Wednesday, October 25, 2017

NM State Aggies vs Grand Canyon University Lopes Volleyball 10-14-17


Unlike the last volleyball post, no rants this time and I was there.  Our last opponent was undefeated in conference.  This time, the opponent, the GCU Lopes, was winless in conference.  Over the course of Adam Young’s radio call, he emphasized that they have played everyone tough, but just haven’t been able to come away with a victory.  Going into this, I was also smelling a trap.  A lowly opponent after a big win, usually seems to bring out the worst in a team.  In the pre-game interview, Coach Mike Jordan called his team “the Mother Theresa of volleyball charity,” for their numerous errors.  I wonder if he was concerned about this matchup too.      

I showed up thinking, I’m missing playoff baseball for this.  This had better be good.  My loyalty to the girls overpowered my love of baseball this afternoon.  My favorite, Jordan Abalos, was still on the bench, injured.  However, she wasn’t on the crutches anymore and could walk.  She also seemed in better spirits, chatting with some of the girls on the bench.  Jordan was sitting next to a young girl, probably . . . oops, wait . . . that’s Brielle Sterns.  She looks way younger with her hair down.  Brielle is also injured and she’s on crutches.  As good as she was, I wonder if they can red-shirt her, so we can get four full years with her.  Unfortunately, Adam seemed to indicate that they’re both done for the year.

It was a good crowd, reported to be just under a thousand, but I didn’t know how good until the Anthem.  There was some sound system problems.  Everyone was standing for about 30 seconds in silence until an older fellow nearby me started singing.  Given that he had a great singing voice, there was no embarrassment on his part about going a cappella.  Of course, the rest of the crowd and myself joined in.  I couldn’t see the Aggie players from where I was facing, but the GCU players all turned around as the singing started.  I had my earplugs out, so I didn’t hear whatever Adam said afterward.  For anyone wanting to protest the Anthem, this is what you’re up against: everyone else.  Great patriotic moment, but these technical glitches at the Pan-Am Center are kind of mortifying in front of opposing teams and occasional national audiences.  Work out the bugs and be better prepared, guys.    

The player introductions were different.  The music for the Aggies’ intro video was changed from Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song to Bruno Mars’ 24K Magic.  I’m mentally hearing a needle scratch an LP as I write that.  Just a bit of a tonal shift.  It’s not a bad song, very catchy, upbeat even.  The lights went down and spotlights careened across the arena, which was new, but they didn’t focus on the girls as they were being introduced.  This didn’t entirely make sense for an introduction. 
     
Set 1
This was a good start.  Hannah Combs got a kill for the first point of the match.  This was her second appearance of the year, as she did well in the previous game versus BakersfieldMegan Hart and Lia Mosher joined her in starting, so the Aggie went “tall,” but lots of substitutions went in and out on the floor.  3-4 GCU, KC Tohm got her first kill, continuing her good play over the last several games.  6-6 Ari Sierra served up an ace.  It was looking tight so far, but the Aggies seemed flat-footed and were making errors and having net violations.  (I still can’t figure out what is and isn’t a net violation.  The players are hitting the net all the time.)        

9-10 GCU point and Associate Coach Ben Wallis was out on the floor getting frustrated.  9-11 this was a long point won by the Lopes.  Kaylee Neal made a great save in the middle of it to keep the point going.  9-15 the Lopes made an error leading into a media timeout.  Coach Jordan started in on the team.  Once again, I could hear him pretty easily, well away from the bench and over the ambient noise.  As poorly as the team was playing, I’d judge him to be somewhat restrained in this circumstance. 

10-18 KC was blocked on a shot and the Lopes’ bench erupted.  11-18 KC whistled one through the blockers on the next point.  12-19 KC again with the kill.  13-20 Lia pounded one into the floor for her first kill.  Sasha got into the act with three kills in a row to bring the score to 16-20.  On the next point though, GCU was basically unblocked and hit in an easy kill.  Adam seemed concerned about the lack of defense on that point.  One can only imagine the coaches’ thoughts.  GCU would take the set 19-25

Set 2: Aggies 0, Lopes 1
Since the team is missing key players and having to use some new ones and doing lots of cycling in and out, the girls were trying to figure things out . . .  in the middle of the season . . . during a game . . . with the coach screaming at them.  I give them lots of credit for not crumbling.  Meanwhile, I experienced my own hardship with two pen malfunctions during the set and had to go to the pencil.  Always have a backup.       

