Wildcats open 2022 in Albuquerque

FRIDAY vs. CAL STATE FULLERTON

SERIES HISTORY VS. CAL ST. FULLERTON

• ALL-TIME | 2nd meeting (Fullerton leads, 1-0)
• LAST MEETING | Fullerton 3, ACU 0 (Sept. 12, 2019 - Abilene)
• STREAK | Fullerton, W1
• IN ABILENE | Fullerton leads 1-0
• IN FULLERTON | n/a
• NEUTRAL | n/a
• POSTSEASON | n/a

SATURDAY vs. NEW MEXICO

SERIES HISTORY VS. NEW MEXICO

• ALL-TIME | 4TH meeting (UNM leads, 3-0)
• LAST MEETING | UNM 3, ACU 0 (Sept. 3, 2021 - Abilene)
• STREAK | UNM, W3
• IN ABILENE | UNM leads 1-0
• IN ALBUQUERQUE | UNM leads 2-0
• NEUTRAL | n/a
• POSTSEASON | n/a

ABILENE - The 2022 season gets underway this weekend as Wildcat volleyball begins a new era under head coach Alisa Blair. The team is on their way to New Mexico to participate in the Lobo Invitational where they will face Cal State Fullerton on Friday afternoon and close the weekend against the host, UNM, Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats match against the Lobos will be available to stream through the Mountain West Network on the UNM athletics website. 

A LOOK AT THE 'CATS

• RETURNERS: The team lost two key starters from a season ago, but bring back a solid core of players who have a great wealth of experience on the court. Madison Rohre returns for her fifth season of action, while Brea Box and Logan Browning look to put together their best foot forward in their senior season. Jada Birkel, Londyn Gray, and Rachel Crismore round out the senior class and bring a great deal of leadership and talent to the court. Other key returners include Braden Bossier, Bryley Steinhilber and Andie Sheppard who could all be impact players this season.
• NEWCOMERS: The Wildcats brought in five new players this fall with each player having a chance to make an impact in their first season. Sophomore setter Madeline Guffy impressed in the team's scrimmage and both Emily Mekelburg and Ashli Edmiston could be key players on the outside. 
• THE BLAIR ERA: Alisa Blair returns to the helm of a program for the first time since spending three seasons as head coach with the Hill College volleyball program where she went 83-38 during her tenure. Blair was instrumental in the success of programs at Central Oklahoma and, most recently, SFA as an assistant and will now strive to bring that same success to Abilene. 

SCOUTING CAL STATE FULLERTON (0-0)

• The Titans are coming off of a 12-15 season and a 9-11 mark in Big West play. They return three starters from a season ago and were selected ninth in the Big West preseason poll. 
• Julia Crawford led the team in kills and points a season ago and is back with the Titans this fall. The team also returns their starting setter, Elizabeth Schuster, who averaged 10.18 assists per game last season. 

SCOUTING NEW MEXICO (0-0)

• The Lobos return all seven of their starters from last season when the team went 20-10 and 11-7 in Mountain West competition. The team was selected to finish fifth in the Mountain West preseason poll. 
• Kaitlynn Biassou was selected to the MW preseason team and returns after leading the team in kills and points a season ago. 
• The Lobos held ACU to just a .027 hitting percentage in their meeting last season, resulting in a sweep in Abilene.