Nov. 18, 2008
Up Next For Lobo Volleyball
Match #27 — vs. TCU
Friday, Nov. 21 7 p.m. (MST)
Johnson Center Albuquerque, N.M.
Live Stats, Audio and Video: Links available on www.GoLobos.com. Former Lobo Michelle Miller will call the action for the webcast.
UNM vs. TCU: The Lobos will end Mountain West Conference action the way they started – facing 2008 travel partner TCU. The Lobos hold a 6-3 advantage over the Horned Frogs in the young series. In 2007, each team won on its home court. TCU won the first meeting this season in Fort Worth, 3-2.
Up Next: The Lobos wrap up the regular season when they host the Comcast Challenge, Nov. 28-29. UNM will face Rio Grande rival New Mexico State at 6 p.m. on Nov. 28, then finish up with Virginia Commonwealth on Nov. 29 at 3 p.m., all at Johnson Center. NMSU and VCU will play each other on Thanksgiving Day in Las Cruces.
QUICK HITS
Fairchild Named MWC Player of the Week for 3rd Time … The MWC named Jeanne Fairchild Player of the Week on Nov. 17 for her 16 kill performance at Air Force on Nov. 13. The senior All-America candidate continues to lead the Mountain West Conference in kills (4.80 ps) and points (5.15 ps) this season. Fairchild ranks third in the nation in kills per set this week, just .29 away from Mackenzie Angner of South Dakota State in second at 5.09 ps. The Albuquerque native reached the 1,000-kill career mark at UNM on Oct. 4 against Utah with her final kill of the third set. Fairchild ranks fourth on the UNM all-time career kills list with 1,185 kills.
Lobos Among Tops In Attendance … New Mexico stayed at 21st in the national attendance rankings this week. UNM is averaging 1,547 fans over the 10 home matches of the season. The Lobos’ season-high 2,256 fans showed up on Nov. 6 against CSU. The Lobos are second in the MWC behind Colorado State in 10th with 2,387 fans per match.
20 Wins … Check … The Lobos marked off another task on their 2008 To-Do List as they work towards an NCAA at-large bid. UNM reached the 20-win mark on Nov. 13 with a 3-0 victory over Air Force to record the Lobos’ first 20-win season since 1994. It is just the ninth time UNM has recorded 20 wins in the history of the program.
Lobo Volleyblog … This week’s blog is from junior middle blocker Anna Lehne of Pueblo, Colo.
About New Mexico (20-6, 10-5 MWC) … The Lobos are holding on to third place in the MWC, following Thursday’s 3-0 win over Air Force … All-America candidate Jeanne Fairchild leads the Lobos and the MWC with 4.80 kills and 5.15 points per set, while sophomore Jade Michaelsen leads UNM setters with 10.84 assists per set … Defensively, junior Anna Lehne leads the front row with 1.31 blocks per set, while senior Gayle Tripp runs the back row with 4.63 digs per set … Fairchild and Lehne are each hitting .305 … Michaelsen and freshman Allison Buck lead the team with 19 aces each. Tripp follows with 17 … 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 … UNM finished their 11-match September road trip with a 9-2 record … The Lobos are racking up travel miles this season. UNM added 790 miles last week travelling to Colorado Springs. The final regular season mileage tally is 11,669 miles. Add on the 13,790 miles from the trip to Argentina at the beginning of Summer Break and the Lobos have logged 25,459 miles from May 27-Nov. 14, 2008 … UNM ended an 8-match losing streak against UNLV on Sept. 27 and won for the first time in Vegas since 2000 with a 3-0 sweep … The Lobos won for the first time in Laramie since 2001 with a 3-0 sweep of Wyoming on Oct. 9 … With the Nov. 1 win at BYU, the Lobos have won the season series against the Cougars for the first time since 1991 … It is also the first time since 1997 that UNM has swept the UNLV season series and since 2000 to sweep the Wyoming season series.
About TCU (20-9, 9-6 MWC) … The Horned Frogs are currently in fourth place in the MWC after Saturday’s 3-0 win over Air Force … TCU leads the MWC in service aces per set behind freshman Megan Munce’s 0.43 per set clip … Three Frogs rank in the MWC top-10 in hitting percentage – Christy Hudson, Kourtney Edwards, and Devon Kirk … Lauren Otto is the kill leader with 2.94 per set … Nirelle Hampton is the lead setter with 9.68 assists per set … Edwards is the top blocker with 1.14 per set, while Katelyn Blackwood leads the back row with 3.91 digs per set.
