NM State Aggies vs Cochise College Apaches Women’s Basketball 10-26-25

I’m not happy with New Mexico State Women’s Basketball and the season hasn’t even started. I’d like to talk to Coach Adams for a moment. Ahem. “You had one job!” Madi Gewirtz has left me . . . err . . . us! How could you allow the second coming of Brooke Salas to pack up and leave after just one freshman season? I don’t know how Coach Jordan recruited Jaelynn Kohli for the Volleyball team this year, but I suspect it was because he told her that she’d start for him. If you’d just made that deal with Madi, maybe she stays another year.

Now she’s at FAU. Wait, let me check. No, our Florida conference opponent is FIU. I’m sad I likely won’t get to see her again, but at least I won’t have to watch her play against us. We wish her luck . . . I guess . . . sniff. I didn’t expect to get this emotional before the first game (or at any point this season). I really am actually unhappy about this. Madi had shown potential, but wasn’t a star yet. Losing her at this point in her career isn’t a good sign for the program and probably fits into the general downturn of Aggie Athletics.

At least they did pick up one player for this season that I’m attached to. I was talking to an officer at work about Aggie Basketball and he asked if I knew the local girl who was on the team. He mentioned her name and I’d happen to notice an interview with her on Twitter. Seeing her and hearing her name, it reconnected a memory. Here’s an excerpt from a Softball game from 2016 (4-2-16).

The highlight of this game was a little girl sitting below us. She was loud and pumping out encouragement for the girls like she was on the team. I got tickled listening to her and nudged Ron, who was annoyingly still able to listen to the game on his phone. He started chuckling as he heard her. After another round of rally towels were thrown to the crowd, two people behind us caught them and tossed them at the girl. She turned around and waved, “Thank you!” as our section had a laugh.

It’s Ron’s little “niece,” Emma Christiano. He was so charmed with Emma, he wanted to adopt her. (I think he wanted to ditch me and just go to Aggie games with her.) I’m sure I mentioned Fan Emma in a few other posts, but I was lucky to find this one. Since there would be autographs after today’s game against Cochise College, I was going to have to go to officially meet her.

We have encountered the Apaches of Cochise College before at a Soccer exhibition game (8-10-23), which was unfortunately right after Thalia Chaverria had died. The Aggies won that game, 9-1. This is a community college, not a university. Congratulations for not changing your team name like Cleveland and Washington DC did. (No man, that’s different. Really? Are you sure? Explain it to me.)

And I’m back at the Pan-Am Center for the third day in a row (10-24-25 and 10-25-25). The parking lot was just about empty. I was momentarily worried the game had been called off. In the concourse, there was a girl holding a sign for Emma. That was my first hint she might be a popular draw for the team. I was going to get popcorn and a drink for the game. However, checking the prices, that would have been $12. In fairness, they only sell large buckets of popcorn, but I decided to wait for dinner.

I was sitting in my usual spot for basketball on the west side of the arena. The volleyball floor had been taken up. (There’s been a schedule change for Volleyball that is likely because they can’t change the surface between two games on the same day.) It was a really light crowd, but Mrs. Hubbard was here, though she’s now in a wheelchair. Broadcaster Jack Nixon came by the press table. He was surprisingly dressed in a Los Angles Chargers jersey. The Anthem was played 10 minutes before the game. The CC coaches lined up their team on the sideline for it. The Aggies were nowhere in sight. I might add CC has a very international team with only two Americans on it.

When the team came out to warm up, Emma led them out on court. The booster section with friends and family, which was the best filled section, went crazy for her. Emma was all smiles and a bundle of energy. The new intro video showed Coach Adams in a white suit. She came out wearing a classy white pullover, though she ditched it and was just wearing a t-shirt underneath. The assistants were in matching gray pullovers.

First Quarter

PA Ed was challenged with the names of the players today. There was the additional challenge that the CC uniform numbers didn’t match the program at all. The team looked like they were wearing practice jerseys. Maybe they forgot to pack their regular jerseys. That kind of stuff does happen. This caused me a great deal of confusion trying to match scorers to uniform numbers. I was already out of practice covering a basketball game. Somehow the scoring added up, but I don’t guarantee that the scores match the correct players. There’s no official scoring for the game, so there’s no correcting it.

