Head coach Jeff Nelson has been shifting around his lineup all year in hopes to send a message to the UNM volleyball team to play better.
Before conference play, Cassie House had a low .100 hitting percentage that Nelson said was uncharacteristic of the second-year outside hitter. His solution was to bench the sophomore in the final non-conference match in hopes that she would wake up from her slump.
“She got benched in the SMU match and that was a big match for her,” Nelson said. “She needed a wakeup call ... I think she’s really taking it to heart and is back on track.”
House responded to being benched by hitting .293 in the four conference matches that UNM has played, good enough for 15th best in the Mountain West. Her 40 kills also puts her atop the top-15 in conference kills.
Nelson has recently shaken up his roster further, benching starting libero redshirt freshman Ashley Kelsey with sophomore defensive specialist, Maddie Mayfield. Nelson said he doesn’t know if the numbers are better, but his team seems to be more comfortable.
Although the head coach has said nothing is permanent, it appears New Mexico will hit the road with the comfortable rotation, taking on San Diego State (5-8, 1-2 MW) on Thursday at 7 p.m. followed by UNLV (13-5, 1-2 MW) on Saturday with the opening serve slated for 7 p.m. as well.
“This traditionally has been a weekend where we would go 1-1 for about the last four or five years,” Nelson said. “We are capable and we should win both.”
Nelson said the team needs to take both wins on the road to gear his squad up for the longest home stand the Lobos will have all year. Nelson said his team needs to focus on each game rather than looking ahead, but there is no doubt that the Lobos are keeping an eye on the Oct. 16 match against the dominant CSU Rams (16-1, 4-0 MW), the only other team unblemished in conference play.
“We want to get both of these games this weekend so we can get home to where we start a five game home stand,” Nelson said. “We’ll get Colorado State at home. We are really gearing up for that match, but we have to take it one at a time.”
For the first time all year, Nelson said he is able to look down his entire roster with the ability to play everyone. Battling illness and injuries, the head coach said New Mexico (11-5, 4-0 MW) was banged up but is now looking to move forward with the fit roster.
“Everyone’s healthy for the first time this year,” Nelson said. “I think that things are in a good place and hopefully moving to an even better place.”
Liam Cary-Eaves is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Liam_CE.
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