The UNM volleyball team is looking forward to a fresh start this fall.
The Lobos are undergoing a complete makeover this season under second-year head coach Kelley Sliva McKee with a roster featuring only four players from last season.
UNM finished the 2002 season with a 10-21 record. The Lobos won three matches in the Mountain West Conference and only one match on the road all year.
Sliva McKee is determined to build a strong program at UNM, as she leads a group of young women who desire to take Lobo volleyball to the next level.
Although the team will undoubtedly improve on last season's record, Sliva McKee is under pressure to produce at UNM.
"What we're about to do is not going to be easy," she said. "But of course we can do it. We've had so many positive changes just in the last 12 months."
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Sliva McKee and her coaching staff are in the beginning stages of rebuilding the program.
"We have 10 new players walking in the door next Wednesday," Sliva McKee said.
She said her staff has recruited women who have character, value and talent. In the recruitment process, coaches looked for players with special qualities. They were on a mission to find players who could "hammer the ball," block and play defense.
Sliva McKee said she believes she has found these qualities in Jennifer Heasty, Lindsay Smith, Megan Morris, Lauren Dunsmoor, Jessica Jensen, Brittany Jones, Kelly Therkelsen and Georgia Whitson. In addition to the new recruits, two walk-ons will also be added to the lineup.
Returning players include Anna Reines, Monica Meihack, Adah Burke and Chelsea Sondrup. The new additions will look to these four for guidance.
"I am really excited for a new start and an opportunity to lead the team," Reines said.
Due to her outstanding performance last season, Reines was selected to play on the USA select team in the Czech Republic this summer. She led UNM in kills last year and became the first Lobo named to All-Conference since 1998. Reines is expected to be a dominant force in the MWC this year.
One aspect of the volleyball team that won't change much is the offense. Sliva McKee says UNM will refine plays it ran last year and run a similar swing-block defense.
"It must be a total team effort," Sliva McKee said. "I want our team to want to have the best bench in the conference. It's the kids on the bench that make the kids who have earned starting positions better."
The Lobos will begin preparation for the season this weekend during team camp where many players will meet for the first time.
Practice starts Aug. 8 so the Lobos should have plenty of time to get ready for the Cherry/Silver Scrimmage Aug. 23. The first home tournament will be held at Johnson Center Sept. 19-22, when the Lobos will take on Youngstown State, Alcorn State and the University of Delaware.
