NM State Aggies vs Texas A&M Corpus Christi Islanders Men’s Basketball 11-14-24

After the Women’s Basketball game ended, dad’s friend, Janet, went to another seat to be with her son for the Aggie Men’s game against the Texas A&M Corpus Christi Islanders.  Dad growled at me to go get my dinner, because he wanted to leave, “pretty quick.”  He’d only agreed to stay till halftime.

 

A bunch of people came in for this game (attendance 4,114).  Going around the crowded concourse, I went to over to the grill for an Aggie Burger.  And I found out that the price of the burger had gone up from $6 to $10, since last season.  The line was also about 10 deep. 

 

I went over to one of the other concession stalls and looked for pizza.  They had it there, but they only sold whole pizzas, not slices or personal pizzas.  (I think their whole pizzas were $20, which would not be bad if you’re feeding a group.  A family below us was sharing one.)  I settled on the Pete’s Combo with a hot dog, chips, and a drink.  How disappointing.  I’m finally here with the grill open and just end up with a hot dog.  At least, I liked mine.  Dad didn’t like his.

 

The little Native American girl performed the Anthem in Navajo again.  I saw her around the press table during the game, still wearing her tiara and sash.  What can I say?  She’s a princess and was going to let everybody know it.  The team had a really classy player introduction video, along with a black & white video showing the history of the program.  The handsome guy in the middle of the poster, I was finally able to identify as Robert Carpenter.  This guy should think about taking acting classes, if he doesn’t have a serious major.  Not so classy was the program for the game.  It was just plain paper.  Also, Student Section was not entirely filled.  That was a poor showing.                

 

First Half

As the game began, dad’s former co-worker, Beverly, who was sitting by us, moved over beside me.  She was having trouble seeing from her seat with a tall person in front of her.  The 90-year old was pleasant company for game.  She was enthusiastic and made some insightful comments about play.  Meanwhile, dad was not speaking to me.  He barely wanted to be here for the Women earlier and wanted to go home.

 

A&M started the game with backcourt violation off the tip.  Carl Cherenfant began the Aggie scoring with a jumper.  Carpenter hit a 3 and things were looking good.  However, the Aggies had a bad pass.  Christian Cook, the iconic-looking guy on the left of the poster with the long braids, prevented a layup and the Islanders did not score on the possession.  Cook then hammered a three and the Aggies were up 8-0 with 17’ left in the half.

 

Jack Nixon on the radio call commented on the Islanders’ uniforms.  They were black with neon green trim and blue numbers.  Jack thought they were nice, but the numbers were hard to read.  His partner, Anita Skipper, laughed at him.  (This is why you bring a radio and want to have the call during the game.) 

 

The Aggies had committed a couple of fouls early.  A&M got in the board with 3 free throws off a foul on a 3-pointer.  Aggie big man (7’) Emmanuel Tshimanga drew a foul and made one of two.  Anita was all over him.  “Why can’t big men shoot free throws?”  A&M came back and missed a pair, while Aggie Peter Filipovity made one of two.  The only thing this really proves is that all these guys need more free practice.  10-3 Aggies with 15’ left.

 

Aggie Gabe Pickens came in with bright pink shoes.  That was a bold (?) choice.  In play, Peter ran the gauntlet down the lane for a layup.  Anita was trying to count the steps he took doing so, but lost count.  I guess the refs did too, and let it go.  Dionte Bostick laid one in for the Aggies to make it 14-7.  Jayden Walker for A&M banked in a 3.  I don’t think he called it, but it still counted.  A&M then made a layup and Nate Tshimanga took the foul.  The crowd booed the officials for it.

 

Coach Hooten is fun to watch on the sidelines.  He’s a bundle of energy running up and down his lane.  I saw him grab Zawdie Jackson and literally shove him over to the Scorer to check in.  (I’m pretty sure Zawdie wasn’t that reluctant to play.)  On court, Garry Clark hit a 3 for A&M and suddenly the score was 16-15 Aggies with 13’ left.  Bostick made a layup and Emmanuel got a basket with a spin move in the lane to increase the lead to 20-15

 

The Aggies then came up empty on their next three trips.  Thankfully, A&M wasn’t able to capitalize on it.  The Aggies went ahead and took a timeout.  In the break, Molly Kaiser from the Women’s team was brought back out on court.  She was honored as the C-USA Player of the Week, in addition to being the Scholar Athlete of the Year.  She’s got a high GPA and is working on an MBA.  And I was impressed with just the 35 points in last week’s game.

