This regional rivalry event was the featured outing for my
vacation, so I was looking forward to it.
Aggie Athletic Director, Mario
Moccia, was on El Paso Sports Talk
on the radio yesterday to promote the football game between the Aggies and Miners this weekend. He made
a point of promoting this volleyball match too, and that free tacos would be
distributed there. That last part seemed
to pique the interest of the show’s audience.
Just as a bit of a sidebar, Director Moccia really made an
honest plea for El Paso fans to come to the football game, all but saying “We
need the money.” He’d even gone to see
UTEP’s game against Arizona last weekend as a “date night” with his wife. Yeah, I don’t think an athletic director
taking his wife to a rival school’s football game qualifies as a date either,
unless she’s really into football. He
also talked about the “Stuff the Stadium” promotion against Troy last weekend. I didn’t write the numbers down at the time,
but I think this about right. He’d said
there were 15,000 at the game. 100 local
businesses bought 7,500 tickets. The
university doesn’t jack with attendance figures as policy, they just count
everyone who comes through the gate, though he wasn’t sure that the student fan
count was correct at the game. Wow, 100
businesses bought half the tickets for the game! That’s some impressive community outreach and
support. Like I wrote elsewhere,
they should build on that.
I went early to the volleyball game, expecting a good
crowd. There were already a good number
of people there. I might put the crowd
at 2,000+ when the match started (and they stayed to the end). [Edit: It was officially 1,200.] It seemed like there were more students than
usual too. (I might have seen the soccer
team there, returning the favor to volleyball team.) I’m not sure there was much UTEP
representation, but certainly they were drowned out if they were there. Tickets for the game were $7, $2 more than
usual for a single game. “$7? Are we paying UTEP to come here and lose?”
said one fan in the ticket office. I was
okay with it for this particular match.
Like Mario more-or-less said, they need the money.
The game programs have been disappointing. It’s just the rosters, no stats or even the
team record. No new posters either. (I’m kind of hoping for nice Jordan and KC
posters. The player pictures are better
this year than last year.) There was a
table where they may have been giving out free t-shirts in return for pledging
not to rape anybody. I wasn’t quite
sure. The university department head in
charge of the program was introduced on court during the match. The PA actually stumbled over the name of the
department because it was so long. My
only comment here is that I’m currently reading Milo Yiannopoulos’ book, Dangerous,
and enjoying it. If university invited
him to speak (UNM did), he might have something else to say.
One item on the table was a brochure for the Aggie
Volleyball Sideout Club. I’d heard about this and wondered about the
details. It takes in money from the fans
just for the volleyball team. For $75,
you get a t-shirt. (If it was that red camo
Aggie shirt I’ve been wanting, I might be sending them a check right now.) Starting at the $125 level, you get a pass to
their social dinners. I’ve seen
pictures. You get to sit down and eat
with the girls. Taking a cue from Aggie
soccer fans, you could go around the tables and scream directly at the girls to
play better. Starting at $500, you get a
signed volleyball. That would look nice on
the mantle. At the top level, $5000, you
get hugs and kisses from the girls. Oh, I read that wrong (maybe
some wishful thinking). You get a
championship pendent if they win and a hug from Coach Mike Jordan (or at least you should). Tonight’s game had an honorary fan coach, who
got to sit on the bench and then listen to the coach chew the girls out. This fan might have been part of the
club.
I’m not dismissing this.
I hope the other teams have similar clubs. Under other personal circumstances, I’d
consider joining. There’s quite a few
different ways to contribute to Aggie athletics beyond buying single-game
tickets. It might be good if a comprehensive
list, along with fan benefits, was produced and made available at all Aggie
sporting events.
I picked the $6 Kid’s Meal at the concessions. It was cheaper than the $8 Pete’s Combo, and
I wanted popcorn instead of chips. I
can’t figure out the pricing. Hot dogs
are $2 outside the Pan Am Center, and $5 at the Pan Am Center, where I think
the grill actually is. And I’m still
convinced they’re leftovers from this weekend’s football game. (Hey, when the buns are stale again this
week, like they were at soccer on Sunday, I make assumptions.) I question drink sizes and pricing too. Most value meals at fast food places
virtually give you the drink, since it’s the least expensive part of the meal,
but here the soda and water are near premium items. If the food was better and had more variety,
you could charge more and have happier fans.
This happens with the Chihuahuas’ concessions. People don’t like the prices, but do like the
food. I’ve heard UTEP partners with
local restaurants for a great menu (okay, maybe it wouldn’t be a terrible place
to take a date). This is a glaring and
fixable problem with Aggie athletics.
