|
|||||||||||||||||||
Match 2 • Friday • 8 p.m. MT
Match 3 • Saturday • 12:30 p.m. MTMake no mistake, Lobo volleyball is New Mexico’s volleyball team. With seven natives of the Land of Enchantment on its roster, this Lobo squad is about as New Mexican as green chile and balloons in autumn.
And with all of that homegrown talent, UNM is primed to make some history.
The University of New Mexico volleyball team kicks off its 2016 campaign on Friday with lofty goals, and has the veteran roster filled with talented local athletes that can power the Lobos to postseason success.
The Lobos, who open up their 2016 campaign at home with four matches in the UNM Invitational, return the bulk of their team that won 17 games last season, and look to rely on their core of New Mexicans to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six years.
“I think we got one of the strongest teams since I’ve been here,” 10th-year head coach Jeff Nelson said. “… Our team chemistry is as good as it’s ever been. They’re working together and they’re having fun. I feel really good about it.”
The Lobos will get a chance to prove themselves early at the UNM Invitational in Johnson Center. Along with their season-opening match vs. Abilene Christian, the Lobos will play Idaho, Fairfield and Arizona State in a marquee matchup slated for Friday night.
 |
|
| Cassie House |
It’s just the first of many tests for year’s team, which has the pieces to contend at the conference level.
One of the Lobos’ strengths lie on the outside, as UNM brings back seniors Cassie House, Julia Warren, Devanne Sours and Marisa Doran. That group, all four of the Lobos seniors, combined for just over 60 percent of the Lobos kills from last season.
Sours, from Tatum, N.M., paced the team with 355 kills in 2015, while House, a 2015 Honorable Mention All-Mountain West selection from Rio Rancho, had 276. Warren, from Albuquerque, chipped in 249 kills.
“We have four senior pinhitters that are really good and they’re going to lead the way,” Nelson said. “Any team with that kind of experience on the pins – because that’s where you win most games – is going to do well.”
Nelson also adds in high school All-American Lauren Twitty into the fold at outside, giving UNM some significant depth at the pins.
But that depth extends to virtually every position on the team.
Although New Mexico graduated a pair of exceptional middle blockers in Skye Gullatt and Simone Henderson, redshirt sophomores Victoria Spragg and Mariessa Carrasco have taken up the mantle.
Spragg, a 6-foot-5 Belen, N.M., product, returns after redshirting last season due to injury. Carrasco, who averaged just under a block per set last year, is also back.
Freshmen J’Kaylee Clark and Albuquerquean Jane Cisar can contribute as well, giving UNM options.
 |
|
| Devanne Sours |
“We’re not falling off there at all,” Nelson said of the Lobos’ middle blockers. “In fact, we’re a lot stronger than we thought we would be.”
The Lobos still have questions to answer at setter and libero, but Nelson and his staff have options.
Carson Heilborn and Lise Rugland are both capable setters tasked with replacing decorated alum Hannah Johnson.
However, Heilborn showed promised backing up Johnson during her rookie season, while Rugland returns indoors after a successful season leading the Lobos’ burgeoning beach volleyball program.
At libero, Mercedes Pacheco and Ashley Kelsey both split the position last year, with Kelsey totalling 285 digs and Pacheco racking up 191.
But Warren earned the distinction as the MW’s top libero in 2014, and the Lobos can also look to Allie Askew, Jessica Leo and Albuquerque’s Maddie Mayfield for defensive help.
“Both of them [Kelsey and Pacheco] have experience at libero so we’re pretty comfortable.” Nelson said. “But it’s more about what direction we’re going to go as a group.”
As whole, the team’s direction points toward a conference title and a postseason bid. And the Lobos will get their chances to assemble an NCAA-caliber resume this season.
 |
|
| Marisa Doran |
Along with a staunch opening weekend featuring 2015 NCAA team Arizona State, the Lobos’ biggest tests will come during the third weekend of the season, when they host Arkansas and defending NCAA champions/preseason No. 1 Nebraska at WisePies Arena for the Lobo Classic.
“We’re throwing ourselves in the fire right away,” Nelson said. “But we’re going to have three of four seniors on the court, and we expect them to do well.”
After closing out non-conference play, the Lobos will then turn their attention to the Mountain West. Conference play will present a challenge for New Mexico, who were picked to finish four in the MW in the preseason coaches’ poll behind Colorado State, Boise State and Wyoming.
San Diego State and UNLV are both right behind the Lobos in the poll.
“There’s about five or six team that are very good,” Nelson said. “But I really think it’ll come down to two or three teams at the end, and I believe we will be in that mix. This is the best shot we’ve ever had at winning this conference and we’ve got to go out and go for it.”
And behind a roster filled with talent and local New Mexico players, the sky is the limit for the Lobos.
Tickets for the Arizona State match are $3 per ticket if purchased in groups of 10 or more, while all other tickets during the opening weekend are $5.
Fans can also purchase the 2016-17 Lobo Pride Pass for $50, which provides admission to every home volleyball match, plus all home women’s soccer, men’s soccer, softball, baseball and track & field events. For more information, fans can contact Lobo Athletic Ticket representatives Joe Gehling at (505) 925-1620 or Andrew Aho at (505) 925-5526 or visit the Lobo Ticket Office located in WisePies Arena.
Fans can follow @UNMVolley on Twitter and Instagram for information and updates on the team!