New Mexico vs. CSUB/ASU/UA — Tempe, Ariz.
When: Friday-Saturday, April 10-11
Who: Bakersfield, Arizona State, Arizona
Where: The PERA Club in Tempe, Ariz.
For the third straight weekend — and the fourth this year — the Lobos are back in Arizona. And this time around, they’re looking to bring some heat to the desert.
The University of New Mexico sand volleyball team is continuing its inaugural season this weekend at the ASU Sand Volleyball Challenge as it takes on No. 10 Arizona, Bakersfield and host Arizona State.
After extending its losing streak to seven games last weekend, the Lobos (1-8) are looking to compete when they play the Wildcats (10-1), the Roadrunners (9-6) and the Sun Devils (4-8) at the PERA Club in Tempe.
“They’re all really good teams again and it should be fun,” head coach Jeff Nelson said. “But I do feel like we’re in a better place this weekend. … I’m looking for us to be a little tougher mentally, to compete better and to stay in the matches better.”
Last weekend, Arizona swept a two-match series against the Lobos in Tucson. And while New Mexico hasn’t won since beating fellow first-year program TCU on March 8, every match has been a learning experience.
Apart from the TCU match, the other eight matches have be against established programs, with all against teams that have been in the national polls during the season.
That has led to a handful of loss, but on the road to developing their own program, the Lobos know that was to be expected.
New Mexico has already played No. 18 Grand Canyon three times, No. 10 Arizona twice, No. 1 USC once and is adding to its ledger with No. 19 Bakersfield, another match against Arizona and second match against an Arizona State team that started the season receiving votes in the polls.
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“I think we played the kind of schedule that let us know what it’s going to take to win in the future,” Nelson said. “We didn’t go into this season with any expectations wins-or-loss wise.”
And while Nelson feels this year’s gauntlet of a schedule can translate into an improved on-court product in 2016, the Lobos still have a few more matches to close out a heralded debut season.
When the Lobos take the courts at the PERA Club, Nelson will turn to an increasingly veteran squad that, despite the growing experience, is still rather youthful.
A number of the teams, including No. 3 duo Eastyn Baleto and Julia Warren, have shown promise, but have leveled off during the Lobos’ current slide.
“I think a couple of kids have plateaued,” Nelson said, “and what we’ve talked to them about is working through it, pushing a little harder to get over that.”
No. 1 team of Ashley Kelsey and Hannah Johnson is one of those teams that is primed for a breakthrough. New Mexico’s top team the past two weekends, the duo has battled against some of the top doubles in the nation.
Moving to the No. 2 court is Devanne Sours and Chloe Crappell, while Baleto and Warren move from the twos court to the threes.
While Baleto and Warren soared to a 5-0 start to the season, they are one of the teams that has tapered off, having dropped their past four matches. A move down could help spur the tandem.
“I think that’s one of the team that has plateaued,” Nelson said. “We just talked yesterday about pushing a little harder to get over the hump.”
Ashley Newman, the team’s captain, and Lise Rugland will continue to partner up in the No. 4 doubles, with Maddie Mayfield and Jackie Baro in the fifth position.
On the other side of the net, the Lobos will face off against some familiar teams. But, in its first match, New Mexico will see a new foe.
It’s the first time this year that UNM is playing Bakersfield, a third-year program. Despite a 9-6 record, all of the Roadrunners’ losses have come against ranked teams, including No. 1 USC and then-No. 2 Pepperdine.
Match two features Arizona State, which after a 2-7 start has rebounded lately, including a shutout of the Lobos on March 28.
Standing at 4-8 heading into their home event, ASU has wins over TCU, Boise State and Division II Carson-Newman. But the second-year Sun Devils have played a strong slate, with contests against USC, Florida State and Georgia State.
Arizona has swept eight of its opponents — including a straight-set win over New Mexico last weekend — en route to its No. 10 ranking.
The Wildcats’ No. 1 team of Madi Kingdon and Kaitlyn Leary and No. 2 team of Madison and McKenna Witt have spearheaded Arizona’s 10-1 record with identical 13-1 records.
The third-year Wildcats have beaten the Lobos twice (5-0 and 4-1 last weekend in Tucson), as well as Boise State, LSU, TCU and Tulane. The Wildcats’ only loss is to 11th-ranked Nebraska.
The Lobos will open Friday at 5 p.m. MT against Bakersfield before playing Arizona State at 1 p.m. MT and Arizona at 4 p.m. MT at the PERA Club in Tempe on Saturday.
There will not be live scoring this weekend, but follow @UNMSandVB on Twitter to keep track of New Mexico. Check GoLobos.com Saturday evening for a full recap.