What a great opportunity to partner with some local food establishments
(and then later have your menu called “racist,” like the ’88 Beer
incident).
No radio call tonight, since it’s on Aggievision. Adam
Young’s Tuesday Coaches Show was even cancelled. (I wonder if I missed him saying the show
would be on another day this week.) Out
on court, the teams were practicing. The
UTEP girls were nearly all tall and lean, like the UCLA team. I don’t know anything else about them. There were some little girls from a local
volleyball team out on court as ballgirls.
One of them was wearing a knee brace.
That just hurt to see on somebody that young. Coach Jordan chatted amicably with a couple
of fans in the section behind the bench.
Out on court, Coach Ben Wallis
hit a dig up to the ceiling and got a round of applause from the girls. Pistol
Pete went by the press table and said “Hello” to the PA. This was a different Pete than before, he
looks good, though on Flex Cam later, he posed with a baby and the baby started
crying. Just after I sat down to eat, I
was wondering if I’d hear my favorite Aggie PA tune Lean On, and there it was immediately. I took that as a very good sign.
UTEP only brought 13 players, while the Aggies have 20,
though at least one couldn’t play, probably more. Bridgette
Lowes’ hand was still wrapped, but she was practicing. Megan
Hart looked like she was jumping well in practice. Julianna
Salonoa was all smiles, but didn’t play.
(I’m just itching for her to play and do well. I may be waiting until next year.) Jordan
Abalos looked serious and unhappy.
Here’s one case, where I wish I could talk to a player and say something
encouraging. Up on the video board,
there was an image advertising season tickets which showcased her . . . well .
. . chest, but I don’t think that was bothering her. (Out of the all the promotional pictures of
Jordan the marketing department must have, they picked a headless one?)
Another message on the board promoted a Homecoming-ish rally
downtown on October 20. It’s going to be
a free event and feature all the Aggie teams.
This is a nice idea (I’ll be at work though). A group of students were settled next to the
Miner bench, but I don’t think they were giving the team too much trouble
(maybe they were from UTEP). For the
introductions, the lights went out and the team video played. Some of the Miners were watching it. I held my breath (as probably did the arena
staff) and thankfully the lights came back up.
I guess they fixed that problem.
Photo from Las Cruces Sun-News
This picture came out after the match on Thursday. My dad immediately noticed me in the upper right of the picture. I took the picture to work and the security officer said, "Oh, I thought I saw you in that picture this morning." That's very observant. I just wish the picture featured me standing and cheering. Great shot of Lia Mosher.
Set 1
Two and a half pages in, let’s actually talk about the
match. Ari Sierra put in an ace at 3-1, Aggies. Megan
Hart started. She had a good idea on
an overpass, but hit it out, 4-2, but she came back on a messy point with a
kill, 5-3. 6-5 KC Tohm was called for a foul.
The coach got on to ref and the fans joined in heckling like it was a
baseball game. KC came back with a tip
kill at 7-5. It’s always good to see the
girls get a good play right after a bad one.
10-8 was a point with epic digging and was finished by Sasha-Lee Thomas with a hard kill.
12-8 Briana Ainsworth
served in an ace. Her next two points
were hard fought, but went to the Aggies.
Timeout. The place erupted for a
cheerleader t-shirt toss into a crowd. Briana also got a soft little tip for a kill
at 15-10. 16-11 Sasha buried a kill into
two defenders. 17-12, Tatyana Battle laid out diving for a
ball and just missed. Ari piped up and
yelled out encouragement to the team. As
I’ve mentioned before, she is their vocal leader. 17-15, the coach was about to blow after two
balls in a row were hit out.
Photo from Las Cruces Sun-News
21-17 timeout UTEP. While
Coach Wallis spoke to one of the girls individually, Coach Jordan stared at the
players sitting on the bench for a minute while waiting for her. That was more intimidating than when he
actually starting yelling at them. This
guy is terrifying. I don’t know if he
should be coaching young women, maybe leading Marines over a hill under fire. 22-17 Jordan served an ace, which was part of
a good run on her serve. Her balls arced
over the net and straight down to the floor.
It seemed like an unexpected trajectory from a standing serve and caused
the defenders problems. There were three
set points for the Aggies before Lia
Mosher finished it with a kill at 25-19.