Frankly, this game was a mismatched mess. I did not take play-by-play notes. The player number thing had me confused for most of the game. CC scored a quick basket right off the tip. Their bench got good and loud. You could also hear both coaches shouting. There wasn’t enough of crowd to work up a noisy buzz. Imani Warren had an early steal with a basket. She’d also get fouled on another trip, but miss both free throws. CC also drew a foul, but one shot was waved off on a lane violation.

Imani had another steal with a basket. Anna Csenyi had a steal and connected with newcomer Keira Hudson, who splashed a 3. It was 7-3 Aggies with 7 minutes left. Imani made a steal at half-court, which led to a layup by Lucia Yenes. It was 13-3 Aggies at about the 5-minute mark, which led into a Media timeout (though this wasn’t being broadcast).

One of the two Americans on the Apaches is Gaby Oliver. (It took me a minute to identify her with the uniform number issue.) She was cute. She looked like a young Ziva David from NCIS. She was interesting to watch during the game, as she was wearing her emotions on her sleeve, mostly frustration. Oliver nearly fouled out early in the second half.

Emma and some other new players came in after the break. The crowd went nuts. At Emma’s listed at 5’3”, I admit I was a bit skeptical of her playing D1 basketball. She was the point guard bringing the ball up and distributing it. Her opening minutes were a bit rough. My only other note was a highlight for CC. Lesine Penge stuffed new Aggie, Morane Dossou. It was actually close after 10 minutes, 18-12 Aggies.

Second Quarter

Imani rather blatantly tripped a CC player and took her third foul. The refs were calling a lot of fouls in this game. I’m a little shocked nobody fouled out. Emma came back in 2 minutes in. There was no change in the score for those 2 minutes. 6’ left, Anna hit a 3, but the Aggies gave up an immediate layup going the other way. It was 23-16.

5’ Emma made a nice assist to Iyana Beh for a basket. That might have been her first assist. She had another a minute later to Loes Rozing on a breakaway for a layup. 2’ Emma took her first shot, a long jumper, and she nailed it. The crowd went wild. She took another long shot after that missed. Before the end of the half, Emma did knock down another long jumper. Emma was mostly pass first while playing. It was 38-20 Aggies at the half.

Third Quarter

There was no halftime show. The Cheerleaders took off for popcorn and soda. (They must be rich.) It was the Imani show to start the third quarter. She had a bucket, a steal, and then a steal with a layup. And then she came right out and went to the trainer’s table. The trainer worked on her legs. I didn’t see her get hurt, but I certainly could have missed it. She didn’t come back in.

Emma was standing at the bench and yelling at the players on the court. She got put back in about 5’ in. Possibly, the Coach was tired of hearing her. Again, I have little in the way of notes. It’s hard to take an exhibition seriously. 4’ Lucia had a steal. With under a minute, Emma made a steal and started a fast break, but no points came of it. Emma was making some impressive no-look bounce passes. After three quarters, it was 58-29.

Fourth Quarter

There were three fouls called on the Aggies in the first minute of the fourth quarter. What did I say about the officiating? 8’ left, Emma on a fast break found Marta Guilera for a layup and a foul. It was 61-29 Aggies. Emma had a steal and won the tie up. Newcomer Aussie, Nikki Stanic took several long shots that missed and was taken out. Her Aussie countryman, Keira, came in a hit a 3.

2’ left, Morane scored and the bench went crazy. She must be popular. Emma later made a tight, low pass to her that resulted in a turnover. The two of them had a quick discussion on court afterward, but didn’t have further problems passing to each other. Nikki came back in and hit a 3 with about a minute left. With that, all the Aggies available to play scored. Aggies win 70-35. There was a little comedy before the end. 6’1” Marta accidently knocked down 5’2” Apache Noa Mikami from Japan. While play was still going on, Marta helped her back up. This got a chuckle from the crowd.

From the official recap, the Aggie had 23 steals and the Apaches had 39 turnovers. Imani Warren led all scorers with 14 points and she only played 10 minutes. Lucia Yenes had 11 points and Keira Hudson had 9. Malika Goutay led Cochise College with 7 points and 9 rebounds. Unfortunately, I have no other stats.

Autographs

The Aggies did their usual circuit around the court after the game. The Apaches came over to the sidelines and all fist-bumped and older man there. I don’t know who is, but a couple of Aggie fans there also talked to him. He took off on a Segue with oversized outdoor tires. New Athletic Director Joe Fields was at this game. He was all smiles and greeting people.

