NM State Aggies vs CBU Lancers Volleyball 10-28-19 Part 2

Continued from Part 1.

Admittedly, this wasn’t the best place to break this evenly, but it was the most dramatic.  To recap, the Aggies had lost the first two sets.  They’d played valiantly and led late in each, but the Lancers had overpowered them.  The storyline seemed to that Savannah Davison wasn’t able to activate her usual high-energy game to lead the team.

Set 3: Lancers 2, Aggies 0

The Aggies were looking disorganized receiving and passing, but as has been noted elsewhere, this is normal and they are good out-of-system.  This is a product of their sheer talent, but I can see where Coach Jordan thinks they’d be much better with more discipline.  The Lancers were employing an interesting strategy blocking.  They’d bring a defender underneath the blockers at the net.  She’d have her hands out to dig.  That would help on balls going straight down between the blockers and the net, but would leave part of the court wide open.  I don’t think I’ve seen anybody else doing this.  

2-1 CBU took an early lead getting ace.  Sav wasn’t able to return it.  2-2, beautiful Megan Hart won the point on a tip.  3-3, Sav didn’t move at all on a CBU kill.  I could see that the Lancers were actively aiming at her on serves and kills.  I’m pretty sure Savannah noticed it too and she didn’t appreciate the attention.  We didn’t realize at the time that this was the turning point in the match.  Cue the rising dramatic music. 

5-5, CBU had a net serve.  6-6, Natalie Mikels had a net serve.  7-6, CBU took the lead on an ace.  7-7, Ashley Anselmo got a touch for kill.  8-7, the Aggies took the lead on a tip by Savannah.  CBU made a pancake dig on the point, but then let it drop after.  They had given up on the point too soon.  9-7 Aggies, Julianna Salanoa got the kill.  9-9, CBU aced.  10-10, Sav got a kill on a touch.  She’d gotten her second wind.  11-10, the Aggies went up on a block by Megan.  The crowd let off a big cheer.

Curiously, Coach Jordan was sitting quietly on the bench for this set.  I’m sure he was fully engaged in what was going on, but he looked like he was almost mentally resigned to defeat tonight.  12-11 Aggies, Megan again with a kill.  12-12, Krysten Garrison had a net serve.  13-13 Aggies, Sav made a kill in anger.  That was apparently what the Coach wanted to see.  He was up and yelling now.  13-12, Sav made a great save off court.  Cat Kelly ended the point with a kill on a touch.  The call was disputed.  The refs talked it over, but allowed it to stand.  The CBU captain objected to no avail. 

15-12 Aggies, Savannah had an ace leading to the media timeout.  The Raising Cane’s giveaway was during the break.  The section to our left won.  The loudmouth fan behind me, Ron, and his friend, Ginny, shouted, “They won last time!  Call another section.”  This was incorrect.  Last time (10-26-19), the section across the court won.  That’s where I was.  He was right in that the giveaway alternates between those two sections though.

16-12 Aggies, right out of the break, Sav served up a second ace.  She was mad.  17-12, Sav with a kill.  A CBU defender tried a kick save at the net.  18-12, Sav was still on serve.  Timeout Lancers.  18-13, CBU finally broke the run on a block.  That was a 6-0 run.  The Lancers came right back with a 6-0 run.  Coach Jordan burned both timeouts trying to break it up.  He seemed calm while talking to the team. 

19-18 Aggies, Lia Mosher got a kill through a block to break the run.  20-18, Lia had another kill.  21-19, Lia with tip.  She was on fire.  22-20, Ash got the kill on a touch.  23-21, Sav with a tip.  24-22, Meg with a tip.  Finally, 25-22, the Aggies won Set 3 with a block by Savannah.    

   

Set 4: Lancers 2, Aggies 1

You wouldn’t know from the crowd that the Aggies were still losing.  There was no letdown in the crowd’s energy.  They went crazy during a t-shirt toss.  A teen volleyball girls team was dancing in sync for the camera on the video screen. 

