If one word could describe the 2000 season for the UNM volleyball team and junior middle blocker/outside hitter Vanessa Shields, it would be “negative.”
As the team languished under the weight of unmet expectations and the imminent departure of head coach Laurel Brassey Iversen, Shields literally had a front row seat — on the bench — for all of the frustration because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee.
“They felt it through the whole season that if they didn’t play well … ,” Shields said. “And I was watching all of it. I could see it on the court. We needed to do good, but nothing was happening. They knew that they had to play well because, if not …”
This year, Shields moves from one front row to another as she will play a vital role on the front line for the Lobos. It also seems that she can leave all the negativity behind her as new head coach Tom Peterson brings in a new attitude.
“This year, it’s more upbeat and more lively and exciting, so that’s good,” Shields said.
Peterson will call on Shields to do a little bit of everything, from protecting the middle of the court to lining up on the outside and using her strong hitting capabilities. Shields was recruited as a middle blocker when she joined the team from Arroyo Grande High School in Grover Beach, Calif., but Brassey Iversen also trained her to be an outside hitter. Peterson said that her versatility works well with the system he is using.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
“She reacts well to what we do,” Peterson said. “She might hit outside. She might block. She might call different kinds of sets. That’s what we’re thinking about.”
Shields was supposed to be an important component of last season’s team, but she tore her ACL in just the fourth match of the season against Stanford University in the Lobo Invitational. She had come off a strong game against Drake University, racking up 18 kills to go with 12 digs when she injured her knee in the second game against the Cardinal.
Shields said she would get frustrated on the bench, watching a play and seeing how she could have done it.
“I’d be like, ‘Geez, I could get that,’” Shields said. “It felt like I could play even though I obviously couldn’t. It was so annoying. I was irritated all the time. They had to sit down and talk to me.”
Such an injury can take up to six months to heal, but Shields was jogging by the fifth week after surgery. Shields calls herself a fast healer.
“I wasn’t jumping as high, but I was still able to play and do defense,” Shields said.
Still, Shields said she doesn’t feel the knee is completely healthy, and she subconsciously compensates for it by pushing off with her left leg. It also has affected her preparation for practice.
“I have to warm up forever before I start playing,” Shields said.
Shields was just warming up before the injury. In 1999, she started in all 33 matches for UNM, leading the team in block assists as a sophomore in 1999 with 95 and placing second in blocks with 106. She also was named to the Lobo Classic all-tournament team and the Mountain West Conference all-academic team for her 3.0 GPA. in criminology.
As a freshman, she played in only six matches, compiling 14 kills and six block assists.
Shields will be looked upon this season for leadership, especially with only one senior on the team. Shields said she is not a vocal, cheerleading type, describing herself as a leader by example.
“I just play and play well,” Shields said. “They see that and they feed off it and then we’re all playing together. But I have to watch when I get down because it can bring people down, too. When I get pissed, I’ll stop talking and I’ll just be very quiet and that’s bad for the team. So I have to watch that.”
Peterson said she has a strong personality and how she performs will influence the rest of the team.
“I want some leadership, some maturity from her, being that she’s one of our elder statesmen,” he said “She has the opportunity to take the team where she influences it.”
