NM State Volleyball Springhill Suites Invitational Sept 2, 2017 Part 1

Saturday September 2, 2017

UCLA Bruins versus UNLV Running Rebels

I’m sure UNLV will be forced to change their name by the end of the month.  I really only bring this up because of the Aggie brew kerfuffle.  The university partnered with a local brewery a couple of weeks ago to produce a special Aggie beer.  A week later, the beer was pronounced to be racist, because it had some kind of cryto-neo Confederate/Nazi logo on the label.  Who knew that the number “88” was a symbol of racial hatred?  Really, who knew?  I’ve never heard of this before.  The university immediately apologized and had the label changed.  The brewery now certainly regrets having anything to do with the university, and this incident serves as a warning to any other local businesses wanting to work with them.

Up until a few years ago, the name of the Aggie yearbook was “The Swastika.”  They only changed it in the 80's when they finally got tired of explaining that it was actually a Native American symbol (and a Buddhist one as well, Hitler totally should be sued for copyright infringement), and they’d been using that name since before there ever were Nazis.  Okay, now I’m done.  What was I talking about again?  Oh, yeah, the game. 

10:00 am on a Saturday doesn’t seem like an optimal time to start a game, especially when the next match isn’t until 7:00 pm, but I showed up.  I assumed I’d be buying a day pass for the event, but outside the venue was the “Old Man” from every other Aggie sports event, who offered me a ticket that he’d been given and didn’t need.  That was really nice of him.  The ticket was actually for just that game and it was priced at under $1.50.  All of this was unexpected.  They should have promoted the other teams’ games better if they were doing reduced price tickets.

Inside, the concessions were manned by a single, bored employee.  I went ahead and got drink, so I’d have purchased something.  Two new posters were available on the courtesy table.  Sasha-Lee Thomas was the new volleyball poster.  Gotta be honest, Sasha is lovely, but the nose hardware is not attractive in a close up.  I wonder if the three other seniors have posters coming.  I also picked up a very pleasant looking Devin Hart Aggie soccer poster.

The UCLA players were all tall and very lean.  The coach seems to recruit to a certain build.  The UNLV players might be a bit shorter on average, but seem more powerfully built.  Don’t let this fool you.  This isn’t football.  Tatyana Battle on the Aggies has a slight build, but is definitely a hard hitter.  The Aggies are generally built about the same as UNLV, maybe a bit shorter on average.  A couple of the UCLA girls had full leg compression sleeves on, but none of the girls on either team had knee braces.  The Aggies have issues there and with some of their best players.

 

The crowd was sparse, though the teams themselves would make up for it, doing their own cheering.  There were some UNLV fans below me, behind the benches.  A few UCLA fans were on the other side of the court.  A few other fans were scattered around.  A couple of guys behind me were having a really deep volleyball discussion, scouting the teams.  The Aggie girls came in right before the match and sat up high in the student section in the shadows.  Coach Jordan and his assistants were standing behind their section.  Adam Young, in workout clothes, was at the scorer’s table.  I think he had a college football pre-game show going on his laptop. 

Taylor Swift’s brand new song, Look What You Made Me Do, is already in the music rotation.  The video is a triumph of the artform.  Lyrically, it’s well-written, if well-trod ground for Tay.  The tune isn’t hugely catchy though.  (And I am still waiting in line to be her next boyfriend/relationship material for her next hit song.  I love you, Taylor.  I’m the actual one you’ve been waiting for.)  Both teams were spirited before the game.  UCLA had a special clapping cheer worked out.

Set 1

I don’t think I was rooting for either team, so I just applauded good points.  Early on, the points were mostly short and brutal kill shots.  UNLV got in some really nifty dump shots and tips to counter.  UCLA actually used a great decoy on a spike on one point, which got an “Oooh,” out of me.  UNLV showed a lot of skill on blocking, which forced UCLA to also use the occasional dump shot.  UNLV coverage would start adjusting for that.  15-12 Bruins was the epic sort of point we were waiting for with great saves on powerful spikes.  UCLA would prevail 25-18 in the first set.

