After warm temperatures welcomed the Lobos two weeks ago at their first practice, Albuquerque has been greeted by a recent cold snap.
But, out on the sand, the Lobos are just beginning to heat up.
The New Mexico sand volleyball team is continuing its first-ever season as an intercollegiate sport as the anticipation of finally inaugurating the program in competition continues to increase.
The Lobos, under head coach Jeff Nelson, have been preparing physically and strategically during their first two weeks of practice as they build toward their season- and program-opening road swing next month in Phoenix.
“I’m seeing a lot of good things out of them,” Nelson said. “I think there’s an undertone that they’re excited. Right now, they’re working hard.”
New Mexico, which is one of 50 schools to sponsor the NCAA championship sport this year, is still figuring some things out, but the Lobos have improved since first getting into the sand two weeks ago.
With volunteer assistant coach Daniel Foo guiding the training of UNM’s first-ever class of sand volleyballers, the Lobos are beginning to develop and strengthen their sand legs.
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“Overall, I’m seeing a lot of improvement,” Nelson said. “They’re in great shape, working hard. Daniel’s done a great job with them, working on their fitness and different things.”
And with the development of the players, the basis of the team is coming into focus, as well.
While there’s still time to nail down a lineup before the first match March 8 vs. LSU, Nelson and his staff are already determining some of the pairings that the team will play in for the first few matches.
“We’re trying a lot of different partners right now, and that’s going well,” Nelson said. “We’re starting to narrow down some of our thoughts on who we’re going to pair up for the season. We’ve got 13 kids vying for 10 competitive spots, which is good.”
With a diverse and talented roster, Nelson and company have a lot at their disposal.
Before the first practice, Nelson tabbed six Lobos — Hannah Johnson, Ashley Kelsey, Devanne Sours, Julia Warren, Ashley Newman and Eastyn Baleto — as leaders, but there’s considerable depth on the roster.
It’s figuring out which players mesh best with each other that’s the tricky part.
“We’re seeing a lot of pairs that work really well and a few that don’t,” Nelson said. “But this is a good time for that.”
By the end of the week, Nelson said, he and his staff will start to make more decisions about pairings. And while it’s bound to be a fluid situation in the first year of the program, the process of determining the pairs is good for the team.
The competition among players to be in one of the five doubles ramps up the competition in practice, which just fuels the excitement surrounding the program.
“There’s a lot of excitement,” Nelson said. “I think they’re really excited and just kind of that question mark for that for first match, because none of us have ever done it.”
However, in less than two weeks, that question will be answered.
New Mexico opens its inaugural schedule March 8 in Phoenix vs. Grand Canyon and LSU before returning home to host GCU for the first-ever home sand volleyball event.
Follow New Mexico Sand Volleyball on Twitter and Instagram at @UNMSandVB