It was a short line for autographs. Maybe they should have done this later in the season. I was in line with the usual crowd of little girls. Imani Warren was first at the sideline table briefly, but disappeared before I got there. I wonder if she needed more medical attention. I wanted to congratulate her on great performance.

Just to mention a couple of other players. Lucia Yenes smiled and seemed to recognize me. She’s finally warming up to me. Fellow Spaniard, Lucia Lara was there. I’m sure this won’t cause confusion for my recaps later at times when they’re both on court together. Nikki Stanic is kind of gorgeous. Iyana Beh is really cute and she is very friendly and charming. She helped me with her name, “Eye-on-ah.” (I think.) She has a Cree Summer vibe (from the 80’s show A Different World). I’d pick her for a player to chat with in a social setting.

“So in 2016, I remember this cute little girl cheering her head off at an Aggie Softball game,” I said. Emma Christano smiled and said, “Yep, that was me.” She reached out and shook my hand. I think she sort of recognized me. I made sure to tell her we were proud of her. I’m sure several other people in line said the same thing.

Absent from the signing was Coach Adams. I was probably going to tell her off, so that was good thing. (I would have nice about it, but “Why isn’t Madi here?”) Once again like Volleyball and Soccer, Aggie Women’s Basketball only recruited freshmen and non-D1 university transfers. We can almost expect the same results. Maybe I should have tried to get a minute of AD Field’s time.

I went to Smokey Sensations for dinner. It cost a bit more than the popcorn, but was a much better use of my money for a meal. Concessions was offering a “Personal Pizza,” but I was considering a “Brisket Pizza” at the barbeque place. I did have a foresight to ask what was on it first. Basically, other than the brisket, the other toppings were nothing that I liked.

I went with an excellent brisket sandwich with really good fries, which I’d had before there. It was sort of too bad though, because I otherwise would have had something new out three days in a row. The girl taking my order liked my white Aggie Women’s Basketball throwback Roadrunner hat. She did know about the Women’s team and I told her I had just been there to see them. If it hadn’t been so busy, we might have chatted some more. I’ll probably be back later in the season.

NM State Aggies vs MTSU Blue Raiders Volleyball 10-25-25

We’ll pretty much get right to it without much preamble. It was a lighter crowd today at 459. I was sitting with the Reese family plus their future daughter-in-law, Sadie. (If Cooper doesn’t marry this girl that looks like Megan Fox, but seems a lot less crazy, the boy will need a talking to.) Like yesterday, Trey Reese was a bit uptight. He was pretty critical during this match. I felt like I should asked if there were some personal issues, but I didn’t want to pry.

The Aggies were again in their dark pink uniforms. On the bench, injured senior Ashley Herman was wearing a Bianca Perez t-shirt. (Let’s hear it for NIL.) The trainer and Coach Chelsea were looking casually elegant. Instead of the spiked heels yesterday, Chelsea was wearing more practical sneakers with 2-inch high soles today.

Set 1

Aggie Volleyball was again playing Middle Tennessee State. Zoe Ziegler started the Aggies off with a kill, but the Blue Raiders came back with a 6-point run, mostly because of a lot of Aggie errors. MT libero MacKenna Poole has funky serving delivery, but it was working well. The Aggies and the crowd started with some low energy. The Cheerleaders and Pistol Pete were working hard to get everyone going. Pete was also dancing for the camera girl. On the other side of the court, the MT reserves were boundless in their enthusiasm.

Jaelynn Kohli came back with a crosscourt kill. Her next swing was out, but Coach Jordan challenged that there was a touch. The call stood. Jae would get a kill on the next point, anyway. Maggie Lightheart stepped up with a block and then a clever tip at 5-8 MT.

Nellie Resse started at setter. The Coach didn’t keep her in the doghouse from yesterday. Claudia Rossi rotated in for her and made a diving crosscourt save at 5-10 MT, though the Blue Raiders would take the point. Kate Sinclair and Maggie would make kills, but at 9-13 MT, the Blue Raiders got an unblocked kill. Coach Jordan was rubbing his face and bald head on the bench, a sure sign of frustration.

The Aggies starting working a comeback. 12-14 MT, Makayla Martinez served up an ace. I noticed Bella Castro rotated in for Tess Fuqua. That’s a DS in for an outside hitter. The Coach might be trying to preserve Tess’ knees on defense. Jae made a major stuff at the net to tie it at 14. MT fired out and gave the Aggies at 15-14 lead going into the Media timeout.

