As is the case with most teams during most seasons, the headliners of the 2015 New Mexico volleyball season were the one with the most sets played, matches won and records broken.
They were the veterans of the group. The leaders. The captain. They were the seniors.
It was Hannah Johnson, a setter from Longview, Wash., who played more for the team’s success than her own success, that led the team.
And Skye Gullatt, a 5-11 middle blocker from Denver who relied on her athleticism and dedication to tower over taller opponents.
And Simone Henderson, a middle blocker from Grossmont Community College, who in just two years, left an impact on both the team and the record books.
That group wrote the story of the 2015 volleyball season.
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| Hannah Johnson |
Certainly, the rest of the team starred in the show, taking on bigger roles and rising to larger challenges during the season. Between an immensely talented and athletic junior class to a youthful and promising squad of underclassmen, the Lobos were a team filled with potential under ninth-year head coach Jeff Nelson.
But the headliners were the seniors. They were the ones that future senior classes will have to measure up to. They were the standards and the role models, and, in part, the force behind the 2015 season.
The Lobos placed fourth in the 11-team Mountain West in 2015, finishing with a 17-14 overall record and a 10-8 conference record. In a league where even the 11th-ranked team could challenge a top-tier team, New Mexico fought to its sixth top-four finish in MW play under Nelson.
Nelson’s seniors led the way, with Johnson pacing the team in assists (1,144) and digs (310), Gullatt in blocks (141) and Henderson in hitting percentage (.319).
That trio gave a team relying on underclassmen in key positions the veteran poise needed to navigate another tough schedule.
Right behind was the Lobos’ junior class, which featured the top offensive weapons on the team. Devanne Sours, out of Tatum, N.M., posted 355 kills as New Mexico’s go-to terminator, while Rio Rancho’s Cassie House chipped in 276 and Albuquerque native Julia Warren added 249.
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| Skye Gullatt |
That trio, combined with Henderson’s 239 kills and Gullatt’s 198, gave the Lobos a formidable offensive front powered by Johnson, one of the best setters in the league.
Defensively, New Mexico did an exceptional job at the net, with Gullatt leading the team to 438 total blocks. Henderson contributed 102, with House (86 blocks) and Johnson (72) also helping out.
The Lobos’ youth was in the back row, with three underclassmen tasked with figuring out the libero position. Although Johnson and Warren (300 digs) led the team in digs, redshirt sophomore Ashley Kelsey (285), true freshman Mercedes Pacheco (191) and sophomore Stephanie Chavez (135) all started at libero at one point in the year.
And there were other new faces playing key roles, with redshirt freshman Mariessa Carrasco, true freshman Allie Askew and transfer Marisa Doran.
The youthfulness in some of the positions presented a learning curve for New Mexico. They had senior leadership and people with experience, but everyone had to step up and grow up on the fly.
And while there were great success during the early going — like Nelson earning his 400th career win in a sweep of NCAA team Santa Clara or a thrilling come-from-behind five-set win over Idaho State in Los Angeles — there were periods of trials and tribulations.
But the Lobos still would compete.
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| Simone Henderson |
After dropping three straight during tournament play, including a five-set loss to SMU in Johnson Center, the Lobos won three straight.
After losses to Colorado State, Wyoming and in-state rival New Mexico State, the Lobos responded with a five victories in six matches.
After falling to three opponents in a row to open November, the Lobos finished the year with a 3-1 surge.
Players like Johnson and Gullatt made sure that anything going bad wouldn’t turn into something worse. Whenever New Mexico needed a big point, the seniors were there to guide the team.
As the season wound down, the seniors took center stage. With postseason implications fading in the ultra-competitive NCAA and Mountain West, the Lobos turned their attention towards making their own magic.
Johnson claimed 4,000 career assists with two weeks left in the season and topped 1,000 career digs in the season finale. She finished second in UNM history in career assists.
Gullatt tied the program record in career blocks in the final set of her final game, and posted the second-best single-season total in blocks.
Henderson finished with the fourth-best career hitting percentage in New Mexico history and the 10th-best single-season mark.
All three seniors and House earned All-Mountain West honors, giving UNM four honorees for the third consecutive year.
In all, it might not have been the season the Lobos wanted, but it was the season they deserved. For every loss, they came back with with a win. For every failure, they responded with a record. For every mistake, they learned for the future.
The Lobos, behind their seniors, wrote another exceptional chapter in the history books of New Mexico Volleyball.
And that’s why the 2015 season was the senior’s season.