Set 2: Aggies 1, Miners 0
This game started well with an overpass kill by Brielle Sterns, 1-0 Aggies. 2-1 Ari and Tatyana made a couple of great
digs, but it was a UTEP point. The
Miners followed up with a dump kill and an overpass kill and started to take
the lead. 4-7 UTEP, Jordan missed on a
kill. I looked up at the
scoreboard. She had no kills to that
point. 5-7 Sasha got a kill to break up
a UTEP run. 6-10 UTEP, a ball dropped in
the middle of the Aggie side of the court.
A knowledgeable fan behind me started yelling at the girls to cover the
middle. Was it an Aggie soccer fan? (I was making a joke about this at the Sunday
soccer match and here it was actually happening.)
The Aggies managed to get back in with some great block
kills from the Sasha and Brielle working together. Sasha got a kill to tie it at 12 and the lead
at 14-13 with Brielle on a block. 18-15
Jordan got her first kill on a tip. 19-16
Jordan hit one hard enough at a defender that the crowd actually gasped. It wasn’t a kill, but the Miners didn’t get
it back over. I sense Jordan was taking
out some frustration with that shot. 24-19
Briana saved a point on a Miner dump shot.
On set point, the crowd started doing the “Aggies!” chant that usually
only comes up during basketball games. 25-19
Sasha and Brielle again on a block for the set.
Set 3: Aggies 2, Miners 0
And here it was, the moment we were all waiting for at
halftime: free tacos. They were rolled
tacos, so I didn’t care, but the cheerleaders had no trouble handing them out
to fans not so picky. A remix of Herb
Alpert’s Tequila played, while the PA
riffed over it. Director Moccia came in
on the sidelines to supervise. It was
another great moment in Aggie athletics.
1-2 UTEP, the Miners got in an ace, but in the middle of
three net serves early in the set. Sasha
didn’t start. 6-7 UTEP, KC had a
kill. She just majestically flew through
the air for it. (They know they look
cool out there, don’t they?) 7-9 UTEP,
the Miners won an epic point. It felt
like it took a full minute to play out.
9-10 UTEP, Sasha got a kill to change the momentum. Ari came up to serve and got four straight
points to 14-13 Aggies. Her serves were
going right to the back line, but too close to let go.
19-15 Tatyana took three swings on the point before getting
the kill. 21-15 Sasha got her tenth
kill. 21-16 Kaylee Neal had two fantastic digs that covered both ends of the
court. The crowd gave her the loudest
cheer of the night. Annoyingly, the
Aggies didn’t win that point. Sasha came
up big with two more kills to finish at 12 for the night. On the first match point, Jordan Pleasants came in to serve. Jordan Abalos
got her fourth kill to end it, 25-18 and 3-0 Aggies.
Like I said, I don’t know anything about UTEP’s team, but
they played hard, occasionally showing some nerves (especially on serve). They were just out-muscled, specifically by
the Aggies’ Jamaican import, Sasha-Lee
Thomas. Once again, she took over a
match, smacking unstoppable kills directly into the court like she was pounding
nails. She got in her big points in an
absolutely demoralizing fashion against the Miners. Not to mention, Sasha was putting up a wall
at the net on defense. Tatyana Battle put 9 kills and KC Tohms (I think) had 8. With those three on, it was going to be hard
to win against the Aggies.
Of course the name missing from this list is the captain, Jordan Abalos. She played the entire the match and probably
had her usual double-digit digs and was enthusiastic by the end of the match. She just didn’t get her usual double-digit
kills. Like I said, she looked unhappy
before the match started. Is she
injured? I’ve seen Jordan come up
hurting from diving on the floor for digs, not jumping from spikes or
blocks. If she’s not right, the team has
plenty of defensive players that could have cycled in for her for a few
points. Did the coach designate the
other girls as the main attack options to see how they’d do? If that wasn’t it, at least they did do a
good job in Jordan’s offensive absence.
Jordan is awesome regardless.
I’d hoped Megan Hart
would see significant time since she started, but I don’t think I saw her in
after the first set. I’ve seen her be
good on offense on a bad leg. She can
jump now, so she should be even better.
I think Megan needs more playing time to be a force. That time could be hard to find with freshmen
Lia Mosher and Brielle Sterns doing so well on defense. Pairing Brielle and Sasha on defense is
working very well. I get a sense that
Coach Jordan is still trying to figure out what he has to work with on the team
and who he can depend on. I think the
team got caught short-handed at the end of last season in perceived talent,
though perhaps not actual talent. I hope
nobody gets sold short on a chance, because you never know when you’re going to
need another option.
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