It was a lot nicer day. Unfortunately, I spent the day indoors and was bored again. I received two phone calls. One was from my dad saying that him and Lamae were afraid to go to tonight’s Aggie Volleyball game against Kennesaw State. They were worried about catching something.
The other phone call I got was from Fan Michael from Aggie Baseball. I had called Michael yesterday and invited him to the game. I wanted to do something for him for giving me a ticket to the Baseball fundraiser (10-11-25). He had already run into Nellie Reese from the Volleyball team and she had made him promise to be there for Senior Day today. Michael called to send his regrets. He’s having heart surgery on Monday and needs to go over stuff with his care provider.
I asked him about Softball Coach Kathy Rodolph, since Michael often has inside knowledge. This time, he didn’t know what happened and everyone he talked to who might have known wouldn’t say anything. It’s a big secret. It’s hard to imagine a scandal with Softball, but that’s what it looks like.
At work last week, I told a couple of co-workers who were interested in Volleyball about this week’s game. I even gave one a couple of tickets that I’d gotten from Chuck, who’d also given me those tickets to Aggie Football (10-2-25). I’ve done all I can to boost attendance for Senior Day. Unfortunately, I don’t think I saw them there.
There was a majestic orange sunset to the west of the Mesilla Valley in the evening that greeted me at the Pan-Am Center. (I tried to take picture, but it wasn’t capturing the colors.) Unlike yesterday, the parking lot was full. The crowd looked good inside, but it was only listed at 627. Speaking of majestic, I ran into Tess Fuqua as we were both coming out of our respective bathrooms. I waved hello and told her to have a good game. She tentatively waved back, but looked really grim and serious.
Her teammates were not so serious down on the court. Some of the girls were doing some kind of group pushup like Cheerleaders would do. The Owls were dressed in much more pleasing whites with black letters and yellow trim. Also pleasing, that pretty line official was back here for this game. Unfortunately, she was on the other end of the court.
I beat the Reese family to the seats again. I spoke to Robin briefly and asked about the team’s performance yesterday. She didn’t know what beat them exactly either. My theory would be that they were playing a better team in general, but specifically, they weren’t able to capitalize on the opportunities they were given to win. I warned Trey that the team can’t lose on Senior Day. I made sure to emphasize that wasn’t a prediction, but a warning.
Trey was returning from the concessions holding a bucket of popcorn when the Anthem started. “Oh great, they’ll put me on camera,” he groaned. I defensively stood in front of him to block the shot. I could hear the producer in the booth, “Curses!” (Actually, there wasn’t a full broadcast crew for the game, just cameras.)
Yesterday, there was the odd occurrence during the player introductions with the Owls coming over to the bench shake Assistant Coach Chelsea’s hand. Today, this mystery was resolved. Coach Jordan made sure he was at midcourt to receive the KS players. He chatted for a moment with some of them and it was very amicable. I’ve never seen another team do this ritual, so I’m not surprised that the Coach wasn’t prepared for it. For the Aggies, the six starters introduced were the six seniors. It was a nice touch. The regular starters did come out to play. Claudia Rossi was the starting setter.
Set 1
Tess came out firing hard to start with a kill to tie the score at 1. Maggie Lightheart and Jaelynn Kohli got their first kills early. KS tied it at 3. On that point, Claudia made a save way off court going over the sideline tables. Tess, back to the net and also off court, managed to hit it back over. That pretty much set the standard. The girls wanted to win today.
“Boom!” went PA Ed as Maggie pile-drived an overpass. “Ace of Hearts!” Ed called out, as Maggie aced at 5-4 Aggies. Did it take him all year to come up with that? He should consider going John Sterling and have a special call prepared for all the servers on aces.
Two co-workers I didn’t invite to the game came down the aisle and sat nearby. It was a recently retired lady and her son, who does currently work for the business. His little son nearly ran on to the court. Pistol Pete himself intercepted the lad and asked, “Who’s gonna win today?” “Aggies!” shouted the toddler. I went over and said “Hi,” during the first break in the action. They’d come because of the free tickets they’d gotten with Men’s Basketball season tickets like the ones I’d given away to another co-worker.