Out of the break, Maggie got another kill. Makayla had a 6-point run serving, before MT finally sided out. The Aggies got a 2-point lead with a slap kill by Mia. MT came back. They tied it at 17 on an ace where Makayla and Bella nearly knocked heads trying to dig it. At 17-18 MT, the Aggies took a timeout. After the huddle, the girls talked to each other on court before play.

The Aggies retook the lead, 19-18, as Kate tooled a block. Tess did the same to take the Aggies to the Turn. At 21-19 Aggies, the Blue Raiders took a timeout and scored the next couple of points. Maggie saved a setter dump, but the Aggies fired out on the point. Jae made a no-look kill to bring the Aggies to set point. She’d close it out with a kill, her fifth, 25-22.

Set 2: Aggies 1, Blue Raiders 0

Tess’ mom and her little sister were on the video screen a couple of times. They’re photogenic, like Tess. The crowd was small enough that everyone got a close up, including myself. (How embarrassing.) A beautiful blonde girl with nerdy glasses came down to our section. Pistol Pete knew her and gave her a big, smiling hug. The girl sat down in front of us and a constant distraction for me.

Tess got an early kill. Nellie made a rolling dig on the next point, but the Aggies didn’t win it. She next missed a set to Zoe. The Aggies went down 1-5 and the Coach called a timeout. The team couldn’t have been distracted by the blonde girl. They were at the other end of the court now. Coach Hertel and Chelsea did all of the talking to the team, while Coach Jordan was checking his iPad. The team was animated in the discussion.

Tess got a kill out of the break. An MT player went sliding on her stomach off court trying to dig it. MT added to their lead, 2-7, as they blocked Maggie and then dunked on her. Jae tooled a block after, then MT was called for being out-of-rotation for the second day in a row. How does this happen at this level?

Maggie painted the corner to make it, 5-9 MT. Tess was blocked on the next point, but came right back with a kill. 8-10 MT was a long rally. MT sent over two free balls on the point and Kate finished it with a kill. 8-12 MT, Maggie made a diving dig. The ball popped over the net. A Blue Raider missed a dunk attempt on it and Maggie got a kill for it. Jae tooled a block and Zoe made a block to get it to 10-12 MT, and the Blue Raiders called a timeout.

Poole served up an ace for 3-point MT lead. The Aggies came back with a kill by Tess, Maggie getting a touch kill, and Jae hammering one, but the lead still stayed at 3 with an MT setter dump. 14-16 MT, after two crosscourt passes to set her, Maggie came up with a kill. Mia Fox powered a shot through the MT blockers. After an insane rally, Tess finished it with a kill. Still, the Aggies were 2-points behind. MT ran it up to 4 points with a dunk at 16-20. Timeout Aggies.

Tess was blocked out of the break to make it a 5-point lead. Kate had a kill and Nellie had an ace, but Tess was blocked again, 18-23 MT. Jae had a kill and MT hit the antenna on the next point, and MT took a timeout. Jae had a block and it was a 1-point lead, but the Blue Raiders finished it out with a couple of points, 22-25. That was hard fought. Trey was again getting uncharacteristically angry at the team for not playing up to their potential.

Set 3: Aggies 1, Blue Raiders 1

The Coach wasn’t happy either. After some consultation, he put Rilen Garcia in as the starting setter. At least this set started off close. Maggie got a couple of kills and Kate added a kill. 3-4 MT, Gabrielle Clinkscale hit a kill that rebounded high into the stands. This got an “Oooh!” out of the crowd. It might have hit an Aggie on the head, though you’d think that person would have had to have come out.

Tess had a kill at 4-6 MT. Nellie was the alternate setter, who rotated in. Unfortunately, she hit the floor hard diving for a ball a couple of points later. The Coach immediately pulled her for Claudia. Zoe then came up big with a block, another block with Jae, and a kill that tied it at 8. MT immediately took the lead back. Tess made a pancake save on one point, but MT won it and aced on the next point, 8-10.

Maggie brought it back by tooling a block and getting a kill to tie it at 11. Rilen made back-to-back great sets and Mia and Tess got the Aggies to a 14-13 lead with kills. However, MT was back in the lead, 14-15, at the Media timeout. I needed a breather and I was just watching. The Aggies tied it after a long rally with several hard swings. Kate was the finisher. Claudia served up an ace for the lead, but served out on the next point. Zoe got the lead back with a kill.