Bridgette Lowe started with her hitting hand still bandaged.  (Is using the left hand out of the question?)  The Aggies looked even more confused at times early in this set, with the girls having trouble on court coverage, but they kept the score close.  3-2 Aggies Hannah got another kill.  5-3 was an Aggie point where KC completely laid out for a dig.  7-5 Lia and Sasha combined on a block.  8-7 Sasha on a solo block.  13-9 Hannah on an overpass kill.  15-10 Lia on a block.

16-11 KC powered one between two blockers.  16-12 was a Lopes’ point where KC appeared to have jammed her fingers on a mishit.  She got a kill on the next point, but came out right after, holding her fingers.  In her absence, GCU went on a three-point run.  Timeout Aggies.  On the video screen, a little girl was shown dancing to Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off.  Too cute.  19-16 Sasha broke up the run with a cross-court kill. 

22-20 Lia and Tatyana Battle ran into each other going for a tip.  The Lopes players started to get really enthusiastic.  Timeout Aggies.  23-21 KC got a clutch kill.  Timeout Lopes.  The GCU girls gave a big shout coming out of the huddle.  23-22 Lopes got an ace as KC shanked the dig.  24-22 side out Aggies on another KC kill.  25-22 it’s all KC here as she served for the set.  Sasha got the kill to finish it.  We’re tied in sets.

Halftime
As I went out to the bathroom, I was walking behind some younger girls, who might have been there for a volleyball clinic earlier.  They were jumping around, pumped up, and ready to play.  If you have any more injuries, put me in Coach!  Future Aggie stars.  Back at my seat, I could see the DJ in the corner dancing while working the music.  It wasn’t my usual aisle seat and that cost me right before the next set.  Jordan Abalos unexpectedly came down the stairs.  (Don’t they have bathrooms in the locker rooms?)  If I’d been where I usually sit, I could have said, “Hi, how you doin’ Jordan?”  At the bottom of the stairs, she messed with Adam while he was on the air.  I guess she’s in good spirits at least.

Set 3: Aggies 1, Lopes 1
I’ve saying how the Aggies were having problems, but most of what I’ve been listing has been Aggie highlights and how close the match has been.  The Lopes played pretty steady ball, while the Aggies played good and bad.  Set 3 was another a tight, close affair.  3-3 Hannah was back to serve and hit the tape on the net.  The ball fell over on the GCU side.  She’s had some serving issues (as has some other Aggies), but after this lucky shot, her later serves easily cleared the net.  6-5 Aggies, KC got her first kill of the third set.  10-8 on a long point, Sasha finished it definitively. 

11-9 Hannah put a beauty of a kill into the corner of the court.  12-9 she came back with a tip kill.  13-11 Megan Hart, who’d been in and out for much of the match, got her first kill.  14-14 an Aggie error tied the game.  16-15 Aggies, this was another Aggie error.  The players even complained about the call as the crowd joined in.  “The boo-birds are out,” as Adam said.  18-16 a GCU ball dropped between three Aggies.  Ari actually ran into Hannah in the confusion. 

18-18 Timeout Aggies.  The score tied three more times.  22-21 Aggies, KC pounded a nail into the court and pumped her fists afterward.  23-21 KC again and she was fired up.  During a break, the PA gave an Aggie soccer update.  They were winning 2-1 in Seattle.  A cheer went up from the crowd.  24-21 Natalie Mikels dropped in an ace.  Somewhat like the team, Nat’s serving goes from good to bad.  She also worked hard on the setting today would lead team in that stat by the end.  25-22 KC finished it with her seventeenth kill.  2-1 Aggies in sets.

Set 4: Aggies 2, Lopes 1
During the break, a promo was shown for the Aggies’ Downtown Rally later this month.  The spot featured Pistol Pete.  Some young girls down in front were trying to figure out the Macarena.  Another group in the student section had it going.  I’m getting exhausted just watching this match.  It’s been tense. 

The first point was an ace by Briana Ainsworth.  (The PA loves saying her last name.)  Or was it?  The point was called for the Lopes.  One of their players had kicked the ball off the ground on the serve.  Another player one-handed it over the net, while the Aggies were celebrating, and it dropped in behind them.  The referees conferred and wisely gave the point to the Aggies before a riot broke out.  Adam was a bit despondent, “If that play had stood, it would have made it on to Sports Center tonight.”  (Maybe the crowd doing the Anthem would have gotten on too.  Oh, wait.  It’s ESPN.  The “Conscience of American Sports” wouldn’t have been interested in that.)

