UNM Volleyball Announces 2019 Schedule
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— The University of New Mexico has announced its 2019 schedule for Head Coach Jon Newman-Gonchar’s first season at the helm of the Lobos. The schedule includes nine home matches as well as an exhibition.
UNM will play two teams that appeared in the 2018 NCAA Tournament in Colorado State and New Mexico State and five teams that competed in the NIVC in Fresno State, North Texas, Northern Colorado, UNLV and Wyoming.
“We are very grateful for how our preseason schedule shaped up,” Newman-Gonchar said. “It was important for us to feel like we could ramp up the level of competition each week and that by the time we finished preseason we were battle tested and ready to go come Mountain West Conference regular season.”
After hosting UTEP in an exhibition on Aug. 24, the Lobos will be on the road for the next four weekends at non-conference tournaments.
“Being on the road as much as we are is an excellent opportunity for our team to learn and grow from playing in some very challenging environments, which is what we wanted.
“Additionally, the slate gives us what we want which is a fantastic variety of teams, from all over the country. Competing against Big Ten, Pac-12, West Coast Conference, and Big 12 opponents gives us a great building block for the level of competition we will face right away with Colorado State on the opening week of MWC play.”
UNM opens up its 2019 schedule at the Northern Colorado Tournament the weekend of Aug. 30 with an opening match against Rutgers. The Lobos will play Grand Canyon that Friday before closing the opening weekend with a match against host Northern Colorado on Saturday.
The next weekend has the Lobos competing at the NMSU Borderland Invitational, with two matches on Sept. 6 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Pacific and a match against NMSU on Saturday, Sept. 7.
In the second weekend of September, UNM travels to the Pacific Northwest with a match against host Seattle and Gonzaga on Sept. 13 and Oregon State the following day for the Seattle Redhawk Tournament.
For its last non-conference tournament, the Lobos head to Denton, Texas for three matches in the North Texas Challenge. UNM starts the tournament with a match against Ohio on Thursday, Sept. 19. On Friday, the Lobos will go against host North Texas before closing out the non-conference portion of their schedule with Kansas State on Saturday.
To start Mountain West play, the Lobos are on the road against the defending conference champions Colorado State on Thursday, Sept. 26. In its last meeting with the Rams, UNM won in five sets to end the season.
The first opportunity for Lobo fans to see the 2019 team at the Johnson Center will be Saturday, Sept. 28 against Wyoming.
UNM is back on the road the first week of October with a trip to California, playing at Fresno State on Oct. 3 and Oct. 5 at San Diego State.
The Lobos then host Boise State (Oct. 10) and Utah State (Oct. 12) before going back on the road for the next three matches with Nevada on Oct. 17, San Jose State on Oct. 19 and UNLV on Oct. 22. UNM stays home for the next three contests against Air Force (Oct. 26), San Diego State (Oct. 31) and Fresno State (Nov. 2).
Following the three-match homestand, UNM travels to Utah State on Nov. 7 and Boise State Nov. 9, returning home for the final three home matches of the season. The Lobos host the Spartans on Nov. 14, the Wolf Pack on Nov. 16 and the Rebels on Nov. 19. For the final regular season match, UNM plays at Air Force on Nov. 21.
“We are excited at the quality of competition we will face this year in the Mountain West Conference,” Newman-Gonchar said. “The league continues to get better and better, with stronger and stronger recruits choosing the MWC.”
UNM finished last season 15-15 and 9-9 in MW competition, and return 10 from the 2018 roster. In the offseason, the Lobos added eight new players to the roster.
This season, the Lobos have a whole new coaching staff with the additions of head coach Newman-Gonchar and associate coach and recruiting coordinator Jesse Tupac.