Savannah got the Aggies’ first point at 1-1 with a kill.  The dramatic background music starts getting louder.  3-2 Aggies, Natalie Mikels dropped in a sneaky dump shot.  4-2, Sav and Lia combined on a block.  5-3, Sav with another kill.  She was looking reinvigorated.  This was a good thing, because Cat was looking winded.  6-4, Meg got a kill off the blockers.  7-4, Analyssa served an ace, but out-served on the next point.

The Lancers made a comeback.  7-6 Aggies, CBU won the point.  Krysten went into press row trying to get the dig.  7-7, CBU got an overpass kill.  8-8, Nat had an out-serve.  9-8, the Aggies went back to the lead with a kill shot by Cat.  10-8 Aggies, Nat made a set that sort of looked like a dump shot, but was actually a pass to Julianna, who killed it.  Very sneaky.  11-9, Ashley had another kill.

The Lancers came back again.  11-11, Sav was blocked.  CBU seemed to be serving at Cat now.  13-11, the Aggies retook the lead with a pair of kills by Megan.  14-11 Aggies, Sav and Lia combined on a block.  14-13, CBU got an ace off the tape.  15-13, Sav got another kill.  Annie had a dive dig on the point.  This took us to the media timeout.

16-14 Aggies, Savannah had an out-serve.  17-14, Lia got the kill through a block.  17-16, the Aggies were called for four touches.  18-16, Cat came back with a kill.  18-17, CBU won the point, but the Aggies had two diving fist saves on the point.  They were really hustling.  19-17, Jules got a kill.  20-17, CBU made an out-swing, prompting a timeout.  The Aggies were the first to 20 in all four sets.  In the break, the camera found an older guy doing the scissors.  The crowd loved it.

21-17 Aggies, Sav got a kill on the sidelines.  22-19, for some reason, CBU was in complete confusion on this point.  They were still rearranging themselves during their serve.  One of their girls tripped and fell during the point.  Ash got another kill.  23-20, a questionable call gave CBU the previous point, but another one gave the Aggies this one.  Makeup call?  I think the officiating otherwise didn’t get in the way too much during the match.  24-20, a block by Lia got the Aggies to set point.  Lia finished it with a kill to win it, 25-21. The crowd was loud enough that I couldn’t hear the radio call in my earbuds. 

Set 5: Aggies 2, Lancers 2

In the break, another older fellow was doing a really fast scissors to Jump in the Line on camera.  What a way to fire up the crowd as they cheered him.  Savannah was the first out on the court out of the huddle.  She was by herself and looked around.  Where is everybody?  Sav took advantage of the spotlight and danced briefly.  I was on pins and needles, but the girls were keeping it loose.

1-1, Cat hit the backline with a kill.  She was getting a second wind.  2-1 Aggies, Ashley and Julianna combined on a block.  3-1, Sav and Jules combined for another block.  The loudmouth fan wanted a double touch on the Lancers anyway.  4-4, CBU took a brief lead, but let it go on a net violation.  Kiley Tonge came in to serve.  5-4, Meg hit the sideline on a kill.  “She terminates the point!” Adam Young exclaimed over the radio. 

6-5 CBU, the up official overruled on a kill by Sav to take away the point.  6-6, Meg and Sav blocked out on the point to tie it.  7-6, Megan gave the Aggies the lead with a kill.  8-6 Aggies, Sav got a kill into two blockers.  The teams changed ends.  9-6 Aggies, Krysten hit the tape with a nervous serve, but it was in.  Sav got the kill. 

9-8 Aggies, the Lancers were making a comeback.  Coach Jordan took a timeout.  A little boy tried scissoring for the camera, but couldn’t quite do it.  “A” for effort.  10-9, Sav with a kill.  11-10, Meg with a kill.  12-10 Cat with kill.  Me with a kill.  Just kidding, but this Aggie team does have a lot attack options.  Timeout CBU.  Good talk.  They took the next two points and tied it on an Aggie net violation. 