The Aggies poured it on with kills by Jae and Maggie and a block from Kate. 21-18 Aggies, MT took a timeout. Maggie got another kill out of the break. Rilen was on serve during this run. The Reserves and the Cheerleaders were doing a golf swing on her serve. Trey didn’t know the significance of it. Maybe Rilen is a golfer. Maggie got another kill and was all smiles. The crowd was into it. Mia got it to set point with a kill. MT challenged it, but was denied. Jacqueline Corcoran came in to serve and put in an ace to finish it, 25-20 Aggies.

Set 4: Aggies 2, Blue Raiders 1

Trey and I were somehow having a discussion about Jean Shepherd and A Christmas Story to start this set. On court, the score was again tight with lots of errors. Mia made a kill early. The next Aggie kill was by Maggie at 7-6 Aggies. Jae fired one out at 7-8 MT and the Coach surprisingly called a timeout. He wanted to nip any run in the bud.

Mia tied it at 8 with a kill. Kate gave the Aggies the lead with a block. Maggie next hammered one in anger and hit another hard one at 11-9 Aggies. She wanted this one over. MT was called for a lift and Kate had a block to make it, 13-9 Aggies. MT took a long rally at 14-11 Aggies. Rilen saved a block on the point and Makayla made a dive save, as well.

MT closed in to 14-12 Aggies and the Aggies took a timeout. MT took the next point, though there was confusion on the call by the refs. The Coach went ahead and challenged, but it was confirmed. The Aggies turned it up after this. Mia tooled a block and, after another long rally with hard hits, Jae came away with a kill. Nellie had come back in to serve and had a 3-point run. MT took a timeout at 18-14 Aggies.

Jae had a kill and Maggie added a tip kill to get the Aggies to the Turn. 21-17 Aggies was an insane rally. MT made a save way off the court to keep it going, but lost the point. MT challenged, but it was again upheld. Unlike yesterday, the refs had a good day today. Mia and Jae combined for a double stuff and Mia slammed the door with a kill to get the Aggies to set point. Maggie finished it with a kill. Aggies take the set, 25-20, and the match, 3-1.

If yesterday’s match was tense, today’s was exhausting. The Aggies were playing from behind for nearly the whole match. The Aggies were only hitting .189, but that beat out the Blue Raiders’ .104. Kills were 56 to 44 for the Aggies. Serving was an Aggie asset yesterday, but not today. MT was up 6 to 5 in aces and the Aggies had 9 service errors to the Blue Raiders’ 5. The difference was in blocking with the Aggies up 11 to 6.

Blue Raider Gabrielle Clinkscale led all scorers with 20 kills. Maggie Lightheart was next with 19 kills and 11 digs. Jaelynn Kohli had a great game with 12 kills and 6 blocks. Tess Fuqua wasn’t on today, but had 8 kills. Mia Fox also had 8 kills and hit .467. The three setters, Nellie Reese, Claudia Rossi, and Rilen Garcia were all about equal in assists. Somehow using three setters today worked.

While at McAlister’s yesterday, I noticed a new restaurant, Roni’s, had opened next door. I was kind of shocked, since they’d barely put up a “Coming Soon” sign last month. A macaroni and cheese restaurant seems like a hard sell given that I fix that myself regularly, but it was really good. They can put a bunch of stuff on it. I had it with bacon and broccoli with a garlic parmesan drizzle. The garlic cheesy bread side was awesome. This was a bit pricey, but I need to try at least one more combination there.

In other college sports news, Aggie Soccer played their final game of the season against UTEP tonight. They had a longshot chance to get into the conference tournament with a win, but only managed a scoreless draw. The UTEP recap credited Aggie goalie Valerie Guha with keeping the Miners off the board. The Miners were also eliminated from contention.

In more momentous news, I saw on the UTEP site that their Volleyball team had beaten Western Kentucky. This snapped their 100-game winning streak in the conference regular season! And it was a sweep! Don’t start building the trophy case yet. WKU swept right back in the next match. These two are likely headed to a rematch in the conference tournament and will likely both get into the NCAA tournament.

NM State Aggies vs MTSU Blue Raiders Volleyball 10-24-25

I like this picture.  It's Kate, Nellie, and Jac.

 

Last week wasn’t good for Aggie Sports.    Aggie Volleyball had two losses to Missouri State.    They went down 0-3 on Friday.    Maggie Lightheart wasn’t playing.    She might have been out sick, since she was back the next day.    Tess Fuqua played out of her mind in the loss.    She had 19 kills (in a three set loss, are you kidding me?) and 13 digs, which led both teams, and was hitting .444.