Zoe came in to serve and it went out. I thought we agreed this was a bad idea? Trey assured me that she could serve well, but needs to do so from a standstill, not jumping. 8-6 Aggies, Nellie Reese rotated in and put in a setter dump. I’m sure that was on her list of things to do for her final home game. On the next point, which the Owls ultimately took, Maggie, Makayla Martinez, and Claudia all dove for an off-court ball, and Jae (?) managed to get it back over. The Reserves nearly charged the court just for the effort.
Tess got the next kill at 9-7 Aggies. I had a question mark on that play, too. The pace of this match was absolutely furious and I couldn’t keep up. The Owls came back. Kiernan Stamey aced at 9-10 KS. Maggie dodged it, but the serve hit the backline. After KS took the next point, the Aggies took a timeout. I was grateful for the break.
Maggie blasted one out of the break. The ball rebounded into the stands. The Aggies tied it at 11, thanks to a Lift call on the Owls. KS got back ahead. Claudia made a set from her knees. I hadn’t seen her do that before. 11-15 KS, Owl Hannah Pierce made an overpass smash. Bella Castro came in for Tess for serve receiving. More on that later.
The Aggies made a run. Maggie had a kill, Mia Fox had a kill on a low set from Nellie, and Zoe had a kill. Next point, Zoe made an off-court save, Makayla and Nellie nearly head-butted going for a dig, but the Aggies got the kill as Maggie finished it. 15-16 KS and the Aggie Reserves were going wild. Mia added in a tip kill at 16-17 KS.
But the Aggies started falling behind again. The Aggies called a timeout at 16-19 KS, after a ball had dropped in front of Nellie after an awkward pass. Mia came back headhunting with hard kill. That started a run with Maggie getting a kill to tie it at 20. Timeout KS. Maggie looked happy, which she really didn’t yesterday. Tess came back to serve. She looked back and smiled at her mom and little sister in the stands.
KS got the next point, 20-21, on a touch. The Coach was about to challenge, but asked the players first. Kate raised her hand that she had touched it. A couple of KS service errors kept the Aggies in it, but Haley Patterson then aced it to put the Owls at set point. Maggie tooled a block, but KS did finish it on a touch kill, 23-25.
Set 2: Owls 1, Aggies 0
The teams switched sides. Twist Cam was activated. Owl Leah Freeman indulged in some dancing in the break. I got a good view of cutie Kaeley Walz serving as she went on an 0-5 KS run to begin Set 2. Jae was blocked during that run. Coach Jordan took a quick timeout.
The Aggies finally sided out off a net violation. Zoe made a block, 2-6 KS. Tess went way off court to save a ball and the Owls had another net violation to make it 5-7 KS. Olivia Burrage came back with a straight down kill at the net for the Owls. 6-9 KS, Kate Sinclair missed a swing. Katie Funk was sent in for her. 7-11 KS, the Coach almost challenged a touch again, but again a player admitted to it.
The Aggies weren’t going away. Maggie and Katie combined on a block next. Maggie then served up an ace. Tess made a kill standing by the up official. Katie then put in an ace. Finally, Zoe tied it at 13 on a block. She nearly got a kill at the net on the next point, but the Owls saved it. No problem though, Mia finished the point to give the Aggies the lead.
15-13 Aggies, after a long rally, Mia terminated it. The Reserves were completely into it cheering. Mia got the kill on the next point. She was having a heck of a game. The Owls took the next point, but Bella laid out to put a free ball back over. At 18-15 Aggies, KS finally took a timeout.
Out of the break, Zoe, Maggie, Mia, and Tess all had kills to make it, 22-18. A couple of these calls were tentative by the officials. I fully expected Coach Jordan to explode if they hadn’t gone the Aggies’ way. The Owls rallied. Still ahead 23-20, the Aggies called a timeout. Pistol Pete wasn’t worried. He was dancing up a storm on the sidelines. Mia got it to set point on a tip. Tess then took an awkward swing with her left, but it worked for a tip kill. Aggies take it, 25-20.