 

Another Aggie missed shot led to an A&M layup to make it 20-17 with 10’ left.  Aggie Edward Nnamoko was fouled and made both of his foul shots.  Jack chastised Anita for her bias against big men making free throws.  (Ed is 6’10.”)  Cook was blocked on a shot, but Carl made a jumper to make it 24-19 with 7’ left.  Timeout.

 

The Sundancers performed in the break.  They looked good.  Jack reported that the Aggies were shooting 47% and were up 14 to 7 in rebounds.  Carl knocked down a 3 back in play to make it 27-19 Aggies with 6’ left.  Anita commented on the guys’ all wearing low-top shoes.  She couldn’t imagine playing basketball without some ankle support. 

 

Zawdie was fouled and converted on a one-and-one.  Aggie Jaden Harris grabbed a loose ball and poured in a jumper.  Peter made a rebound and laid it back in.  The Aggies were looking good up, 33-23, with maybe 4’ left in the half. 

 

Dad grunted and stood up at this point and announced that we were leaving.  I apologized to Beverly and said that we had to go, because it was past dad’s bedtime.  He did not appreciate that comment.  In fairness, dad said his main problem was that the Pan-Am seats were bothering his back.  I have offered to bring a cushion for him, but he won’t have it. 

 

As predicted, we had no trouble getting out of the parking lot and dad delivered me back home.  Frankly, I was a bit unhappy, because I was enjoying the game.  I don’t have much opportunity to see the Men play.  When I saw them two seasons ago, they were terrible, so it was good to see them playing well.  I turned on the radio at home to keep listening to the game.  It was 48-32 Aggies at the half.  This was sort of the best case scenario.  I thought going into this that the Aggies would be up big by this point, and I wouldn’t be missing much by not being there for the rest of the game.                 

 

Halftime

Soccer Coach Rob Baarts was there at the game and was interviewed by Jack.  He’d brought the team to respectability in his tenure and they’d had the biggest ticket sales ever this season.  Jack didn’t ask him, but he was clearly worried that Coach Baarts is going to depart for greener (more money) pastures. 

 

In the Football pregame on the weekend, AD Moccia was also concerned about keeping him.  Aggie Football was playing Texas A&M and not the Corpus Christi one.  (I think there’s at least three Texas A&M’s.)  The Aggies were there for the $1M+ payout to help fund NMSU Athletics.  It was reported that 13 to 16 A&M players are making more money in their NIL endorsements than the Aggie Football Coach Tony Sanchez is in salary.

 

Second Half

I got comfortable and I was sort of watching a TV show, while still listening to the game barely taking any notes.  The Aggies were up by 20.  They seemed comfortable, too.  With about 14’ left in the game, A&M went on a 7-0 run to make it, 69-59.  The Aggies called a timeout.

 

From here, the Aggies went down to a 6-point lead.  Cook hit a 3 and made a jumper to keep the lead.  A&M was called for goaltending with 1:30 left, but they kept scoring and whittled it down to a 4-point lead.  The Aggies missed their next two shots with under a minute left.  Carl fouled out.  A&M missed both free throws, but got the rebound and a layup. 

 

The Aggies were up by 3 with 19 seconds left.  Anita said she couldn’t watch anymore.  The Aggies were pressed on the inbounds.  Peter fired a baseball pass down court to Bostick for a slam dunk.  With 12 seconds left, A&M made a layup and converted on a free throw.  The Aggies were only up by 2 with 7 seconds left.  Cook was fouled and converted on one of his free throws for a three-point lead.  A&M had the last possession.  They missed on a three.  The ball was laid in inside for 2.  Perhaps the player was hoping to be fouled.  The Aggies won it by the absolute minimum, 83-82!  Whew!       

