairchild ranks eighth in the nation in kills per set.
Lobo Volleyblog … This week’s blog is from junior outside hitter Rose Morris.
About New Mexico (12-2, 2-1 MWC) … The Lobos finished their 11-match September road trip with a 9-2 record … UNM is 2-1 to start conference play following Saturday afternoon’s 3-0 win at UNLV … All-America candidate Jeanne Fairchild leads the Lobos with 4.50 kills per set, while sophomore Jade Michaelsen leads the setters with 10.76 assists per set … Defensively, junior Anna Lehne leads the front row with 1.21 blocks per set, while senior Gayle Tripp runs the back row with 4.69 digs per set … Lehne also has the best hitting percentage among everyday players at .330 … Senior Sarah Kwasigroch and Michaelsen lead the Lobos with 11 service aces each … UNM leads the Mountain West Conference in opponent hitting percentage, service aces and assists … UNM did not drop a set to start the season at 24-0, a school record. The NCAA record is 105 consecutive by Florida in 2003 … The 8-0 season start ranks fourth-best in program history … The Lobos are racking up travel miles this season. UNM’s mileage tally so far is 8,375 miles. Add on the 13,790 miles from the trip to Argentina at the beginning of Summer Break and the Lobos have logged 22,165 miles from May 27-Sept. 27, 2008.
About No. 21 BYU (9-3, 2-1 MWC) … The Cougars are tied for second with UNM at 2-1 in MWC play … Shay Goulding is in her first season as head coach at BYU … BYU jumped three places in the poll after their AFA win last week … Bryn Porter leads BYU with 3.22 kills per set, while Rachel Dyer has the best hitting percentage at .353 … Kiana Rogers is the Cougars lead setter with 9.78 assists per set … Ashton Hosford leads the front row defense with 1.38 blocks per set, while Morgan Lloyd leads the back row with 3.38 digs per set.
All-Time vs. BYU (9-61; H: 5-26, A: 4-27, N: 0-8)
(Check out the full game notes package for the list of all 70 series matches)
Michaelsen Named Co-Player of the Week … Setter Jade Michaelsen was named the Mountain West Conference Co-Player of the Week on Monday along with CSU’s Tessa Nelson. It is the first weekly honor of Michaelsen’s career. Michaelsen, a 5-11 sophomore from Tucson, Ariz., led New Mexico to a 2-0 record in conference play last week with three-set sweeps of San Diego State and UNLV. Against SDSU, she had 36 assists to go along with a season-best five kills and a .364 hitting efficiency. Michaelsen also had five digs and one block vs. the Aztecs. In the Lobos’ victory over UNLV, she tallied a .333 hitting percentage (4-0-12), 33 assists and season-highs in digs (7), blocks (4.0) and service aces (2). The win ended an eight-match losing streak to the Rebels and marked the first victory for UNM in Las Vegas since the 2000 season. On the week, Michaelsen averaged 11.50 assists, 2.00 digs, 1.50 kills and 0.83 blocks per set, while turning in a .348 hitting percentage (9-1-23).
Fairchild Closing In On 1,000 Kills … Senior outside hitter Jeanne Fairchild moved closer to reaching the 1,000-kill career plateau with 13 kills at San Diego State. Now, she needs 35 kills to join the 1,000-kill club. Fairchild will need 158 kills to crack the top five on the UNM career kills list.
UNM Career Kills
1. Tania Gooley 1,579 1991-94
2. Maria Gurreri 1,473 1987-90
3. Pauline Manser 1,229 1988-91
4. Kim Hicks 1,131 1980-81, `83
5. Amber Smith 1,122 1996-99
Closing In: Jeanne Fairchild 965 2006-present
1,000 Digs by Tripp … Senior libero Gayle Tripp needs 151 digs to become the Lobos career leader, moving past Sharon Browning (1,504; 1989-92). Tripp moved into second place on the New Mexico career digs list in 2007 during Game Two of the Nov. 17 match against Colorado State. Tripp joined the UNM 1,000-Dig Club on Saturday, Oct. 13, against UNLV. She now has 1,354 career digs.
UNM Career Digs
1. Sharon Browning 1,504 1989-92
2. Gayle Tripp 1,354 2005-present
3. Tania Gooley 1,113 1991-94
4. Alicia Bergmann 1,059 1992-95
5. Maria Gurreri 1,048 1987-90
Gretchen Gegenfurtner 1,048 1993-96
MWC Career Digs
1. Jada Walker, UNLV 2,055 2004-07
2. Aimee Cordeiro, SDSU 1,975 2004-07
3. Connie Dangerfield, Utah 1,570 2003-04, `06-07
4. Gayle Tripp 1,354 2005-present
5. Calli Corley, TCU 1,351 2005-07