Lobo Invitational: 5 things to know about UNM volleyball's home tournament
Aug. 30—It's a three-day production on the big stage for the University of New Mexico volleyball team this weekend.
The Lobos plan to put on a quality performance.
UNM hosts a quality field for the three-day Lobo Invitational beginning Thursday at the Pit. New Mexico (2-1) will take on CSU Bakersfield (3-0), St. John's (2-1) and Utah Tech (1-2) on consecutive days and coach Jon Newman-Gonchar is expecting a stiff challenge.
"We're fired up to have three matches at the Pit," Newman-Gonchar said, "and we put a good field together. Our goal in scheduling this season was to play teams from all over the country and see how they can prepare us for Mountain West play. These three teams have completely different styles and they're very talented. This will be a big test for us."
UNM opened the season with a hectic weekend at the UC Irvine Invitational, with three matches scheduled in a 27-hour span. The Lobos swept Seton Hall, edged host UC Irvine in a five-set battle and dropped their finale 3-1 to San Francisco. Outside hitter Uxue Guereca and middle blocker Athina Dimitriadis were named to the all-tournament team.
"We came up short against San Francisco and there was a lot of disappointment in the locker room," Newman-Gonchar said. "But I think we learned from it and we got right back at it last week with a lot of energy and determination. We can't wait to get back out there."
The Lobos open Thursday with a 6:30 p.m. match against CSU Bakersfield. Here are five things to know about the Lobo Invitational.
Off and running
CSU Bakersfield came out hot last weekend, winning its home Roadrunner Invitational with 3-0 sweeps of Eastern Washington and Providence and a 3-1 win over Southern Utah. Outside hitter Ava Palm paced the 'Runners with 37 kills in the tournament.
Homecoming
The Lobo Invite will be a homecoming for St. John's outside hitter Erin Jones, a two-time All-State standout at La Cueva High School. Jones helped the Bears to three state championships and has started fast with the Red Storm. The 5-10 setter/outside hitter appeared in 27 matches as a freshman and racked up 34 kills last weekend at the Florida Gulf Coast Invite. St. John's defeated Ole Miss (3-1), lost to Arizona State (3-0) and edged host FGCU (3-2).
Seeing Red
Friday's match against St. John's will be a reunion for UNM libero Angela Crosetti, who played for the Red Storm before transferring to New Mexico this season. Crosetti is off to a strong start for the Lobos, earning Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week honors for her performance at the UC Irvine Invitational.
"She was shocked to win player of the week," Newman-Gonchar said, "but Angela is really humble and hungry. She's aware we're playing St. John's but she's not to caught up in it. It's all about training and what's up next for her."
Roster contrast
St. John's has by far the most diverse roster among the four tournament participants with seven international players on its 12-person roster. UNM has two international players (Guereca from Mexico, Dimitriadis from Greece), while UC Bakersfield has one. Utah Tech does not have an international player but does have 10 from the state of Utah.
Package deal
UNM is offering tournament passes admitting fans to all three of the Lobos' matches for $12. Single game tickets are $5 apiece.
