Days Inn and Suites Lobo Invitational — Albuquerque, N.M.
When: CSUN, Friday at 7:30 p.m.; LIU Brooklyn, Friday at 10:30 a.m.; LSU, Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Where: WisePies Arena aka The Pit, Albuquerque, N.M.
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Match Notes | CSUN Live Stats | LIU Brooklyn Live Stats | LSU Live Stats
New Mexico volleyball hasn’t played a game in The Pit in three years. But that won’t faze the Lobos this weekend — they know they’ll have the homecourt advantage.
“Home is home,” UNM head coach Jeff Nelson said. “Home is where your fans are.”
New Mexico closes out tournament play this Friday and Saturday at the Days Inn and Suites Lobo Invitational as they host CSUN, LIU Brooklyn and LSU at WisePies Arena aka The Pit for a four-team, round-robin tournament.
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The 5-4 Lobos — bumped from their usual home, Johnson Center, due to a production of “The Book of Mormon” at nearby Popejoy Hall — are looking forward to playing in The Pit, where they’ll face three teams that have combined two wins among them in 2015.
“It’ll be great to be in there,” Nelson said. “I think it’ll be what we make it and I think that we’re excited.”
This weekend is also shaping up to be a fan-friendly tournament. Parking is free for all six matches, and the Lobos are running a number of promotions for each of their matches.
For Friday’s 7:30 p.m. match against CSUN, first responders are eligible for $3 tickets, while fathers with daughters can receive $3 tickets for Saturday’s 1 p.m. match vs. LIU Brooklyn.
But New Mexico’s tilt with LSU on Saturday night is the headliner. It’s Pack The Pit night and high school night, and the first 600 fans will receive a white-out shirt. Tickets are also $3 for that game.
“We’ve got some good promotions going on,” Nelson said. “We’re anticipating getting to 3,000 people out and having a really good final in The Pit on Saturday night.”
Nelson is also hoping all the matches are really good, especially after the Lobos’ start to their last tournament.
Despite winning their finale against Idaho State at the USC Classic last weekend, New Mexico was bested by Pepperdine and now by No. 3 USC.
“It was a really tough tournament,” Nelson said about USC. “We didn’t start out playing real well. … [But] we were able to come back and win that match [vs. Idaho State] and get something out of the weekend.”
Julia Warren led the Lobos against Idaho State with a career high-tying 16 kills, while Devanne Sours has continued to produce kills and service aces for the Lobos.
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Offensively, middles Simone Henderson and Mariessa Carrasco shined for New Mexico, with Ashley Kelsey and Mercedes Pacheco picking up slack defensively. Setter Hannah Johnson also earned her third all-tournament honor in as many tries last weekend.
“All in all I saw some good things,” Nelson said. “We were forced to play at a higher level [at USC].”
This time around, there won’t be any ranked teams. In fact, New Mexico’s opponents are bringing all of two combined wins to The Pit.
But, in spite of the records, all three teams coming to Albuquerque are perennial volleyball powers, and — just like the Lobos — have scheduled challenging opponents.
CSUN has opened the season with a 1-8 record, picking up its only win vs. Florida A&M on Sept. 4. The Matadors are hitting just .148 as a team, and are yielding a .288 success rate to their opponents. CSUN also struggles serving, giving up 68 service aces.
Cieana Stinson leads CSUN with 109 kills, while Julia Haake has 75 kills. Lauren Conati (132 assists) sets up CSUN’s offense, and 6-foot-2 middles Jess Hess and Stephanie Serna Arreola provide size.
An NCAA Tournament team from a year ago, LIU Brooklyn is winless in its first season under coach Ken Ko. But, the Blackbirds have played an exceptionally formidable schedule, with matches vs. six Power Five schools.
2014 first-team All-NEC hitter Tamara Ignjic paces LIU Brooklyn with 67 kills this season, and Nicole Okeke is second with 47. But the Blackbirds have struggled offensively, hitting just .096.
Like the other two visiting teams in this tournament, LSU has struggled so far in 2015. The Tigers are just 1-7, beating Xavier 3-1 two weeks ago for their only victory. But Fran Flory has seen success in Baton Rouge, advancing a game in last year’s NCAA Tournament.
Cati Leak has almost of third of LSU’s total offense, with 110 of the Tiger’s 354 kills. But LSU is hitting just .131 on the year. LSU also has size, as 11 Tigers are over 6 feet tall.
Action starts at 5 p.m. MT with LSU taking on LIU Brooklyn. The Lobos play CSUN at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday kicks off with CSUN vs. LSU at 10:30 p.m., followed by New Mexico vs. LIU Brooklyn at 1 p.m. and LIU Brooklyn vs. CSUN at 5 p.m. The Lobos face LSU in the main card at 7:30 p.m.