by Brandon Call
Daily Lobo
It has been more than a decade since the UNM volleyball team went to the NCAA Tournament.
Newly hired head coach Jeff Nelson plans to change that next season.
"Building a program is the foundation on what we are going to do here at UNM," Nelson said. "This is my third time working on re-establishing a program. I enjoy the challenge of rebuilding. I think it's exciting."
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Nelson comes to UNM with a 12-year collegiate record of 242-147.
Last season, under head coach Kelley McKee, UNM was 10-20 overall and 5-11 in conference play. The team finished the season seventh in the Mountain West Conference and lost in the second round of the MWC Championships.
McKee, who announced her resignation Dec. 5, compiled a career record of 47-97 in her five years
at UNM.
Nelson last coached at the University of San Francisco, where he inherited a program that had seen 15 consecutive losing seasons and only two winning seasons in 26 years.
In his first year, Nelson led USF to a 23-8 record and took the team to its first NCAA Tournament in school
history.
Nelson also coached Texas Tech to five 20-win seasons and guided the Red Raiders to five NCAA Tournament berths.
Nelson said he is excited about his new position for a number of reasons.
"There are so many things already in place here, and one of them is tradition," Nelson said. "There were great programs I was fortunate enough to coach against in the early '90s when the team was really rolling."
The Lobo volleyball team's last trip to the NCAA Tournament came in 1994. UNM had five consecutive NCAA berths from 1990-94 and was ranked No. 8 nationally in 1991. The Lobos averaged more than 1,000 fans per home game in eight consecutive seasons from 1990-97. The team has averaged less than 500 fans per home match in seven of the past eight
seasons.
The days of filling the stands may be gone, but one thing the Lobos have going for them next season is experience. UNM lost just one senior to graduation last season.
The Lobos return talent in sophomores Sarah Kwasigroch, Gayle Tripp and Jeanne Fairchild.
Nelson said those players will be a key part to next year's team.
"I'm grateful to the last staff," he said. "There are some very good athletes in place. We have a good
core group."
Fairchild, who led the team with 290 kills last season, will be one of the most important aspects of the
team's attack.
"Jeanne will be a mainstay at what we do," Nelson said. "She is obviously a very talented student athlete. She can really raise her level, and I think she is still improving, and I'm excited about that."
Nelson has his work cut out for him in the coming months as he attempts to turn the Lobos around, he said.
"My expectations are really high," Nelson said. "We expect to have a great season right away. We expect to get out there and win a lot of games right away. We are going to push hard and work for that, and that's been our experience at other places."
However, Nelson's main goal will be improving the team's
ballhandling skills.
"There are some kids that can block and hit very well, but we need ball control," Nelson said. "We need to be insistent in moving the ball quickly, and that's what we are going to focus on the next six months."
Nelson said he plans to have the Lobos challenge for a top spot in the conference right away.
"It's a great opportunity what's happening here at New Mexico for volleyball," he said. "UNM has the potential to be one of the great programs in the country with the commitment from the administration and just from what I think we can do."
