The Lobos are looking forward to a big home week, hosting Fresno State on Thursday and San José State Saturday — and they’re looking to exact some revenge on the two conference foes.
The Lobos (12-12, 2-8 MW) just ended their eight-match losing skid in the Mountain West conference as they swept Air Force last Saturday after falling 3-0 to Boise State in the match prior.
“Two tough road matches for us with the top teams in the conference,” New Mexico assistant coach JJ Glavan said.
UNM ranks No. 10 in the conference standings, while its opponents Fresno State (12-9, 3-7) and San José State (10-12, 3-7) are tied for eighth.
“(Last week) gets us going a little bit more for our big week here against Fresno State and San Jose State,” Glavan said.
Although the Lobos lost both of the road matches against the Bulldogs and Spartans earlier in the season, they still hold the series record against the opponents.
“We felt that we have really good matches up there,” Glavan said.
Thursday’s match against the Bulldogs will be the 24th all-time meeting between the schools, with the Lobos holding a 12-11 advantage. UNM fell 3-0 against Fresno State on October 1, but still holds a 2-1 home record since 2012.
Fresno State currently leads the Mountain West in service aces (142, 15th in the nation) and also aces per set (1.80, 10th in the nation).
A number of Bulldogs contribute to the team’s solid serving game. Junior Jacqueline Hutcheson ranks first in the conference with 40 aces, averaging 0.51 aces per set. Teammate Aleisha Coates is third in the conference with 31 aces and 0.39 aces per set.
New Mexico enters that matchup just a hair behind the outstanding serving ability of Fresno State, coming in right after the Bulldogs at second in MW with 127 aces and 1.27 aces per set.
Saturday’s match against San José State will also be a tough test. The Spartans not only beat UNM 3-2 on Sept. 29, but also upset the Mountain West’s top team, Colorado State, 3-2, on October 20.
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The Spartans’ victory over the Rams was their first in 18 years. They rallied in the last three sets to end the Rams’ 31-match MW winning streak, which began back on November 1, 2014.
The strong finish was similar to the one San José State exhibited in the 3-2 win over the Lobos, with five Spartans recording double-digit kills.
“Last time we lost to San José State on the road in five,” Glavan said. “A tough match.”
The Lobos should still have plenty of confidence with the match being at home. New Mexico leads 13-4 in the series record against San José State and has won nine of their last 10 matches.
The Spartans are a strong defensive team with Luiza Andrade, who ranks fourth in the conference in digs (4.06 avg/s), and Nandyala Gama, who ranks fifth in blocks (1.27 avg/s), roaming the court.
“We are looking forward to coming home and having them play on the road at our place,” Glavan said. “We are a little bit more physical than them.”
UNM appears balanced on both offense and defense, ranking fourth in the Mountain West in digs (1,186), kills (1,102) and attacks (2,995).
The Lobos will rely on libero Ashley Kelsey to build up the defense line, as she ranks second in the MW with 386 digs and 4.29 digs per set. Top pin hitter Cassie House should lead the way for the offense, ranking fifth in points per set (4.17) and sixth in kills per set (3.53).
Senior captain Julia Warren seems to be getting stronger and showing more range of motion since her return to the court. She should be a big contributor to both the defensive and offensive lines.
“She has been one of our top hitters in the past couple matches,” Glavan said. “And it’s great to have her leadership out there.”
Warren still ranks first on the team in serving with 25 aces and 0.32 aces per set. She is also second in team digs, trailing only Kelsey with 201 digs and 2.61 digs per set.
After recently breaking overall and dealing with conference losing streaks, the Lobos are now poised to turn it around into a conference winning streak this week at Johnson Center.
“We feel that we have a good opportunity to get going and start the ball rolling for our conference,” Glavan said.
Bo Yu is a sports reporter at the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers cross country and women’s volleyball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Bo_YuB.