Saturday, the Aggies won the first two sets, but MO St. worked the reverse sweep by taking the next three, 2-3.    The fifth set was even a blowout.    Maggie was back with 12 kills and 19 digs.    Tess had 18 kills.    Jaelynn Kohli had 16 kills and Zoe Ziegler also played well this weekend.    The official recap noted the Aggies’ extreme drop off in the team’s serving efficiency.    They were playing in Springfield where my Aunt Judy lives.    I told her that her team wasn’t very hospitable to my Aggie girls.    She wasn’t the least bit sorry.   

Aggie Soccer did get a 2-1 win over MTSU.    Meredith Scott, our little ham, and Amaya Simoni-Walters both scored.    Unfortunately, they followed that with a 0-2 loss to WKU.    They now need a win at UTEP and some help to get into the conference tournament.

The crusher was Aggie Football’s mid-week loss to Liberty, 30-27.    I was able to listen to that one.    The Aggies were down 20-6 in first half, but came back to score 3 touchdowns and take the lead late in the fourth.    However, Liberty came back with a long march for a touchdown and to take the lead.    The Aggies still had a minute left and got into long field goal range to attempt to tie it.    A last second miss ended the game.    The Aggies led in all the offensive stats, but a kick return for a touchdown and two muffed punts was the difference in the score.

Their next game against Missouri State was another heartbreaker.    The Aggies scored 10 in the fourth to tie it.    MO St. had a chance to win it on a 50-yard field goal, but a miss sent it to overtime.    The Bears scored a touchdown on their first possession.    The Aggies lost it on an interception on their first play of overtime, 24-17 MO St.    That was Logan Fife’s fourth interception of the game, which partly explains the loss, although the Aggies got three turnovers themselves (two interceptions and a fumble).    There were also lots of penalties in this ugly game.

That’s plenty of Aggie Sports recapping.    I had the new Turkey Ranch BLT at McAlisters for lunch.    It was delicious, but super-filling.    Tonight, Aggie Volleyball would be taking on the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders.    They have a similar overall record, but are 2-6 in conference.    Up front at the Pan-Am Center, they had the new Basketball posters out.    I declined a giveaway flag, but in turn, gave back the temporary tattoos from the Baseball exhibition.    The attendant there was thrilled with them.         

I was again sitting with the Reese family.    I asked what had happened to Maggie last weekend.    It was worse than I thought.    She has a heart condition that flared up on the trip.    She stayed in Dallas with Coach Hertel and went to the hospital, before going up to Springfield the next day.    I think this was a known condition.    It hasn’t affected Maggie’s play, but it’s hard not to be concerned for our sweetheart.    It’s a bit on the nose that she’s literally named “Lightheart,” but it’s a brave heart, too.

It was a low crowd out tonight (att. 512).    The girls seemed a bit subdued.    The ball girls were again from Aggie Soccer.    Rachel Haan was with them.    She looks big compared to the other soccer girls, but next to the volleyball girls, Rachel looks small.    Cooper Reese from the Baseball team came in later and recognized her, though he didn’t know what team she played for.    He noticed her thighs were solid muscle.    Cooper was wearing an eye-catching Blue Wahoos minor league hat.    He said he’d wanted to get one of every Major League team, but couldn’t get himself to buy a Dodger or a Giants’ hat.       

Cooper’s lovely girlfriend, Sadie, was here.    I was introduced to her and said, “Hi, Mia.”    She’s a dead ringer for Mia Fox on the Volleyball team and I couldn’t understand why she wasn’t out on court.    It might just be me that saw the resemblance.    Nice job either way, Cooper.    There was some conversation about the Baseball players having a dance and they have to bring dates.    Some of the guys are having trouble with that.    Cooper is just going to be rubbing it in on his teammates’ faces.   

On that matter, Coach Chelsea and the trainer were both looking elegant.    Chelsea was in attractive, but impractical-looking on a court, spiked heels.    The pretty trainer was in more practical sneakers, though it looked like they had 2-inch high soles on them.    Injured senior, Ashely Herman, was off the scooter and was upgraded to limping around in a boot.    During the player intro’s, Mia accidently tossed her souvenir ball directly to the Coach.    He rolled his eyes and tossed it into the crowd.         

