Three might be a lucky number for the UNM volleyball team.
Three matches and three wins means a 3-0 start to the season.
With the victories, the Lobos earned the right to call themselves the Lobo Classic Champions.
"I think we did a tremendous job this weekend," head coach Jeff Nelson said. "We were able to stay focused and get better and better with each match. We didn't drop a single game, and we looked good out there."
The Lobos opened the tournament with a three-game sweep of Central Arkansas, 25-19, 25-17, 25-18.
However, when sophomore Lisa Meeter went up for a spike and landed awkwardly on an opposing player, the Lobos held their breath.
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"I came down hard and sprained my ankle," Meeter said. "I tried to walk it off, but it wasn't going to happen. Right now I'm taking it day to day, and I hope to be back practicing with the team this week."
Despite Meeter's absence, UNM's offense responded with a 25-20, 25-17, 25-21 win over Idaho State on Saturday.
"Our offense stepped up to fill Lisa's spot," senior Jeanne Fairchild said. "Rose (Morris) and Taylor (Hadfield) moved over, and everyone picked up the slack. We just moved everyone around a little bit, but the intensity stayed high and our mentality never changed. I think it also says a lot about the depth of our bench."
The Lobos capped off the weekend with a 25-22, 25-16, 25-22 victory over Loyola Marymount in the championship match to clinch the trophy.
"It was a lot of hard work," sophomore Jade Michaelsen said. "We stayed focused and committed. We knew we had the potential to open the season 3-0, and we did it."
Three UNM players were named to the all-tournament team: Fairchild, who notched 40 kills; Michaelsen, who served up 94 assists; and junior Anna Lehne, who recorded 22 kills and 17 blocks.
"(Lehne) is really busting out, and it's exciting to see her play like that," Nelson said. "If you can run your middle, it opens up your outside, and the middle blockers did a good job this weekend."
Senior Gayle Tripp was named the tournament MVP with 50 digs on the weekend. Tripp needs 312 more digs to claim the top spot in the Lobos' record book.
But Tripp said her defensive play was a team effort, too.
"When other people are doing well, it's really easy to feed off that energy," she said. "It's a lot easier to play defense around a good block. That's going to funnel a lot of balls right to us, and we don't have to do as much moving."
Next, the Lobos hit the road for 12 matches away from Johnson Gym. UNM doesn't return until Oct. 2.
"These next few weeks are going to really challenge us," Tripp said. "But it will be even better coming back and being in Johnson week after week for conference. It will be a home-court advantage when we really need it toward the end of the season. This way, we'll be able to go out on top."