Set 3: Owls 1, Aggies 1
The Aggies returned to our side of the court. The crowd was charged up. Zoe played up to the booster section. Anticipating being there awhile, I took a quick trip to the bathroom. I returned to see Pete leading the Cheerleaders in a conga line to Jump in the Line over the PA. Glad I didn’t miss that. Katie was starting for the Aggies to begin Set 3.
I admit that my attention was wavering. The pace of the previous two sets had taken a toll on me. Jae started the Aggie scoring with a kill. Makayla made two one-handed digs. She got it to Maggie for a tip kill for a 5-1 Aggie lead. The Owls took the next few points, until Maggie got another kill at 5-4. 7-4 Aggies, Nellie dropped in an untouched ace. Unfortunately, she netted it on the next serve.
The Owls got ahead briefly, but Maggie tied it at 8 with a kill. Katie got the Aggies back in the lead with a kill down the middle. 12-10 Aggies, Mia with a kill. However, a couple Aggie out-swings put the Owls back up. 12-13 KS, the Aggies took a timeout. Maggie would tool a couple of blocks and hit the floor after one, but she was okay. Katie and Maggie had kills and Mia tooled a block, but KS continued building on their lead.
18-22 KS, the Aggies took a timeout. 18-23 KS, Kiernan hit a kill hard enough that it knocked Maggie down. She was okay, but the team was not. KS finished it with Kiernan dunking one to take the set, 18-25. That was a 6-point run to finish the set.
Set 4: Owls 2, Aggies 1
That was a back-breaker. We lost some of the crowd by this point, including my two co-workers. I really lost my concentration on the game, as well chatting with Trey through much of the set. So, sorry for whatever I missed. Three KS players charged up the stairs to go to the bathroom in the break. It happens, but usually not as a group.
The Aggies fell behind early. Kate was put back in after play started. 2-5 KS, the Owls got a point off of a ball going into the video unit. The Aggies clawed back into it with a kill by Mia and an ace by Tess. A kill by Mia put the Aggies up 8-7 and KS took a timeout.
I forget what brought on the conversation. Maybe I was asking about Bella often coming in for Maggie or Tess whenever they’re in the backrow. Trey put his hand up like he was whispering, “It’s because those two are the worst passers on the team. The other teams’ servers pick on them every time. Nobody’s really good at passing on the team. It’s why you see the setters working so hard and diving for balls.” He added, “Actually Jacqueline Corcoran is the worst. Yesterday at the end of the game, somebody shouted out the Owl’s sign that they were serving to her and she still missed it.” I’m only posting this as constructive criticism. I love you Volleyball girls.
KS retook the lead when Maggie Byrd dunked an overpass to make it, 8-9. Makayla nearly sent the ball into the unit on the dig attempt. Maggie and Kate had kills. Jae had a block and Maggie added another kill, but the Aggies couldn’t get back ahead. They took a timeout at 13-16 KS. In the Owl Reserves, I noticed two of the girls were holding up another girl by the stomach after a couple of plays. The held girl was miming swimming. I don’t know what triggered the display, but it was kind of cute and/or silly.
Trey and Robin had an unexpected argument over backcourt attacks. Trey thought an Owl attacker was over the line, but Robin said it was okay. The discussion went on longer than was comfortable. Trying to distract them, I brought up that the Aggies don’t really have a good backcourt attacker like they used to have with Tatyana Battle. I had no idea this was such a touchy subject.
At 13-18 KS, Coach Jordan apparently threw in the towel. He sent Peyton Castillo in to set. This was not like yesterday’s musical setters. He wanted to get the senior into the game. It was good to see her out there playing. The Aggies took their final timeout at, 13-20 KS.
There was an ad on the video board for the C-USA Volleyball tournament in Miami. I pointed out it was being held in the Convocation Center. Trey couldn’t believe the name, or he thought I was saying something else, or he hadn’t heard that word before. I still like it.
Bianca Perez, Jacqueline, and Rilen Garcia, were put in with Bianca and Rilen being seniors. (Senior Kaylee Peterson played earlier.) 14-23 KS, Peyton fed Kate for a dunk. Bianca got an ace at 17-24. The Owls finished it out, 17-25 for the set, and 1-3 for the match.