 

I blame myself.  I should have driven myself over, as dad had originally suggested, and stayed for the end of this game.  This is what I get for being lazy (and not wanting to fight traffic leaving).  Coach Hooten was not angry in the postgame interview.  A&MCC had played UTEP and UNM before this game and come back on both of them to make the games close.  They’re scrappy.    

 

Islander Isaac Williams led all scorers with 21 points.  Jayden Walker had 14 and Garry Clark had 13.  A&MCC shot 38%, 32% on 3’s, and 63% on free throws.  They had 65 points off their bench to 34 by the Aggies.  This is probably why the score was so close.

 

Dionte Bostick paced the Aggies with 13 points.  Four other Aggies were in double figures:  Christian Cook had 12 points, Zawdie Jackson and Carl Cherenfant each had 11, and handsome Robert Carpenter had 10 points with 10 rebounds.  Emmanuel Tshimanga also had 10 rebounds.  The Aggies shot 41%, 31% on 3’s, and 72% from the free throw line.  The Aggies have a good group who can score, but they need to be able to lock down on defense better. 

 

The Aggie Men have two upcoming afternoon games on their schedule that dad might be interested in going to.  I’d like to see more of them.  Maybe my workplace will offer some tickets.  Once again, I apologize for these last two recaps.  They were really bad.  There were too many distractions for me to do a good job. 

 

Quick view on other Aggies Sports

Aggie Volleyball lost in straight sets to Middle Tennessee on Friday, but won in five grueling sets on Saturday.  I wonder what happened on Friday.  I don’t know.  Their tournament starts next week. 

 

As mentioned above, Aggie Football played Texas A&M on Saturday and lost 38-3.  It could have been worse.  The Aggie defense made two interceptions in the endzone.  They had a decent running game on offense, but they just can’t throw the ball effectively.  Shiyazh Pete got a mention in the broadcast.  At first, they thought he’d committed a false start, but it was actually a neutral zone infraction by A&M and his reaction got the Aggies the call.  Jack called him, “Smart.”  

NM State Aggies vs UTSA Roadrunners Women’s Basketball 11-14-24

Taking off two days last week for Women’s Basketball and Volleyball didn’t go well for me back at work.  The two people who back me up were also taking those days off.  I’d barely dented my backlog before taking today off for tonight’s Men and Women’s Basketball double header.  I’ve had done this basketball double header before (1-7-23 Women and Men, 1-14-23 Women and Men, and 12-12-23 Women).

 

I sort of asked my dad if he wanted to go, knowing full well that the Men’s game would be past his bedtime.  He agreed to go to the Women’s game mostly to see a friend who was also going to the game.  However, I didn’t want to go separately, so I negotiated for going together and staying for half of the Men’s game.  I said it would be easier to avoid the traffic jam than leaving after the Women’s game or after the Men’s game.  I was thinking this arrangement might work if the Men’s game was a blowout at halftime.  I’d just listen to the end of the game on the radio at home.  My prediction would turn out to be correct, but I made a real mistake there.    

 

When we were going in the Pan-Am Center, a lady was escorting a little girl with a tiara and a sash hustled past us.  They were in a rush to get inside.  Five minutes later, the little girl was singing the Anthem on court.  She was part of Native American Day and sang the Anthem in Navajo.  PA Ed said she was 10-years old.

 

The game started at 5:00pm, which was early and accounted for a very light crowd to start, but it filled in later (attendance 812).  Tonight’s opponent was the UTSA Roadrunners.  I wasn’t sure what conference they were currently in (it’s the American Athletic Conference), but I could guess they were a good team and this would be a tough test for the Aggies.  They looked tall during player introductions with a couple of exceptions.  Their bench players did a clap while the starters came out.  I looked over the Cheerleaders.  One of my co-workers is dating a Cheerleader.  I think I identified her.  He said she was the only blonde on the team.    

 

First Quarter

It is the poor writer that blames his pen, but in this case, I’m blaming my pad.  It’s a bit smaller than the one I was using.  In any case, I was sort of getting used to it.  Later, there’d be other unexpected distractions.  I’m making some excuses for some bad coverage to follow.

