近距离内射合集

It wouldn鈥檛 be surprising if calendars were already pulled out and the dates circled, highlighted, and otherwise marked. After all, anticipation has been building for the Lobos volleyball squad.

Friday: an exhibition game against North Arizona.

Saturday: a second preseason match, this one against Arizona.

Next Friday: the regular-season opener against Cal Baptist.

All at the Pit. 

For the New Mexico volleyball team, who had a packed off season, the chance to play actual opponents is certainly a welcome change.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been busting our butts in the weight room and on the court,鈥� sophomore right-side hitter Addison France said. 鈥淪o I think we鈥檙e all getting antsy to show everybody what we鈥檝e been working on.鈥�

And, well, it鈥檚 been a lot. Most of it by design.

There were the two-a-day practices the coaching staff put the players through towards the end of last spring semester. Then it was off to Europe for two weeks for sightseeing and a little relaxation. The Lobos played five matches against international competition directly before or after those excursions, and found themselves back in the gym for more practices on other days.

And that go-round might have been the worst, according to the players.

鈥�(It was) the hardest thing I鈥檝e ever done,鈥� said France.

That group of practices consisted of just biometrics 鈥� cardio, jumping, stairs, stadiums, 鈥渨hatever you can think of鈥� in the morning session, and weightlifting in the second workout. It did not consist of any actual on-court volleyball. 

鈥淚 think before the staff got in, I feel like we worked hard, but I think they鈥檝e redefined what hard work is,鈥� junior middle blocker Reagan Miller. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e really pushed us to a different level. Even in the spring there were multiple days where I found out that my body was capable of something else, and I think that happened even more over the summer.鈥�

And the Lobos weren鈥檛 done quite yet. The last two weeks consisted of three-a-day practices. (Although, there was a break between the second and third sessions. It was time the players used to mostly nap.) Monday marked the return of practicing once a day.

鈥淗onestly, I think we prepared well for (the three-a-days), so they were easier than I thought they were going to be. I was prepared to die,鈥� France said with a laugh. 鈥淏ut we made it.鈥�

It鈥檚 what first-year coach Brian Hosfeld wanted.

The conditioning was one benefit. After all, it never hurts to be in better shape than an opponent.

The second benefit from all that practice was forcing his players to see things in a different way.

鈥淚 think the original group we inherited in the spring really started to buy into what our coaching staff was bringing into the gym and trying to get them to think outside the box,鈥� Hosfeld said. 鈥淎nd not to have as much structure and to play the game the way the game can be played. 鈥� start to look for different ways to understand how it鈥檚 repetitive, but at the same time, (how it can be) really exciting to exploit different aspects when you really see them.鈥�

The hope is that those different methods will pay dividends.

Not just to make a more cohesive roster, where eight of the 16 players are new, but to be more consistent in a realigned Mountain West that saw five schools depart for a rebuilt Pac-12 and three other schools 鈥� UTEP, Hawaii, and UC Davis 鈥� join as full members.

The Lobos are coming off back-to-back seasons missing the Mountain West tournament, their only absences since the league event began in 1999. (There were no conference tournaments from 2008-10 and 2012-20.) UNM finished last season 13-16, including 5-13 in Mountain West play.

The program was also picked to finish last in the league this year after Wednesday鈥檚 preseason poll was released. UTEP was predicted to come in first. UC Davis, Grand Canyon, Wyoming and Hawaii were second through fourth, respectively.

鈥淚 really appreciate the approach they have when it comes to coaching us and the way they aim to make us feel,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淭hey want us to feel empowered and confident in how we play and they鈥檝e done a really good job at teaching us a lot since they鈥檝e gotten here. They kind of met us where we were and have taken the time to build us up as players.鈥�

David Glovach covers New Mexico 近距离内射合集 and other sports for the Journal. Reach him at dglovach@abqjournal.com or via X .