The New Mexico beach volleyball team expects some changes in its lineup as it takes on two nationally ranked teams in Tempe, Arizona on Saturday and Sunday.
“We may make some changes in partnerships, we haven’t decided yet,” head coach Jeff Nelson said in a release. “We’ve got to look at all of our options and see what makes us the deepest all the way through.”
The Lobos (2-3) had a respectable opening week, but they lost all three matches against schools with national rankings, including a heartbreaker to TCU.
Although UNM dropped out of the top-20 team rankings, it still received votes in both the AVCA polls and DiG Magazine poll and was unofficially ranked No. 23.
UNM will try to improve that ranking as it faces three opponent this weekend.
The Lobos begin the trip in Tempe, Arizona to play against Texas A&M-Kingsville at PERA Club on Saturday, and also challenges Arizona State and Arizona on Sunday.
“It’s another big weekend,” Nelson said. “We’ve got two teams ranked in the top 10 in two different polls and a team we haven’t seen before...we’re just trying to prepare for a few really big matches again, which is almost every weekend for us.”
The first-ever encounter with Division II school Texas A&M-Kingsville should be a good test to help UNM prepare for its Sunday matches.
The Javelinas (4-1) opened its season with an impressive 4-0 record, however, lost 5-0 to Grand Canyon in their first attempt at Division I competition.
On Sunday, the Lobos will play against the Sun Devils (2-1) at 11 a.m. Arizona State (2-1) was placed No. 9 in the DiG Magazine Poll and ranked 12th in the AVCA Polls.
The Lobos are tied 2-2 in all-time series against the Sun Devils. UNM clinched both matches last season.
ASU posted strong wins under first-year head coach Brad Keenan in this season. Arizona State upset Arizona 3-2 in the first week of the season.
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Arizona will play against UNM at 2 p.m. at PERA Club on Sunday. Despite the low tides that the Wildcats (1-2) have endured to start the season, the team is still ranked eighth place in the AVCA Polls and No. 13 in DiG Magazine.
Arizona participated in the inaugural NCAA Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championships in 2016, and dominated in all four series with New Mexico, including a 5-0 match last season.
Facing top-10 teams ASU and UA, UNM might shift lineups to meet the challenges.
The projected No. 4 pair Julia Warren and Lauren Twitty will be relied on for some wins. The duo posted a 4-1 record between fourth and fifth positions last week.
Devanne Sours and Lise Rugland could find themselves at the No.2 spot. And it is likely that Marisa Doran and Eastyn Baleto would handle duties in the third slot.
Both of the tandems registered a 3-2 performance last weekend in their positions. Doran was named to the All-MW SAAC Community Service Team on Wednesday.
The top seed for the Lobos, Cassie House and Ashley Kelsey, have demonstrated their ability against top competitions as they went 2-3 with some tight losses.
The rest of the players on the roster could possibly form new pairs to match up with the foes at No. 5 position.
New Mexico will likely be eyeing an easy win against Texas A&M-Kingsville and a pair of tight games on Sunday.
If the Lobos are able to pick up their first win against a nationally ranked team, they could leave with at least a .500 record and move back in the polls.
The match between UNM and Texas A&M-Kingsville is set to begin Saturday at 5 p.m.
Bo Yu is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers beach volleyball, track and field, cross country and volleyball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Bo_YuB.
