Oct. 25, 2008
By Richard Stevens, Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The San Diego Aztecs played like an improved team Saturday in Johnson Center. University of New Mexico coach Jeff Nelson said his Lobos did not, even though UNM swept the visitors from California, 3-0.
“I’m happy to get the win, but we are going to have to really crank it up a couple a notches in the coming weeks or we’re going to get our fannies handed to us, said Nelson after the 25-23, 25-23, 25-23 squeaker over SDSU.
“I think they surprised our team.”
Nelson said he stressed to his Lobos that the Aztecs were an improving team. Still, Nelson said he did not see the intensity, did not see the passion he wants his Lobos to carry into the back stretch of the season.
“I thought we played very, uh, I don’t know what the right word is,” he said. “I wouldn’t even say average. I thought we struggled a little bit and didn’t show much intensity. I think we thought they would roll over and die for us. They battled.
“We kind of pulled it out at the end of each game. We did the things you need to do to win games.”
One good thing to see at the end of any UNM match is senior Jeanne Fairchild going high above the net to attack the ball. All three sets Saturday ended on a Fairchild spike.
But there were other things that came in handy for the Lobos prior to the wins, things like two Anna Lehne blocks at the close of the third set that pulled the Lobos out of a 22-21 deficit and into a 23-22 lead. Those Lehne blocks were followed by a Fairchild block which pushed UNM up 24-22. Then came the Fairchild winner.
“Those blocks were exciting for me,” said Lehne. “I think they helped our team pick up the energy right there when we needed to. I was excited. I was yelling ‘Yes.'”
Lehne’s blocks were huge, but Nelson said that blocking was one of the aspects of the Lobos’ game that left him disappointed.
“I thought our blocking was slow and lacked intensity. I thought our floor defense was, as well,” he said. “I was disappointed that we didn’t dig more balls. Digging is usually just intensity.”
The win improved the Lobos to 7-3 in the Mountain West Conference and 17-4 on the season. The 17 wins are the most for the UNM program since the MWC was formed in 1999.
The Lobos next play at Utah this coming Thursday, Oct. 30, at 7 p.m. in Salt Lake City. The Utes beat UNM 3-1 in Johnson Center earlier this season.
“We’ll be going up there to change things around. Make things go the opposite way,” said Lehne.
The Lobos ended the sweep with 43 kills and 10 blocks. Fairchild had 15 kills and Jade Michaelsen had 36 assists. Gayle Tripp had 13 digs and Sarah Kwasigroch had 12.
The first set was not an easy win for the Lobos, although it appeared early that UNM would roll over the Aztecs as UNM jumped up 14-8. However, SDSU would not go away, just as the Aztecs wouldn’t go away for the entire match.
The Aztecs pulled close at 17-16. The Lobos stayed on top behind some Fairchild and Rose Morris spikes, but SDSU hung around and tied the game at 22-all. The Lobos took the lead 23-22 on a SDSU serve into the net and got the 25-23 win on a Fairchild spike that appeared to be going long, but was touched by an Aztec on the back row.
The Aztecs had 17 kills in the first set to 14 for UNM. SDSU had seven errors to four for UNM. The second set was similar to the first. Again, SDSU stayed close to the Lobos before a short run handed UNM a 17-12 lead. The Aztecs came back to trail 20-19 and even picked up a point on a scoring error which helped the Aztecs make it 22-21. UNM got a big block from Jade Michaelsen to make it 24-22 and Fairchild got the game-winner on another savage spike.
In the final game, the Atecs were up 18-16 and 21-18 before UNM rallied for the win.
Editor’s note: Richard Stevens is a former Associate Sports Editor and sports columnist for The Albuquerque Tribune. You can reach him at rstevens50@comcast.net. Previous articles are available at The Richard Stevens Corner.