Nov. 5, 2008
Lobo Volleyball
Thursday: Lobos vs. Colorado State
When/Where: 7:30 p.m., Johnson Center
Promotion: Jam Johnson Night, Tickets $2
Saturday: Lobos vs. Wyoming, 1 p.m., Johnson Center
By Richard Stevens, Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
The Lobos have had their big moments before. If they make it to the NCAA Tournament, they’ll have some huge moments. But Thursday night in Johnson Center is one of those big and special times for an athlete and a team presented in the shape of the No. 13-ranked team in the nation.
So, are the Lobos good enough to win the moment?
“You have to teach your players to love these opportunities,” said Lobos coach Jeff Nelson.
The opportunity is the Colorado State Rams, the team the Lobos pushed against the ropes in Fort Collins, Colo., but failed to make enough plays down the stretch to keep the Rams on the run.
Now, the Lobos get the Rams on University of New Mexico turf. It’s Jam Johnson Night, and the Lobos’ emotions should be higher than Jeanne Fairchild on a running kill shot.
“Oh, we’re ready,” said junior Rose Morris. “This is a big opportunity for us. That’s what you play for. You train for the big game. You train for the big game and that’s definitely what this game is. That’s a completely accurate statement.”
The Rams don’t necessarily represent a win that could push the Lobos to the 2008 Mountain West Conference title. CSU is 9-1 and Utah is 9-2 and the Lobos are 8-4. UNM probably would be happy in holding off 6-5 UNLV and 6-6 TCU for third place in the MWC.
But the Lobos could use a signature win to impress the NCAA Selection Committee when it comes to dealing out at-large bids for NCAA play. Yeah, that would be great. But the Lobos also want a win over the Rams simply because the Lobos need to prove to themselves that they can whip a really, really good team.
“I’ve been proud of the way we’ve handled our big matches, all four of them,” said Nelson, referring to games against No. 3 Nebraska, No. 13 CSU and No. 24 Utah. “We’ve closed the gap big time, but we haven’t gotten a win.
“This is a great group of girls and they deserve it (a big win), but at the same time, you have to go earn it. You have to stay in the match and stay in each point and be in position to win at the end.”
The Lobos lost 0-3 at Nebraska, 2-3 at CSU and 1-3 in both losses to Utah. The Lobos’ loss to Utah in Johnson Center hit UNM hard because the Lobos didn’t hit the court with a lot of energy or a protect-our-house passion.
“We’re not worried about coaching emotion for this game,” Nelson said of CSU’s visit.
“We definitely aren’t going to come out flat,” said Morris. “The crowd is going to get into it and they always help us. But we’ve lost to so many good teams by just two or three points and it’s time for us to go out and finish a match and pick one of these teams off.
“Volleyball is a game of errors and the last time we played (CSU), we made more mistakes than they did. We know we can compete with them and them being at the top of the conference doesn’t scare us.”
The UNM/CSU game will be broadcast live on The Mtn. The game time has been pushed back 30 minutes to accommodate The Mtn’s broadcast of the MWC Women’s Soccer Tournament semifinals from Las Vegas, Nev.
The Lobos are 21-38 against CSU and 11-14 in Albuquerque. UNM has not beaten the Rams since Oct. 22, 2005. UNM is 1-25 against CSU since 1995.
UNM is paced by senior Jeanne Fairchild, who is ranked No. 3 in the NCAA and No. 1 in the MWC in kills at 4.89 per set. Jade Michaelsen tops UNM in assists with 11.01 per set. Junior Anna Lehne leads the front row with 1.34 blocks per set and Gayle Tripp averages 4.60 digs per set.
The Rams are led by led by Mekana Barnes, the 2007 MWC Player of The Year, who has a 3.24 kill average per set. The Rams’ other force at the net is Jaime Strauss, who averages 3.53 kills per set.
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.