All-Time vs. TCU (6-3; H: 4-0, A: 2-3, N: 0-0)
Click on the Game Notes link for Team Comparison and Full listing of All-Time Results vs. TCU
Fairchild Named To ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District Team … UNM senior Jeanne Fairchild was named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District Six Volleyball Second Team on Nov. 6 by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The Albuquerque native is sporting a 3.52 cumulative grade point average in Communications and Journalism at the University of New Mexico, while leading the Lobos to their winningest season since 1994.
Winning Ways … New Mexico’s 20 overall wins are the highest total by a Lobo team since 1994. UNM is 10-5 in MWC action and has the most conference wins by the Lobos since the MWC formed in 1999. It is also the most conference wins for the Lobos since 1996.
UNM Most Overall Wins
1. 1983 – 28
2. 1981 – 26
3. 1988 – 25
4. 1991 – 23
5. 1990 – 22
1989 – 22
7. 1982 – 21
8. 1994 – 20
2008 – 20
10. 1996 – 18
1993 – 18
1992 – 18
UNM Most Conference Wins
1. 1996 – 13
2. 1991 – 12
3. 1988 – 10
2008 – 10
5. 1994 – 9
1989 – 9
7. 1993 – 8
1981 – 8
9. 2007 – 7
1992 – 7
1990 – 7
MWC Players of the Week … Jeanne Fairchild earned her third Mountain West Conference Player of the Week honor of the 2008 season on Nov. 17 for her 16-kill performance against Air Force on Nov. 13. For Fairchild, it is the fourth weekly honor of her career.
Fairchild picked up her second Mountain West Conference Player of the Week honor of the season on Oct. 27 for her performance against UNLV and San Diego State.
Setter Jade Michaelsen was named the Mountain West Conference Co-Player of the Week on Sept. 29 along with CSU’s Tessa Nelson. It is the first weekly honor of Michaelsen’s career.
Michaelsen was the second Lobo named to receive the weekly honor this season. Jeanne Fairchild was named MWC Player of the Week on Sept. 8.
It is the first time that UNM has had multiple MWC Players of the Week selected in one season. UNM players have only been selected five times in the league’s 10-year history.
Fairchild Joins Top Five … Senior outside hitter Jeanne Fairchild reached the 1,000-kill career plateau with 24 kills against Utah on Oct. 4. Fairchild moved into the Top Five on the UNM career kills list against BYU on Nov. 1, finishing up in fourth place. She now has 1,185 career kills and needs 45 kills to move into third place.
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. Jeanne Fairchild – 1,185 – 2006-present
5. Kim Hicks – 1,131 – 1980-81, `83
Passer Extraordinaire Tripp … Senior libero Gayle Tripp needed 17 digs to become the Lobos’ career leader and got 20, moving past Sharon Browning (1,504; 1989-92). Tripp took over the top spot in the fourth set of the Nov. 6 match against Colorado State. Tripp joined the UNM 1,000-Dig Club on Saturday, Oct. 13, 2007, against UNLV. She now has 1,546 career digs and needs 25 to move pass Utah’s Connie Dangerfield on the MWC career digs list.
UNM Career Digs
1. Gayle Tripp – 1,546 – 2005-present
2. Sharon Browning – 1,504 – 1989-92
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, UNM – 1,546 – 2005-present
5. Calli Corley, TCU – 1,351 – 2005-07
Tripp Can Serve, Too … Senior Gayle Tripp is also closing in on the Top-5 UNM career service aces list. With two aces against Air Force on Nov. 13, Tripp has 106 service aces over her four-year career at UNM. She needs four to take over fifth place on the UNM career list.
UNM Career Service Aces
1. Terri Nielson – 193 – 1980-83
2. Jocelyn Funk – 119 – 1983-86
Alicia Bergmann – 119 – 1992-95
4. Jo Anne O’Connell – 115 – 1982-85
5. Tania Gooley – 109 – 1991-94
Closing In: Gayle Tripp – 106 – 2005-present