The Aggies finished the regular season on a five-game losing streak, but will still go to the tournament. Thanks to Kennesaw State being classy during these overmatched wins, unlike UTEP (10-11-25). I never felt like they were rubbing it in. I hope they didn’t feel slighted by the Coach putting in the seniors there at the end instead of fighting it out.
I am glad the Coach finally saw the error of his ways from yesterday about swapping setters constantly. Unfortunately, the Aggies played worse just using two setters for most of the match. Well now, I don’t know what to think. I’m not sure it mattered for either game what the Aggies did. Kennesaw State was just better. The Aggies had chances to make it interesting, but the Owls had another gear to go to. The Aggies didn’t. Double teaming Manu Johnsen kept her from getting 20+ kills this time, but her teammates had no problem picking up the slack.
The Owls led in hitting .305 to .186, 67 to 46 kills, and 9 to 4 blocks. Little wonder they won. The Aggies did better in serving tonight. They were up 7 to 2 in aces and were 4 to 8 in service errors. The Owls spread out the scoring today, unlike yesterday. Kiernan Stamey had 15 kills, Olivia Burrage had 14 kills and 8 blocks, Manu Johnsen 12 kills, and Haley Patterson had 11 kills. Also different, KS rotated two setters. Interesting that they could mix it up so much from yesterday and still win.
For the Aggies, Maggie Lightheart had 16 kills and Mia Fox 13 kills. The Aggies also served better than yesterday. That’s all the good stats. Jaelynn Kohli and Tess Fuqua were shut out from double-digit scoring. It wasn’t a lack of effort. KS either defending them better and/or they didn’t have the touch today. Mia stepped up well, but the Aggies needed everyone doing well to have a chance.
Senior Day Ceremony
One of the trainers tossed out a box of Kleenex to the girls sitting on the bench watching the proceedings. That was a heads up move. AD Fields was here. I was surprised he wasn’t with the Football team in Tennessee for the game. That would be a good opportunity for networking with a big time school. Maybe he wanted to be here for the boosters for the ***Aggie/Lobo Basketball*** games instead.
Nellie was already wiping away tears after the game. Tess collected her little sister and had her on her lap for the ceremony. I think Assistant Coach Chelsea handed off her daughter to Zoe to hold.
For this years’ Senior Day, the Seniors recorded their messages beforehand. I thought this might mean less tears. It did not. Claudia Rossi was crying through her speech. Ashley Herman was honored, though she might be coming back next year. Boy, Bianca Perez is a smartie. She has a 4.0 GPA in Engineering. Peyton Castillo, in a tear-filled talk, thanked Coach Jordan for saving her and giving her direction in her life. Amazingly, the Coach was wiping away tears during the speech. I’ve seen a bunch of these ceremonies. I’ve never seen the Coach get moved like that.
“Nellie Reese was literally born to be an Aggie,” said PA Ed, referring to her former Aggie player parents. She totally lost it during her speech and they had to cut some of it out and restart. Quiet and reserved, Kaylee Peterson, was very well spoken. She’ll go far in life. Rilen Garcia was introduced as, “The Captain.” She thanked Jesus first.
Coach Jordan then took the microphone. He gave his usual praise for the girls and that they’ll be successful in whatever they do later in life. He stopped for a moment and was choked up. I’ve never seen this get to him like this. I wonder if it’s this season in general weighing on him. He then said, “I know one of you isn’t sure about her career path. I have an opening for an assistant coach next season.” Jordan was talking to Rilen, who gave a thumbs up to the cheers of the team.
I went down after the ceremony to congratulate Nellie and offer regrets for Michael not being there. I told Trey, Robin, and Cooper Reese that I’d see them in the spring at Baseball. I noticed Tess limping on court. She wants to play so bad and is so good, but she’s really paid the price. The Aggies have at least one more game left. I can’t sum up the season right now. I’m wore out a bit from this week and still have a game to go. I’ll write something later.
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