ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico volleyball team put together a 3-0 sweep of UTEP in its first exhibition of the spring season on Saturday in Johnson Gym.
It was a snowy day here in Albuquerque. All of campus was closed but that didn’t stop the Lobo volleyball squad from getting in the warm gym.
The Lobos started off the day with many practice drills before taking on the Miners. Once the practice drills concluded the two teams played five sets but the Lobos took the first three by scores of 25-20, 25-22 and 25-17.
“All of players got a lot of playing time and I thought we played really steady,” said head coach Jeff Nelson. “Devanne Sours looked good offensively at the net. Julia Warren looked good in the back court. Hannah Johnson was really steady and offensively, Skye Gullatt looked good at the net.”
One of the things that the Lobos have been working on this spring is serving tough and it showed on Saturday.
“I thought we served really well,” said Nelson. “We were aggressive and we made our game easier by serving tough and puttin the ball in good places.”
Although the Lobos took the first three sets, the two teams went on to play two final practice sets to 15 points. The Lobos took the first one 15-10 but fell in a close second 15-point set 15-13.
The Lobos will be looking towards it’s first sand volleyball season as there are nine players that are crossing over from indoor to outdoor. Their first competition is coming up next weekend as they travel to Phoenix, Arizona to take on LSU and Grand Canyon.