Set 1

The match started well with the Aggies going up 5-0 on 3 aces and a kill by Tess and a block by Maggie.    MT took a timeout and sided out coming out of the break.    Maggie rolled off 3 more kills, along with Sadie, errr, Mia slamming a kill and Zoe getting a block.    The Aggies ran up a 14-7 lead.   

On the next point, Maggie made a pancake save, but Jaelynn fired out.    Not only is Jae’s right thumb taped up, her whole wrist is taped up tight.    It’s amazing she could swing at all.    After 3-point MT run, 14-10, the Aggies took a timeout.    Maggie got a kill right down the middle out of the break.    Her and Zoe teamed up on block next, but this was challenged by MT.    The refs surprisingly ruled for a replay and the Aggies took it anyway.

Jae, Zoe, and Maggie all had blocks.    Maggie made a hard smashing kill and the Aggies took the Turn, 20-10.    Jae got on track by hitting the line for a kill.    Claudia Rossi served up an ace.    Finally, Maggie finished it with a kill, 25-14.

Set 2: Aggies 1, Blue Raiders 0

We’re looking good to this point, but for Set 2, MT ran up a 0-4 lead.    When Jae had an out swing, the MT reserves shouted, “O-U-T!    Out!”    A service error ended the run.    Zoe had a net violation next, but Maggie came back with a kill that was nearly 3-D coming at us, 2-5 MT.   

Cooper was briefly watching the World Series Game 1 tonight on his phone, in spite of his dislike of the Dodgers.    He was also eating a churro.    I warned him that he’d end up wearing the sugar and cinnamon from it.    Tess had 4 kills, along with Maggie having 2 kills and Kate Sinclair having a kill.    Claudia put in another ace, but the Aggies were still trailing, 12-15 MT, into the Media timeout.

Maggie added another kill.    14-16 MT, she made an off-court save and got a block for the point.    After Maggie put in a tip kill and got the score within 1, MT took a timeout.    Kate Sinclair tied it at 16 on a block and the Aggies went up, 18-17, when the Blue Raiders were then called for being out-of-rotation.   

MT took the next couple of points and the Aggies took a timeout.    In the break, the videoboard showed a couple of guys hitting each other with pool noodles in the stands.    Also, two of our Pistol Pete’s were here out of uniform.    The third Pete was working the game.    Kate was blocked out of break, 18-20 MT.    Mia put in a very sneaky tip to get it to a 1-point lead again.    Jacqueline Corcoran came in to serve for Mia, hit the tape, but the ball fell over.    MT dug it out.    Tess tried to dunk the overpass on the dig, but MT dug that out too, and got a kill on the point.    At 19-22 MT, the Aggies took another timeout.

Tess came back with a kill, Zoe and Jae made a block, and Makayla Martinez aced to make it, 23-24 MT.    The Blue Raiders called a timeout.    Out of the break, Makayla aced again.    “An ace from Mighty Mouse!” was the call from PA Ed.    Jae tied it at 25 with a kill, but an MT tip would win the set for the Blue Raiders, 25-27.    I couldn’t help but notice that Trey Reese sitting next to me was really on edge and getting irritable with the team.    He’s usually much more mellow watching his daughter, Nellie Reese.    I’m not sure why he was uptight for this match.    His mood was matching the team’s.   

     

Set 3: Aggies 1, Blue Raiders 1

Wave the Wonder Dog came in during the second set.    They put him up on Dance Cam . . . or not.    The camera was there for him, but the director never put him on screen.    Maybe Wave is having a contract dispute with the university.    Great!    That’s all we need here at NMSU, our biggest Athletic star in a legal fight.

Gabrielle Clinkscale started off Set 3 with an ace for MT.    We got a good view of the ball swerving as it came over the net.    It was wicked.    This was followed by a service error.    3-1 Aggies, Jae made a block that ended a long rally.    At one point, the ball touched all three Aggies at the net and somehow made it back over.    On next point, Mia was out-jousted at the net.    Coach Jordan was yelling at her, “You lost to the setter!”

Maggie tied it at 4 with a touch kill.    She added 3 more kills to make it 10-4 Aggies.    One of those points was another long rally with MT making an off-court save.    MT challenged the next point and got it reversed, but Mia got the point right back.    Kate and Jae both tooled blocks, before Tess aced again to make it 15-9 going into the Media break.    MT challenged the ace, but the call stood, and to add further insult, Tess aced again out of the break.   

