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The itinerary is all set. Hotels and flights have been booked.

There鈥檚 just the matter of some last-minute packing needing to be done 鈥� a good pair of walking shoes among the must-have items 鈥� and passports waiting to be stamped.

Europe? Get ready to meet the New Mexico volleyball team.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 insane, actually, that we get to do this,鈥� redshirt sophomore Zoe Leonard said. 鈥� 鈥� This will be my first time (out of the country), so I鈥檓 excited. I鈥檓 a little nervous for the flight because it is so long and I鈥檓 a taller human being. Leg room can be kind of tough.鈥�

Leonard, listed at 6-foot-2, surely won鈥檛 be the only Lobo thinking of such things. The experience, however, will surely make it all worth it.

UNM will depart Tuesday for a four-country tour that will start in Prague, Czech Republic, and continue on to Maribor, Slovenia, then Venice and Milan in Italy as well as Vienna, Austria, before returning on June 14. All made possible by an anonymous donor.

The purpose? A trip that will feature equal parts volleyball and some mandatory sightseeing. Five matches against international competition. An alpine slide in Maribor. Shopping in Milan. A tour of Venice.

鈥淚t鈥檚 like a melting pot, just getting everybody finally together, getting in the jam and getting to do some things practice-wise,鈥� said first-year coach Brian Hosfeld, who will have some of his new players meet the team in Prague.

鈥淏ut really, it鈥檚 probably the time outside the gym where they鈥檙e creating relationships, friendships, getting to know each other on a different level as far as what motivates them and why they鈥檙e doing what they鈥檙e doing, getting to experience the culture.鈥�

Hosfeld鈥檚 advice? 鈥淪oak it all in.鈥�

So, why Europe?

Hosfeld went on a similar trip while an assistant at Texas 鈥� he previously went to Japan during his tenure at Baylor 鈥� and believed the Lobos鈥� touring company would provide his current team with the appropriate competition level.

Still, don鈥檛 expect any complaints from the players.

鈥淢y old teammate, Gioia Riccato, lives in Venice, so I want to try some of her food recommendations,鈥� junior Seenane Brewer said. 鈥淚 definitely want to try the pizza, the pesto, all the pasta. I鈥檓 really excited about the food. But she also talked about how beautiful the scenery is. I鈥檓 an art major, so I love views and I love looking at things to draw, so I鈥檒l definitely be taking my sketchbook.

鈥淚 haven鈥檛 taken a look at what we鈥檙e doing, but I know that we鈥檙e going to be doing a lot of sightseeing.鈥�

And in between, some volleyball. If not matches, then practices. UNM has four or five of those on the docket.

That could be vital for a program that missed the Mountain West tournament in back-to-back seasons, its only absences since the conference event began in 1999. (There were no Mountain West tournaments from 2008-10 and 2012-20.) The Lobos finished last season 13-16, including 5-13 in league play.

鈥淏eing able to go overseas, we know not a lot of teams get that opportunity, so being able to go and fight for our name is really exciting for us,鈥� sophomore Addison France said. 鈥淲e all want to show our improvement from last year and last year wasn鈥檛 how we wanted it, and we put in so much work this spring, this summer together.鈥�

Now, the Lobos will get to do that in Europe. Best to double check everything is packed.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of overwhelming gratitude and gratefulness,鈥� Brewer said. 鈥淵ou know, I don鈥檛 think I would have had this opportunity by myself financially. So being able to do this with my coaches, with my teams, is going to be such a surreal experience.鈥�

David Glovach covers New Mexico United and other sports for the Journal. Reach him at dglovach@abqjournal.com or via X .