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The Lobo Volleyball team will face off against an MWC frontrunner in Las Vegas, Nev. on Saturday.
The Lobos (15-3, 2-1 MWC) come into the game following a 3-1 set victory over Cal-State Bakersfield on Wednesday and a 3-1 loss against Fresno State Thursday night.
Meanwhile, UNLV enters the contest following consecutive conference victories — a 3-1 win over Air Force and a 3-2 decision against Boise State. They face Utah Valley tonight.
UNLV (9-5, 2-0 MWC) returns eight letter winners, including six starters and its libero. Junior outside hitter Madeline Westman, sophomore outside hitter Daryn Glenn, and freshman setter Kinsey Caldwell have become driving forces for the Rebels’ success.
Westman leads UNLV with 2.88 kills per set and 1.46 blocks per set, Glenn is second in both kill average (2.60) and dig average (2.52), while Cladwell is the leader in digs with a 2.77 per-set average.
The Lobos have dominated the Rebels as of late with their last loss coming in three sets on Oct. 17, 2009.
UNM head volleyball coach Jeff Nelson said the race to the conference title will come down to the end.
“There were a lot of upsets in the conference. I think it’s going to be a fun trip through the conference race here,” he said. “The conference as a whole is doing really well. We have six or seven teams in the top 100 RPI and a good return to strength after last year.”
Chantale Riddle, a sophomore outside hitter for the Lobos, said UNLV is aggressive, especially on the defensive back row.
“If we play hard like we’ve been playing these past couple of weeks, we should be fine,” she said.
Senior captain Jordan Russell complimented the Rebels as a hardworking team.
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“They shocked a lot of people in our conference last year because they were so young and such a new program as far as coaching-wise,” she said. “We’re expected to go and battle just like we did last week with Colorado State and Wyoming.”
Nelson attributes the 15-2 start to the way his team has gelled through the last nine weeks.
“It’s a great start,” he said. “Our kids have great chemistry, and we’re just kind of letting them do their thing and trying to prepare them for the next day. The last weekend was really great — we told the kids to go home and enjoy it for a few days.”
Russell said teams will continue to underestimate UNM despite its victory over preseason MWC favorite Colorado State.
“I mean, there’s no one in our conference that is not going to be a tough match for us,” Russell said. “We’re not a crazy huge team like Colorado State. We’re hard workers, we go after it and we’re going make do with what we have right now.”