13-12 Aggies, Jules got a big kill.  The refs finally noticed a guy recording with a smartphone with a bright light on it.  They asked him to turn it off.  It was distracting.  That’s the second time I’ve seen that this season.  14-13, Sav free balled a shot and it fell in untouched for a kill.  She put her hand to her mouth in shock.  14-14, unfortunately, Sav gave back that lucky shot with a swing into the net. 

15-14 Aggies, no problem, Sav came right back with a kill.  The crowd was all standing and cheering.  Kiley came back in to serve for the match.  She’s regained the Coach’s confidence.  Appropriately, Savannah finished it with a kill.  The Aggies took Set 5, 16-14, and the match, 3-2.

The girls on the bench immediately stormed the court.  That was their twelfth-straight win the hard way.  I was a bit horse from yelling afterward.  The happy departing crowd quieted down to where I could hear the radio again.  Coach Jordan’s postgame interview had me laughing in his dismissal of his own team.  “We stopped feeling sorry for ourselves after two sets and started playing hard.”  He startled an otherwise ebullient Adam to the point that he apologized.  The Coach couldn’t even say anything nice about Savannah, other than she’d finally started playing decently by the third set. 

Three Lancers were in double digits in kills, including 17 by Morgan Sester.  Anywhere in the WAC except for the Pan Am Center, CBU would have easily done enough to win in all aspects of the game.  They truly had the Aggies on the ropes.  They only really made one mistake.   

Megan Hart led the Aggies with 18 kills.  She was the steady force tonight.  Credit to the Lancers for not getting discouraged like most teams do as Megan was raining shots down on them from orbit.  Ashley Anselmo had great game with 12 kills.  That was a career high for her right when the team needed it.  Cat Kelly had 9 kills on a night where she likely gassed for most of it.  Julianna Salanoa (8 kills, 5 blocks) and Lia Mosher (6 kills) came up with some really big plays too.  As usual, the Aggies led in kills, 71 to 60.  They were also up 13 to 8 in blocks.  Both teams were close in aces (8 CBU, 7 Aggies) and not too far off in service errors (6 CBU, 9 Aggies). 

Early in Set 3, I think Coach Jordan had mentally given up on winning this one, so give the credit to the players for not wanting to lose this one on their home court.  They had to win him back over.  The crowd never left or gave up on the team either.  All those teenage volleyball girls were especially indefatigable.  Even when you’re down two sets, remember that every set starts 0-0.  The other team can’t run out the clock.  They still have to earn the win.        

So what was the Lancers’ mistake?  They shouldn’t have made Savannah Davison angry.  In the first two sets, she only had a couple of kills.  Other players did a great job of stepping up, but that wasn’t enough against CBU tonight.  After they triggered her, Sav flipped the switch in Set 3.  By the end of Set 5, it was all her taking the big shots.  Sav finished with 16 kills, 18 assists, and 6 blocks.  As much as I’ve said how talented and deep this team is, as of this game, we just found out how important having Savannah is against a tough opponent. 

Autographs

At the end of the match, the young volleyball players in the crowd rushed the court.  The players started congregating by the sideline seats.  Gasp!  Could it be?  PA Ed then said something about autographs.  Yay!  I wasn’t going to be shutout of meeting all of the girls this season.  I waited until the radio postgame was over to go down.  Looking at the long line of little girls, I told Ron and Ginny that this might take a while.

  

As I walked across the court, I ran into Assistant Coach Hertel and congratulated him and shook his hand.  I passed by Adam and gave him a smile and a thumbs up.  I was at the back of the line.  Thankfully, though there were 1,500 tweener girls in front of me, I was in back with a few adults.  That guy that did the scissors was right in front of me.  Disaster almost struck as the last poster was handed out just as I reached the table.  Coach Hertel came to the rescue and brought in an armful of posters.

