Nov. 26, 2008
Lobo Volleyball
What: Comcast Lobo Challenge
Thursday: Virginia Commonwealth at New Mexico State, 7 p.m.
Friday: Lobos vs. New Mexico State, 6 p.m., Johnson Center
Saturday: Lobos vs. VCU, 3 p.m., Johnson Center
Quick Fact: The NCAA Selection Show is 8 p.m. Sunday (MST) on ESPNU
By Richard Stevens — Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
A Lobo-Aggie battle doesn’t really need much more than those two basic ingredients. Throw a Lobo at an Aggie and it becomes a turf thing; a not-always-friendly skirmish motivated by culture, roots, history and even geography. It is North vs. South.
“It’s a pride thing,” said Lobo senior Gayle Tripp. “Growing up in New Mexico, you are either a Lobo or an Aggie and I’m obviously a Lobo.”
Said senior Jeanne Fairchild, a product of Albuquerque’s St. Pius X: “I’m from Albuquerque and I’m a Lobo. I’ve never beaten them. It’s my senior year and I want to go out with a bang. Beating New Mexico State on our court would be another cherry on top.”
There will be a lot of drama and a lot on the line when the Lobos and Aggies meet at the net at 6 p.m. Friday in Johnson Center.
Both teams are looking for at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament.
The Lobos don’t want to be the first UNM team to give up points to NMSU in the annual Rio Grande Rivalry, a race UNM leads 7.5 points to zero.
The Aggies don’t want to be the first NMSU team to lose to the Lobos since the 2002 season. The Aggies ride a nine-match win streak over Lobos into Johnson Center. The set edge in the past seven matches is 21-to-3 favoring Aggies.
You want more? OK, in Friday’s skirmish between Lobos and Aggies, there is a rivalry within a rivalry between two of the top liberos in the Southwest: Lobo Gayle Tripp vs. Aggie Krystal Torres.
Simply put: Tripp is tired of losing to Torres.
“Her team (Mayfield High) beat my team (Rio Rancho High) in the state championship game my senior year,” said Tripp. “And I’ve never beaten the Aggies in four years.”
Oh, yeah, this is going to be a good one. The Lobos are 21-6 and finished the Mountain West Conference in third place behind champion Utah and runner-up Colorado State. The Aggies are 23-8 and took the Western Athletic Conference’s No. 1 seed into the WAC tournament before falling 3-1 in the title game to No. 6-ranked Hawaii in Honolulu.
A loss to the Lobos probably wouldn’t hurt No. 25-ranked NMSU’s at-large hopes as much as a win over NMSU would help the Lobos’ at-large bid. Both teams look to be locks, but UNM coach Jeff Nelson is always willing to pad the Lobos’ resume.
“I feel we should be in,” said Nelson. “I think our conference is deserving of three or four bids. I think being in that top group (top three in MWC) will bode well for us. But I think getting a couple more wins and winning out would be a great boost for us.”
A win over the Aggies would look sweet on UNM’s credentials for postseason play. And a win over Virginia Commonwealth wouldn’t look bad either. VCU is 19-11 and 10-4 in the Colonial Athletic Association. But first things first: the Aggies.
“When you grow up in this area, you are conditioned to want to beat the Aggies,” said Tripp.
Said Fairchild: “I grew up being surrounded by the rivalry. I remember one time going down to New Mexico State to train for a regional team and it just felt weird being down there on their court.”
Lobo sophomore Taylor Hadfield put it another way. She said the Lobos from New Mexico soil are “out of their minds” for the visit from the Aggies.
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.