Jeff Nelson continues his path toward 400.
After the team dropped its last three sets against Ball State, New Mexico’s head volleyball coach has a chance to seize to his 400th career win in front of a home crowd. Nelson said getting over the 399 hump would have been nice to do against his alma mater, but he will be happy to climb the plateau whenever the time comes.
“Whenever it happens, it will be just as great,” Nelson said of his milestone pursuit. “I’ve got a great group of kids. I like this group a lot.”
Senior middle blocker Simone Henderson had an amazing turnout in the final match of the weekend. Despite accumulating 21 kills against Ball State, New Mexico had trouble closing out the weekend against the undefeated Cardinals.
“I just wanted to do it for my team and do it for myself,” Henderson said. “I wanted to leave it all on the court and not have the reason we lost be because I didn’t put in my full effort.”
Henderson closed out the weekend with the team-high 38 kills -- an impressive statistic coming from the middle of the block. Henderson and senior setter Hannah Johnson both received all-tournament honors for their performances on the weekend.
“I liked a lot of things I saw,” Nelson said. “Our defense is really good. Our serving has been the best, since I’ve been here.”
New Mexico’s mistakes are easy corrections, Nelson said, and UNM’s 2-1 start for the season is something the Lobos will build on.
Junior outside hitter Julia Warren said that although she wanted to sweep the weekend, she looks forward to Friday’s home opener against Santa Clara (3-0) at 7:30 p.m.
“I’m expecting for us to get into a good rhythm at home,” Warren said. “I think every team is really strong this weekend. We’re looking forward to playing in front of our home crowd this weekend and be comfortable.”
After Friday night’s competition with Santa Clara, UNM will hit the hardwood running on Saturday afternoon against Cal State Fullerton before finishing the Lobo Classic that same night against SMU.
The Lobos stumbled against SMU 3-2 last season on the Mustangs’ home court, but this year they have their own fan base to turn to. After falling in the first two sets, the Lobos rallied back to tie the match at 2-2 before falling 15-13 in the final set, just a season ago.
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However, before Saturday’s matchup New Mexico is going to have to prepare for a Santa Clara team that has gone undefeated this season. In fact, the Broncos have yet to lose a set against their three opening opponents.
Cal State’s 0-3 start came against some tough competition in the squad’s opening tourney, dropping to Duke, St. Mary’s and Alabama.
“We’ve got another really exciting week here with Santa Clara, SMU and (Cal State) Fullerton,” Nelson said. “(These) are teams that are in the top 15 in RPI and teams that will be great to host at home.”
Liam Cary-Eaves is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at assistantsports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Liam_CE.
