Scores update

The UNM volleyball team is now 8-4 on the season. Because I haven't kept you up-to-date, here's the quick round up of the last four matches:

Texas Christian University def. UNM 3-1 (25-18, 16-25, 25-22, 25-22)
UNM def. University of Texas-El Paso 3-0 (28-26, 25-12, 25-23)
No. 21 Arizona def. UNM 3-2 (26-24, 14-25, 12-25, 25-14, 15-13)
Tulane def. UNM 3-2 (25-13, 17-25, 20-25, 25-19, 15-10)

The Lobos take on Colorado State at 7:30 p.m. in Fort Collins, Colo. The match can be seen live on The Mtn Network, channel 276 on Comcast in Albuquerque and channel 616 on Direct TV.

Injury update

Lobo outside hitter Rose Morris will be out of commission with her pinky injury for at least three weeks, according to an article posted to GoLobos.com.

Morris was second on the team in kills, averaging 2.42 per set. She was also named to the Comcast Lobo Challenge all-tournament team last weekend. More importantly, she is the on-court vocal leader for the Lobos as she is a senior and co-captain this year.

How will UNM respond? The Lobos open Mountain West conference action tonight, hosting Texas Christian at 7 p.m. It is sure to be loud inside Johnson Center tonight because it is Greeks at the Game Night. Get out there and support the cherry and silver!

Blood on court!

The injury-plagued UNM volleyball team managed a runner-up finish at the Comcast Lobo Challenge this weekend.

After sweeping Cal State Fullerton on Friday — 25-19, 25-17, 25-22 — the Lobos were handed their first loss of the season Friday night at the hands of Baylor in a hard-fought 3-2 thriller. On Saturday, UNM recovered with a 3-1 victory against Pittsburgh.

The Lobos are now 7-1 for the season.

While UNM wasn’t particularly happy about settling for second place — and in its own tournament, no less — head coach Jeff Nelson said he was pleased with his team’s perseverance.

“Did we have a great weekend? No, not the greatest. But I would say we had a good weekend,” he said. “We would have liked to win all three matches, obviously. But considering we fought through being tired and all the injuries, I’m glad we were able to get two out of three.”

The Lobos entered the weekend with a few battle scars. Freshman defensive specialist Melissa Rohr missed out on Friday’s matches with a concussion she sustained diving for a ball during practice. Senior middle hitter Anna Lehne (pictured above, left) also missed two days of practice last week with flu-like symptoms.

Then, at 22-22 in the fourth set against Pittsburgh, senior outside hitter Rose Morris suffered a nasty finger injury while attempting a block. Morris’ right pinky finger was dislocated with a possible compound fracture as the bone broke through the skin. The match was delayed 20 minutes to clean up the blood.

“We were all kind of stunned,” junior outside hitter Taylor Hadfield said. “We knew we had to stay in the match and not let it get into our heads, so we just focused and decided that we’d finish the match for Rose.”

The Lobos buckled down and rallied behind three kills by Hadfield and a Pittsburgh attack error for the 26-24 win.

“I really liked the way we pulled together as a team,” Nelson said. “Finger injuries like that actually happen a lot. It’s just unfortunate to see because Rose was playing incredible volleyball, but we have a number of players ready to go off the bench.”

Junior setter Jade Michaelsen (pictured above, right) and Morris were named to the Comcast Lobo Challenge all-tournament team.

Still undefeated!

The UNM volleyball team hit the road to travel to Portland, Oregon, for the Nike Portland Invitational. The Lobos opened the tournament with a sweep of American, 25-16, 26-24, 26-24. Then, UNM defeated host Portland 25-20, 25-19, 25-23. Junior setter Jade Michelsen (pictured, left) was named the Tournament's MVP. Sophomore libero Allison Buck and junior outside hitter Lisa Meeter (pictured below, right) were also named to the All-Tournament team. With the wins, the Lobos remained undefeated on the season at 5-0.

This weekend, UNM hosts the Comcast Challenge inside Johnson Gym. Action kicks off Friday at 1 p.m. vs. Cal State Fullerton. Then in the night cap, the Lobos take on Baylor at 7:30 p.m. In the finale, UNM plays Pittsburgh at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. The tournament is sure to be competitive: the combined record of all four teams is 23-3.
The numbers through the first two weeks of the 2009 collegiate volleyball season are in and the Lobos are currently ranked 15th nationally in attendance with an average of 1,368 fans over the three sessions of the MCM Elegante Lobo Classic on Aug. 28-29. It is the first time since 1996 that the Lobos started the season with more than 1,000 fans at the first three matches of the season. So, get out there and support your Lady Lobos this weekend!

Opening weekend...

Wow. What a weekend for the Lobo volleyball team. Three games, three wins, and a third-straight MCM Elegante Classic title.

After topping Delaware 25-20, 25-13, 25-21 Friday night in their season opener, the Lobos rallied from a 2-1 set deficit to edge Portland State on Saturday afternoon. Then, in the night cap, UNM dug itself out of a fifth-set hole to defeat University of California- Santa Barbara in the championship, 25-17, 19-25, 25-18, 19-25, 15-13.

Senior middle Anna Lehne (pictured above, left) was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, and sophomore libero Allison Buck (pictured right) and junior setter Jade Michaelsen joined Lehne on the All-Tournament Team. Way to go Lobos... and a great start to the 2009 season!

UNM travels to Portland for the Nike Portland Invitational this weekend to take on American tonight at 8 p.m. Then, the Lobos battle Portland tomorrow night at 8 p.m. Live stats available here.

Welcome to the 2009 season...

This blog will attempt to follow the University of New Mexico volleyball team as they compete in the Mountain West Conference this season. I am an avid Lobo volleyball fan. You can find me on the sidelines at every home game, and I occasionally cover the action for the Daily Lobo, UNM's student-run daily newspaper. So, follow me here on anything and everything Lobo volleyball.

The first and most important question on everyone's mind is whether the 2009 Lobos can equal the success of last year's team. The 2008 squad finished the season 22-7 and in third place in the MWC. Outside hitter Jeanne Fairchild (pictured above, left) was named an All-American, the MWC's Player of the Year, and played professional volleyball in Puerto Rico. In addition, libero Gayle Tripp (pictured below, right) was named the MWC's Libero of the Year and is now playing professionally in Europe. Since both athletes graduated last year, how will the team respond to fill such voids?

If pre-season polls are any indication, UNM looks just fine. The team was picked to finish third in the MWC again this year, and junior setter Jade Michaelsen was named the pre-season MWC Player of the Year. The '09 Lobos also return starters Anna Lehne, Lisa Meeter, Taylor Hadfield, Allison Buck, and Rose Morris.

Come out and watch the 2009 Lobos in their season debut against Delaware on Friday, August 28 at 7:30 p.m. Action continues Saturday, August 29 with a 1 p.m. game versus Portland State and a 7 p.m. game against UC-Santa Barbara.