The teams matched each other early, point-for-point.  The Aggies got a lead at 8-7 on a Lopes’ error.  8-8 usually solid Ari served one out.  Adam reported Coach Jordan tossing his playbook into the air.  Service errors and net violations abounded in this match and neither team was immune.  9-8 Aggies, Sasha got a sweet tip kill.  As hard as her shots are, that’s a great way to mix it up.  10-9 ugly point, but Aggies got it on a block.  11-9 Hannah again on a hard kill.  14-13 Lia put in a tip kill after missing hard on the previous point.  15-13 KC kill, her twentieth.  Media timeout.  There was an announcement that Aggie soccer had won their match.       

17-13 Sasha-Lee went crosscourt for the kill.  Timeout Lopes.  The young girls up front had no trouble going Gangnam-Style during the break.  18-14 KC fired a cannon shot into the floor.  The Lopes didn’t even react to it.  This was the first point that I thought they looked tired.  Earlier in the set, Adam had called it.  The team was coming off of a hard, five-set loss on Thursday, and he wondered when it would catch up with them.  19-14 Sasha again.  20-14 Sasha!  Boo-yah!  24-18 here was a great kill by the Lopes, but it was ruled out late.  That didn’t seem right, but it wasn’t their day.  25-18 for the set and 3-1 Aggies for the match.

Adam Young had been emphasizing that Grand Canyon was a good team in spite of their record.  He’d said they hadn’t been swept in any of their matches.  From what I saw today, they are a hard-luck 0-7 in conference.  I have to think, if the Aggies had played the same and the Lopes had come in fresh, this probably would have ended differently.  After Set 1, I was ready to blame an Aggie loss on the weird new player intro production.      

Coach Jordan had calmed down for the post-match interview, but he said he was furious with the team in the first set.  They were not following the scouting reports and their assignments.  This was correct.  Everyone could see that the team was a bit disorganized.  I’m sure they practiced a lot with the new personnel changes, but doing it for real in a game was going to be a different experience.  There was going to be an adjustment period, especially with all the players that were moved in and out in the first set.  By the end of the match, play was better, but I’m sure they’re not done with the awkward moments and confusion from changes and experiments.

I thought this was another good win.  They lost a set, but still won the match.  You can’t expect to sweep every opponent.  You’re not playing cardboard cutouts on the other side of the net.  The other team wants to win too.  I thought it was also good that a bunch of girls got some good playing time.  Sticking with Hannah Combs definitely paid off today and should in the future.  She’s been on the team all season (though she might have been injured earlier for a bit).  She just needed some play time to shine.  I think some other girls on the bench could do the same, but they’ll be rough at first.  You’d have to have the patience to let them play through it.        
 
Here and now, it looks like KC Tohm has taken over in leading the team.  Whatever happened after that bad game against the Roos, flipped the switch and she’s been on fire.  Sasha-Lee Thomas is great, but I think her time on court is still limited by nagging injury.  Tatyana Battle, also great, isn’t a senior and still has some areas that need work.  KC finished with 21 kills.  Sasha ended with 14.  Taty had 11.  Hannah came in with 7.  Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come from her. 

I think the team needs one more good player at the net to win the conference.  (I say this mostly because I doubt the Coach is going to change anything in the back row or setting.)  Lia Mosher is solid, but is a raw talent right now.  Megan Hart still seems tentative, whether from injury or lack of playing time.  I think Bridgette Lowe could contribute, but not with a bad hand.  Julianna Salanoa had a rough outing on the road and didn’t appear in this game.  She needs more playing time to develop.  Is Savannah Davison able to play?  I thought she looked like a smart player in the Scrimmage.            

While the girls were doing interviews and sitting down for autographs, I watched a guy at the Scorers’ table.  He was doing a magic trick for some little kids.  I was just seeing it from the back, but he must have been doing a good job because he had all of their attention.  Coach Jordan was also doing interviews.  He stopped to talk to some young girl volleyball players, who seem to gravitate around him.  No doubt they’re dreaming of the day when he could be yelling at them on the bench.  Before he left, I caught the guy who started the Anthem earlier and congratulated him.  He’d almost forgotten doing it.  I was satisfied with watching a good match today.  Schlotzsky’s for lunch! 


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