With 1,838 kills, redshirt senior Chantale Riddle took sole possession of UNM’s points record during the Lobos’ 3-1 victory over San Diego State (11-13, 6-7 MW) Saturday from Tania Gooley, UNM’s previous point leader (1,818).
The right side hitter seemed shocked after breaking the record at home, in front of the previous kill record holder and the team’s fans.
“It doesn’t feel like it’s real,” Riddle said. “It doesn’t feel like that actually happened. It feels amazing.”
Gooley attended the match, as she was inducted to the New Mexico Hall of Honor Thursday night.
“I never thought I would have the opportunity to come back. With this opportunity with the hall of honor, I had to find a way to get here,” Gooley said. “To be honest, I didn’t think the record would stand as long as it did.”
Gooley said the trip back to New Mexico was like a dream. The Australia native said she had goose bumps throughout the match, as the atmosphere was similar to her days as a player from 1991-1994.
It didn’t take Riddle long to obtain the record, coming into the match just one point shy of it. Riddle grabbed 20.5 points in the match.
Head coach Jeff Nelson made a speech at halftime, honoring Gooley’s induction to the Hall of Honor.
“For those of you who know me, you know I am all about tradition,” Nelson said in front of a crowd of 1114 during the halftime ceremony. “This right here, this is tradition.”
Nelson complimented the alumnae that return to the University, whether to play in the annual exhibition match or to talk to the team. Nelson said that having Gooley return was something special, especially having her witness Riddle breaking a record that had been standing for 20 years.
“I thought Chantale had another great day,” Nelson said. “The whole thing was great. It was pretty awesome.”
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Redshirt junior setter Hannah Johnson has been feeding since Riddle arrived on the New Mexico volleyball scene in 2012 for her redshirt freshman campaign.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling to know that I have been able to play with a dynasty that will be left in this program,” Johnson said. “It’s just unbelievable the kind of player she is right now.”
Johnson said the important thing for her was beating the team that barely squeaked out a 3-2 victory while the Lobos (17-10, 9-5 MW) were on the road. Johnson suffered a serious ankle injury when the two teams played on Oct. 9.
Johnson and Riddle both came up big for the Lobos, each recording another double-double. Johnson’s 50 assists and 16 digs put her at 15 double-doubles on the season, while Riddle’s 18 kills and 15 digs put her at 13 on the season.
The Lobos took the first two sets in the match against SDSU, but also took the first two sets against UNLV in the battle for second place on Thursday night. In order to avoid another breakdown such as the 3-2 loss to UNLV, Riddle said she and Johnson needed to take on a leadership role in the match.
Liam Cary-Eaves is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports @dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Liam_CE.
