By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
They soon will leave their family of Lobos for different reasons, on different paths. However — for Chantale Riddle and Elsa Krieg — there is a shared sameness in the bitter-sweet departure from New Mexico volleyball.
There is the thankfulness for friends gained and lessons learned. But, as it is for almost all athletes, there is the tinge of sadness as you look over one shoulder at what you leave behind – while you look forward at new horizons of opportunity.
Riddle and Krieg rode different paths as Lobos. They both came into Jeff Nelson’s program as highly-sought-after recruits with great promise at the net. Riddle will leave New Mexico as the program’s all-time leader in kills and points. Krieg leaves with two scars on her knee and one another on the way.
But they are equals in what they obtained as Lobos.
“The bonding that comes with a team is something I’ve had most of my life and it’s so important to me,” said Krieg. “I have friends I can go to anytime on this team and I know they will always be there for me. I don’t think that will ever end.
“I’ll miss all those special moments on and off the court. You go through so many things, so many ups and downs, with your teammates. I got to go through all this with my best friends. I’ll never be able to do that again.”
Said Riddle: “When you are younger, you don’t think about your college career ending and you don’t think about all the things you will be leaving behind. When you are a senior and you see it ending, you value the time and the games you have left. The total experience is really unforgettable.”
The 6-foot-2 Krieg has a year of eligibility left. She could return for the season of 2015-16 and give it another go. But would her knees oblige her? She will have a third knee surgery in the off-season and the message for Krieg was painful in more ways than one.
Time to quit.
“It got to the point where the body was taking too much of a toll,” said Krieg. “I don’t have enough time to come back from another surgery.”
Krieg got in lots of time as a Lobo. She played 22 matches as a freshman, 11 as a sophomore (before surgery), and 27 as a junior in 2013. She got in 35 sets this season with 30 kills.
Riddle’s career at UNM really has no equals because when it comes to the Lobo career lists for points, kills and attacks – all other Lobos are below Riddle on that list. The All-American was brought into Jeff Nelson’s program expecting to be exceptional – and that’s what she did.
And while Riddle’s time at UNM has been void of major injury, she will leave this program carrying the same emotions as Krieg.
“This is family for me,” said Riddle. “It’s your Lobo family, but you get from it a lot of the same things you get from your own family. This team has given me people and coaches and teammates, and even parents of teammates, who have always been there for.
“I’m not just leaving a team. I’m leaving a family and that’s hard for me.”
Krieg’s immediate future includes more school. Riddle will test the waters of professional volleyball hoping to land a job in Puerto Rico. She says the lessons learned from being a collegiate athlete will help her along the professional road.
“Being an athlete is like having a job in college,” said Riddle. “You go to class and then you go to work. We practice three hours a day and sometimes we are on the road from Wednesday to Sunday. You have to learn how to grow up, learn how to manage your time.
“My advice to younger players is to take into consideration how much the effort you put into a sport can influence your future. There is so much you can get out of athletics, but you have to be willing to put in the work.”
Riddle and Krieg both put in the work. They walked similar paths to become Lobos and they will leave for different futures. But they leave with a similar gift.
“In the end, I think the relationships you formed are the big thing, the most important thing,” said Riddle.