Set 2-UCLA 1, UNLV 0

They threw out free t-shirts to the crowd!  Maybe I was a little greedy signaling for one.  A couple of UNLV fans and a family got most of them.  Both teams had some surprising serving issues.  I guess everybody is susceptible to the yips, and they’re contagious.  UNLV did get in a good ace.  I finally took a moment to identify the good primary blockers on UNLV, #14 Ashley Owens and #17 Riley Jacobs. 

I also finally started noticing UCLA’s player-specific cheers.  I think their reserves had one for every player whenever they got a kill.  #4 Jenny Mosser got called out a lot.  They just sang out her name.  “Mac Attack!” was used for #14 Mac May.  Somebody was “Hip, hip, hooray,” but I don’t know who.  Also, any double touch foul would be followed with, “Can I get a double?”  UNLV wasn’t as coordinated, but their reserves were spirited too.  They even unintentionally disrupted a point as a UCLA player served into the net.  (I say “unintentional” because the cheering girls weren’t facing the court at the time.) 

The 11-9 UCLA point had several digs and dumps, but ended on a UNLV kill.  Later, a ball flew into the stands below me on a hard shot.  I wasn’t prepared for that.  I noticed an attractive blonde come in for UNLV, #6 Thea Sweder from Norway.  Sweet recruiting there coach.  Put her on a poster.  On the 20-16 UCLA point, she got in a great falling away backward spike for a kill.  She’d use that shot again later.  That’s unique.  24-19 UCLA was another epic point as they made a couple of digs off balls that hit the net.  UCLA won the second set 25-19 to go up by two.

               

Set 3-UCLA 2, UNLV 0

There was no halftime break.  It was just a regular set break.  I just had time to get to the bathroom to unload my drink.  The Aggie team and coaches were gone when I got back.  I’m not sure if they were there to scout UNLV or if they were just supporting the other teams’ games, maybe the later.  At 4-4, UCLA had another couple of great digs on net balls and won the point.  Their coach had to love that, never giving up on a point.  At 7-6 UCLA leading, a ball flew into the UNLV reserves.  They had to scatter to allow the on-court players a chance at it.  13-10 UCLA, Ashley Owens put a beautiful, light touch on a ball that just fell over the net for the point. 

UNLV tied it at 13.  15-13, UCLA served an untouched ace into the middle of the court.  16-15, UNLV got back into it with a good dump shot.  Tied at 17.  21-18, UCLA put an untouched spike into the middle of the court.  Their reserves started bowing, “We’re not worthy.”  25-21 UCLA was the final, and they won the match 3-0.  I’m not sure they ever trailed in the match. 

The UCLA team went over to the other side of the court and saluted their fans there, whom they outnumbered.  They might not look tough, but boy can they play.  From these two games, I got the impression they only played as hard as they needed to to win.  They probably have another gear to go to against harder opponents.  Coach Jordan has a relationship with somebody on the UCLA coaching staff, which accounts for this ranked team coming here, so thank you for the visit and for not embarrassing anybody.  Last night’s game looked pretty well attended, so I think the fans here were excited about it too. 

    

After scouting UNLV for this game, what can I say about them?  One, they might be a bit tired this evening after playing this morning.  I’m not sure why anyone would schedule two best-of-fire volleyball games in one day.  Two, they block well.  I hope Coach Jordan and the girls saw that and have some strategy for it.  Three, they’re good on dunk and tip shots, so stay alert.  Four, the Norwegian chick on the team is really hot.  (That information probably isn’t going to be helpful.)  From what I’ve seen, the two teams should be well matched for a good game.   

I made sure to catch up with the Old Man afterward and thank him again.  He was jacked up.  He really enjoyed the game.  So did I, but it was a short affair though, as the match only ran about an hour.  I’d had breakfast before going, assuming I’d be hungry before lunch.  As it was, I ended up at Schlotzsky’s right after they’d opened.  (Can’t resist that ice cream there.)  I went home and typed this up and waited for the evening.  I guess I’ll tag this as an NM State Volleyball post, though the team wasn’t playing this time.