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11/15_volleyball

UNM’s outside hitter Lena Skipper, 4, with setter Hannah Johnson, 2, and libero Miquella Lovato, 21, during the match against SDSU at Johnson Center on Oct. 10. The Lobos are fighting for second place in the Mountain West Conference.

Volleyball: Lobos to face Wyoming

sports@dailylobo.com
@Liam_CE

The New Mexico volleyball team’s fight for second place in the Mountain West Conference continues without one of its starters. Freshman Julia Warren is out with a leg injury.

The Lobos lost 3-1 at No. 10 CSU on Thursday night. Junior right side hitter Chantale Riddle had 19 kills, 12 digs and 6 blocks in the loss. Senior libero Miquella Lovato had 17 digs. CSU’s Kelsey Snider and Michelle Lawerence had 15 and 11 kills, respectively.
UNM (20-6) is one game behind Fresno State (17-10), and stands with a 10-5 conference record.  The Lobos have the edge against Fresno State in overall wins and play the Bulldogs one more time at home.

Head coach Jeff Nelson said that his team played very well under the circumstances as they move along toward the end of conference play.

“We didn’t have one out of rotation call,” Nelson said of the Saturday match.  “We didn’t have any mental breaks despite having a whole new look.”

UNM’s senior outside hitter, Lena Skipper, is one of the Lobos who will undoubtedly be getting more playing time. She received recognition for her ability in the classroom on Nov. 7. Skipper has been recognized as Capital One Academic All-District First Team honors, receiving the highest grade point average among all Division I honorees, with a 4.05.

“That’s quite an accomplishment for her and great for our program as well,” Neslon said.

Skipper said that student-athletes must divide their time in order to obtain their goals.

“All student-athletes are going through the same struggle,” Skipper said.  “I guess I just cut out the social part to spend more time on school.”

While enjoying her success off the court, Skipper said that the Lobos have not lost sight of their goal to finish off a strong season.

“We’ve been lucky to have had no injuries until the last match but the one thing our team does have is depth,” Skipper said.  “Our aim all season has been to make the NCAA tournament.”

Despite the absence of Warren, UNM overcame Utah State, a team that has lost ground after being tied with the Lobos in the race for second place.  Nelson said that he is pleased with his team’s ability to adapt.

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“Every one of our serve receive rotations was different than it’s ever been all year,” Nelson said.  “We had two new players in two new positions.”

Nelson said that he hopes to get Warren, who’s out with a sprained ankle, back out on the court as soon as possible.

“She’s doing really well,” Nelson said.  “She has literally been rehabbing ever since.”

Looking past the injury, Nelson said that his team is going to face a very difficult match on Saturday against Wyoming (15-3, 5-9 MWC), despite the success they had with the Cowgirls at home.

“That’s one of the toughest places to play in the conference,” Nelson said.  “Hopefully this will be another great weekend.”

In addition to looking ahead to the near future, the Lobos locked down two new players for next season.  Victoria Spragg and Mariessa Carrasco look to add some needed depth in the middle for UNM as senior middle blocker Lexi Ross graduates this year.

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