|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Friday • 2 p.m. MT
Friday • 4 p.m. MT
Saturday • 1 p.m. MTAfter a week out of the sand, the Lobos are back on the prowl. First up: a trip west to face a very familiar foe.
The University of New Mexico beach volleyball team returns to action this weekend as it faces off against No. 8/8 Arizona, CSU Bakersfield and Santa Clara for the Wildcat Spring Challenge in Tucson, Arizona.
With just four more weeks left in their regular season, the Lobos (6-8) are looking to start the second half of their campaign on a strong note as they play the Roadrunners (0-8) and Wildcats (7-6) on Friday and the Broncos (0-5) on Saturday.
“All the matches will be tough like they are every weekend,” New Mexico head coach Jeff Nelson said, “but I feel like we’re in a part of the season where we can make a nice run the next three weekends and pick up a lot of wins.”
This week’s slate is shaping up to be a another test for the Lobos against ranked teams. It’s the fifth weekend (out of five) that UNM — which is receiving votes in both national polls — will play at least one team ranked in the national polls.
This season, UNM has played eight ranked teams, faring relatively well in every match, including in a competitive 4-1 setback to Arizona in mid-March. And while they’ve struggled to capitalize against ranked foes, they’ll get another shot at the Wildcats, this time on their home courts.
“They’re a good team, they’re really athletic,” Nelson said of Arizona. “To have a shot at beating them we’re going to have to play really great ball, perfect ball. We’ve got make good decision and we have to be really engaged mentally and emotionally.”
This meeting is the Lobos’ sixth all-time vs. Arizona, the most against any team in program history.
 |
|
| Marisa Doran |
But, in order to make good on this rematch, New Mexico will need to get more productivity out of its entire lineup.
During their last weekend of action at the Stetson Beach Invitational, UNM received strong performances from different pairs. But those performances didn’t always sync up during the Lobos’ 3-3 trip out east, so the goal this weekend is to get all five pairs firing at the same time.
“Engaging the players that need to step up is key,” Nelson said. “We’ve had some good conversations with them and I’m really happy with how they’ve trained since we sat down and discussed expectations and what needs to happen the rest of the way.”
Leading the charge is the team’s top three partnerships, which have largely been the most steady of the group.
Devanne Sours & Lise Rugland are 10-4 on the season playing primarily from the No. 2 position, and have won six of their last seven — including three straight over pairs from ranked teams.
Matching that record is the No. 3 tandem of Marisa Doran & Eastyn Baleto, which is also 10-4 and sitting on a five-match winning streak.
Together, those duos have scored nearly half of the Lobos’ points this season, and have often powered New Mexico to wins. UNM has lost just once when both pairs score in a match.
Along with the team’s top tandem of Cassie House & Ashley Kelsey, which has posted a 7-7 record against some of the best teams in the NCAA, the Lobos have a solid complement of teams at the top of the lineup.
Finding just a bit more consistency down the order is key this weekend, especially after Nelson and his staff rotated through six different partnerships in the Nos. 4 and 5 slots their last time out.
Just another beachy keen practice before we head off to Tucson tomorrow! #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/C7gcH0MJRu
— UNM Beach Volleyball (@UNMBeachVB) March 29, 2017
So far this season, the duos of Julia Warren & Lauren Twitty and Jackie Baro & Carly Beddingfield have played the most in the 4’s and 5’s, going 7-5 and 2-6, respectively.
New Mexico has the pieces it needs to make a run through the latter half of its schedule, which starts Friday against some teams looking for wins of their own.
“Obviously Arizona is very good and has been winning again,” Nelson said. “… Santa Clara and Bakersfield are both solid, and we need to play good ball and get on top of those early.”
CSU Bakersfield is winless in NCAA competitions so far in 2017, going 0-8. The Roadrunners are 4-0 against California community colleges, but they’ve struggled to score in NCAA play, getting swept six times and scoring just a single point in their two other defeats.
This is the third meeting all-time between the Roadrunners and the Lobos. CSUB narrowly won the first matchup in 2015, 3-2 in Tempe, but UNM evened the series with a 4-1 win last season in Tucson as part of the Wildcat Spring Challenge.
Arizona is 7-6 on the season, but all six of its losses are to teams currently ranked in the national polls. Most recently, Arizona split a pair of matches against LSU and TCU, falling 3-2 to the Tigers and winning 4-1 vs. the Horned Frogs.
The duo of twins, Madison & McKenna Witt, pace UA, going 9-4 from the No. 1 position. They’ve won eight of their last nine after starting the season 1-3. However, the Wildcats have depth, with two other pairs compiling 10 wins each.
Santa Clara in 0-5 in 2017 and hasn’t played since March 8, when it fell 3-2 to Sacramento State. The Broncos, despite only playing five matches, have rolled out nine partnerships this season, with only two compiling multiple wins.
This is the first meeting ever in the sand between Santa Clara and New Mexico. Indoors, Nelson earned his 400th career court win against SCU on September 4, 2015.
Fans can follow @UNMBeachVB on Twitter and Instagram to keep track of the Lobos!