assistantsports@dailylobo.com
If the young players of the UNM volleyball team haven’t turned heads yet, they probably will now.
The youthful Lobos, with just one senior and four juniors, are 10-1 on the season following another strong tournament performance. UNM won its home Sheraton Airport/Comcast Lobo Invitational, defeating Georgia Southern 3-2, Portland 3-0 and UC Santa Barbara 3-2 over the weekend.
After winning 10 of its first 11 matches, the team is off to its best start since 1989. That year, UNM opened 12-1. The 2012 Lobos are also on a nine-match winning streak.
“How we played this weekend and how we are getting better, it’s awesome,” sophomore middle blocker Elsa Krieg said. “We’ve been increasing our level of play every weekend, and playing bigger and better teams each weekend is what helped us.”
UNM head coach Jeff Nelson hit a milestone during the tournament.
Friday’s win over Georgia Southern was Nelson’s 100th win as head coach.
Nelson is the second winningest coach in Lobo history. He has a 102-56 record during his six-year tenure as head coach; he is 344-202 for his career.
Only former UNM head coach Laurel Brassey Iversen, who was in charge from 1983-2000, has more wins as a Lobo volleyball coach with a 280-193 career record.
“The girls just said, ’98 more.’ I only need about 50 for 400 (career wins), so let’s shoot for that first,” Nelson said. “Let’s take them one at a time.”
Sophomore Chantale Riddle was named the tournament’s MVP, her second such honor of the season. Krieg and junior outside hitter Ashley Newman were named to the all-tournament team.
UNM’s most impressive match came in Saturday’s finale against UC Santa Barbara, a team considered by many to be a traditional powerhouse in volleyball. The Lobos came out strong in the first two sets, winning 25-16 and 25-21 heading into the 10-minute intermission.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
The Lobos looked sluggish coming out of the locker room, and Santa Barbara took advantage of it. The Gauchos jumped out to early leads in Sets 3 and 4. Despite late runs by UNM in both sets, Santa Barbara forced a deciding fifth set with 25-22 and 25-18 set wins.
The fifth set started with two UNM kills from junior middle blocker Lexi Ross and Newman. UCSB tied the set at 2 with the next two points, but a Gaucho serve in the net gave the Lobos the advantage again.
UNM never let that lead go again, winning the fifth set 15-9. The Lobos won seven of the last nine points for the victory.
“Dropping those third and fourth games was tough,” Krieg said, “but the way we came back and battled back showed that we work hard and have a lot of heart.”
Riddle led the way against UCSB with 19 kills, 11 digs and eight blocks. Newman added 12 kills, and Krieg recorded eight kills and seven blocks.
Three other players had double-digit digs, led by junior libero Miquella Lovato with 17. Junior outside hitter Lena Skipper added 11 digs with eight kills, while senior setter Jordan Russell had 10 digs with 26 assists.
UNM faced a strong hitting attack from UCSB. Leah Sully had 26 kills, while Britton Taylor and Jenna Wilson each had 12. Sully dominated late in the match, recording 18 kills in the last three sets.
“She definitely brought a force at the net; it was good for our block to see something like that,” Newman said. “We’re going to see that in conference for sure. It was good to see it now so we can prepare for it.”
In UNM’s first competition against Georgia Southern on Friday, the match went five sets and had 37 ties and 17 lead changes. UNM won by the set scores of 23-25, 25-15, 32-33, 22-25 and 15-7.
Riddle and freshman outside hitter Alijah Gunsaulus had a huge match against Georgia Southern. Riddle had 20 kills, 12 digs and five blocks, while Gunsaulus added 13 kills and 16 digs. Ross and Krieg made six and five blocks, respectively.
The Lobos’ Saturday match with Portland was close as well, despite the three-set sweep (25-23, 25-18, 27-25). That match featured 21 ties and 12 lead changes, and neither team led by more than two points through the first set and most of the second set.
Against Portland, Riddle led the team again with 12 kills and five blocks. Newman added nine kills. Ross had four ace serves.
“Really, our theme this year is stay calm and keep working hard and take these matches one at a time because we’re so young,” Nelson said. “But to be 10-1 is amazing.”