First, I have to address a couple of absences.  It occurred to me after Saturday’s game I hadn’t noticed red-shirt freshman Zoe Abeyta.  I guess she left the team.  It wasn’t until after the autographs and from looking at the roster that I realized I didn’t see Brielle Sterns there.  After her multiple season-ending injuries, I wonder if she was forced to quit volleyball altogether.  She’d played so well as a freshman before her first injury.  I’d seen her in uniform during warmups, but she didn’t participate.  She looked very unhappy and terribly thin.

The PA music tuned down when I got to the table, so I didn’t have to shout.  I knew all the girls’ names and used them with everyone.  I think it pleased them or at least didn’t get me slapped with a restraining order at the end of the line.  All of the girls were really nice.  First up, I finally got to congratulate Analyssa Acosta on starting.  She was all smiles on the recognition of her efforts.  Next, I told Megan Hart she was awesome.  I then sighed, leaving my feelings for her unexpressed.  She looked so beautiful. 

I also finally got to tell Julianna Salanoa that I knew she was going to be a great player the first time I saw her.  That was when she was introduced on court for the first time (8-19-17).  (Boy, did I nail that one.)  She gave me that killer smile of hers.  I asked Brenda Hernandez where her softball-playing sister, Brandy, was.  She probably gets that a lot and took it well.  Lia Mosher liked my black Borderland Invitational t-shirt.  I complimented Lindsay Blakey on her swings in practice.  Hopefully that helps to keep her spirits up, since she hasn’t played this season. 

I pointed at Brie Mortensen and told her she’d be starting someday without explaining my opinion.  “Okay,” she said genially.  Her reaction was either incredulous, like it was beyond expectations, or nonplussed, like she expected it.  I wasn’t sure which, so hopefully I’ve either motivated her or validated her.  I told Katie Birtcil she’s had three set-winning shots.  “Yeah, I guess that’s my job,” she didn’t entirely sound enthusiastic, since she’d only been brought in when the team was way up in points.  I think she was only feigning that she didn’t know how many times she’d done it though.  I may have undercounted.             

Cat Kelly seemed like such a sweet girl.  I called her a “Dynamo,” and she blushed and said, “Thank you.”  Kaleigh Thomas seemed a little startled that I knew her name, since she hasn’t played at all this year.  “At last, a redhead on the team,” I said.  Autumn Gentry, sitting next to her, commented on her hair too.  Okay, wow, Autumn is even better-looking close up than the knockout she is on court.  She was also really nice.  I told her she was Ron’s favorite.  “Well, at least I’m somebody’s favorite,” she said wistfully.  He really should have come down to meet her. 

I restrained myself from telling Kiley Tonge congratulations on getting out of the coach’s doghouse, since he let her play tonight and in some key spots.  I probably wanted to remind Halle Razo that she was the libero last year when they won the WAC championship.  Whatever happens next, she’ll always have that, but there’s no reason why she couldn’t be the libero again next season if she gets the coach’s confidence back.  On the other hand, that would have been awkward mouthful to blurt out, so I didn’t.               

I told Savannah Davison that the coach was very complimentary of her play in his postgame interview.  “You’re being sarcastic aren’t you?”  “Yeah.”  I hope I properly afterward emphasized what a great job she’s doing.  Between the coach wearing her out and her own probably very high expectations of herself, I’m sure she could use some praise for her efforts.  Lastly, I greeted sweet Brigette Lowe again.  She had a big stain on the shoulder of her uniform.  I said she looked like she’d been playing baseball and had slid in the infield.  Thinking about it now, I hope that wasn’t dried blood.  (Probably not.)               

Ice Cream is for winners!  We went to Caliches afterward and used the coupon on the back of Ginny’s ticket.  The clerk there asked about our evening and I gushed about the game.  He said he had a class with one of the volleyball girls, but didn’t know which one.  I asked him to tell her congratulations on the win and thanks for the autograph.  While we were there chatting, the Twin Peaks theme came on over their outside speakers.  I was the only one who identified it.  Strangely, the same Billie Eilish song we came into Pan-Am Center with came on there at Caliches.  I guess that closes the loop on tonight.  What a great time!