After Jae made a couple more kills, MT took a timeout.    MT took the point at 18-10 Aggies, though Makayla made a tremendous off-court save on the point.    Maggie got the Aggies to the Turn with a pair of kills.    MT took the next two points and the Aggies took a timeout.    Maggie and Mia added kills out of the break.    MT got next two points on a setter dump shot and an attack error.    Makayla and Nellie both made diving saves on the second point.    An MT ace made it, 23-20 Aggies, and the Aggies took a timeout.    Jae then had a kill to bring it to set point.    MT took their final timeout, but out of the break, Maggie finished it with a flourish.    She fired a kill that rebounded high into the stands, 25-20 Aggies.              

Set 4: Aggies 2, Blue Raiders 1

Trey Cooper noticed one of the MT players on the display was showing “Michaela Dlouha?”    On the program it reads, “Michaela Dlouha’.”    The computer display didn’t know what to do with the accent mark.

MT took the first two points of the set.    On the next point, Maggie made a diving one-handed dig and Jae finished it with a kill.    Maggie had another kill, but the Aggies started falling behind.    After an MT kill, one of their Reserves started doing “The Worm” on the sidelines.    That wasn’t one for the highlight reel.    Coach Jordan told the team to “Calm down,” and finally called a timeout at 2-6 MT.    The camera showed the Women’s Basketball team in attendance.    (I’ll have more to say about them on Sunday with their first game.)

2-7 MT, Nellie tried to push Jae out of the way for a set and missed the ball.    I don’t know who was out-of-position, but the Coach took Nellie out and put Rilen Garcia in.    Rilen immediately set Jae for a kill and Tess for two kills.    At 7-8 MT, the Blue Raiders challenged a touch call and got it reversed to 6-9.    Mia and Maggie came back with kills.    8-12 MT, the Blue Raiders fired a swing straight through Tess’ block.    The ball was dug out behind her, though the Aggies did lose the point.   

10-12 MT, Tess with a kill.    On the next point, Rilen made a great set for Zoe for the kill.    Tess tied it at 12 and MT took a timeout.    The Blue Raiders retook the lead, but kills by Jae and Tess tied it at 14.    Jae tied it at 15 with a block and the Aggies took the lead, 16-15, on a double touch call.    A block error gave the Aggies a 17-16 lead.

MT challenged for a touch at 19-16.    You know what they say, “You can’t take those challenges home with you.”    The call was reversed, 18-17.    The Blue Raiders were not happy with the officiating tonight.    Mia had a kill and Maggie aced to get the Aggies to the Turn again.    Timeout MT at 20-17 Aggies.   

Tess made a kill at 22-18 Aggies.    Kaylee Peterson came in to serve.    With Rilen and Bella Castro in, the Aggies were going with their “little backrow ninjas.”    Kaylee aced and Zoe made a block to get it to 23-18.    After a service error and a couple of out swings, the Aggies took a timeout at 23-20.    Tess was blocked out of the break, but Zoe got a kill to take it to match point.    It was a rejection by Zoe that ended it.    Aggies take Set 4, 24-21, and the match, 3-1.           

Robin Reese figured that the Aggies needed to win four of their last eight games to make the tournament, so they’re off on the right foot.    The team lead in hitting .228 to .165, 53 to 43 in kills, 12 to 5 blocks, and, get this, 13 to 5 in aces.    Their serving may be back on track, as service errors were 6 to 8 in favor of the Aggies.   

Raegan Durbin led the Blue Raiders with 13 kills and Logan Carr had 5 blocks.    Maggie Lightheart was outstanding with 23 kills (hitting .429 and a career high), 12 digs, 3 blocks, and 2 aces.    She is playing her heart out, literally.    Tess Fuqua had 10 kills, 9 digs, and 6 aces (!).    Jaelynn Kohli put in 9 kills and had 5 blocks.    Zoe Ziegler was a tower with 8 blocks.    Nellie Reese had 23 assists even with getting pulled in the fourth set.    I do credit Rilen Garcia’s insertion with turning around the set.     

Thank goodness this didn’t go the full five, because I needed to go to bathroom.    I didn’t stick around after the match.    Back at home, I was greeted by the Apartment Cat.    (I don’t know who owns him.)    I spent several minutes petting him, but he didn’t seem interested in hearing my recap of the match.    We’ll see if the Aggies can finish this homestand with a win tomorrow.