by Brandon Call
Daily Lobo
The UNM volleyball team has a lot to feel good about after last weekend.
The Lobos went 4-0 at Johnson Gym on Saturday, showing promise in their first matches under head coach Jeff Nelson.
UNM cruised to wins over Western New Mexico and New Mexico Highlands, before rallying to beat Northern Arizona, 30-24, 30-28.
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The Lobos also played a match against alumni. Nelson said it was a good experience for the team.
"The alum provided a really intense, fun match for us," he said. "They made us earn every point and really played very well."
UNM dropped the first game 30-25, before winning the next two games 30-16 and 15-1 to pick up the win.
Vanessa Shields, who graduated from UNM in 2002, said she was happy to be out on the
court again.
"It's fun and exciting just competing," she said. "I'm really glad to see that we can still get out there and compete with the
younger girls."
Even though it didn't count against UNM's record, Lobo Jeanne Fairchild said the players took the alumni game seriously.
"It was just fun going out there and competing against some of the girls that we had played with in the past," she said. "It was kind of like a family reunion, except more fun and competitive."
Nelson said part of building a successful team is having alumni contribute.
"We want the alums to be involved in this program," he said. "We want this program to be about everyone who has been involved with it in the past. We are thrilled they came out and played with us, and I want them to know they are always welcome here."
Saturday's competition was not the first spring tournament
for UNM.
The Lobos traveled to Tucson, Ariz., two weekends ago for the University of Arizona Fall Invite, where they faced Arizona State, NMSU, Arizona, UNLV and University of Texas-El Paso.
The team's first outing was successful, Nelson said.
"We had some big wins last weekend against some good teams," he said. "We also lost a couple of tough ones. It was the kind of competition we wanted for the first weekend. We played some really good volleyball."
Nelson said he noticed considerable development over the two weekends.
"The team is getting better with every game," he said. "I'm happy with how our spring debut went. But this weekend, our passing was more stable, our blocking was much better, and our intensity was a lot higher. I'm seeing big improvements."