 

Fanta Gassama started with a defensive play by pulling the ball away from a Roadrunner.  She then made a layup and drew a foul.  3-0 Aggies.  The foul was on Idara Udo, who looked big even next to Fanta.  Sylena Peterson came up with a steal and Fanta pulled down a rebound.  The Aggies were hustling.

 

Another UTSA big, Jordyn Jenkins, scored down low.  The Roadrunners went up 3-4.  Molly Kaiser had a steal and a layup.  This was followed by another UTSA turnover and another layup.  7-4 Aggies with 6 minutes left in the quarter.  Jenkins made a layup to make it, 7-6.  Fanta answered with a layup. 

 

Nyayongah Gony came in for UTSA.  You couldn’t miss her at 6’4”.  Some Aggie subs also came in as a couple of starters had picked up fouls.  Jenkins had another layup.  It was easy to tag her as their main scorer.  9-8 Aggies, Jenkins had all of their 8 points.  Fanta picked up a foul, as UTSA went on a run and led 9-12 with 4 minutes left.

 

I was smelling onions during the media break, but there was nobody sitting near us.  They must have been very strong.  Back to play, Fanta had a turnover on a pass.  Roadrunner Maya Linton hit a 3 to make it 9-15 UTSA with 3 minutes left.  Molly picked up a foul on a push.  Sy hit a 3 with an assist from Fanta.  Nina De Leon Negron looked small compared to her Roadrunner teammates, but answered with a 3 to make it 12-18 UTSA.  Timeout Aggies.

 

Sy had another steal, but missed a 3.  Molly picked up her second foul.  She lobbied the ref for a minute to no avail.  Madi Gewirtz came in.  In the closing minutes, Fanta put in a couple of layups, but Alexis Parker hit a 3 for UTSA.  It was 16-25 Roadrunners after 10 minutes.          

 

Second Quarter

Molly came back in.  Sy had a block, but UTSA still got the rebound and a bucket.  Anna Csenyi (still not sure how to pronounce that) made an interception of a pass that led to a Sylena 3.  19-27 UTSA with 8 minutes left.  Lucia Yenes was in and made a block.  UTSA ended up with a shot clock violation on the possession.  The Aggie bench loved it. 

 

Lucia made a layup to make it 21-27.  Fanta was blocked on a shot by Gony.  On the other end, the Aggies again put up ferocious defense under the basket.  Fanta picked up her second foul and came out.  Lucia made a steal on Gony and got a layup, but Gony popped a 3 right after in retaliation.  23-32 UTSA.  Molly came back with a steal and a layup.  25-32 UTSA into a Media timeout.

 

Out of the break, after a dangerous inbounds pass into traffic under the net, Molly took the pass and worked it for a jumper.  Molly fell on her back on the shot, but no problem.  Increased Aggie defense was helping them make a comeback.  Lucia made a bunny, Sy hit a jumper, and Anna made a steal and layup to pull within 33-34 with 2 minutes left.  Fanta was fighting for it.  She was on the floor twice on near tie-ups to get the ball back.  Lucia made a great rebound.  However, Negron made a 3 to put the Roadrunners up, 33-37 at the end of the quarter.    

 

Halftime

Dad announced he was hungry.  I led him to the Concessions and recommended the Pete’s Combo with a hot dog, chips, and a drink.  I said I’d eat between games when the grill opened.  Right after he got his meal, the grill opened up and I could have ordered then.         

 

Heading back to our seats, dad finally ran into his friend (the mother of his art teacher).  She was sitting up near the top in the corner.  We’d both been looking for her earlier, but didn’t see her there.  Dad introduced me to Janet, while he ate his meal.  (He didn’t like it.) 

 

Dad thought me and Janet would get along, since she’s a big Aggie fan.  We did chat for the rest of the game, which definitely impacted my notetaking.  Janet spoke enthusiastically about going to some Aggie fund-raising functions, like Aggies in Paradise.  She really enjoyed meeting the athletes.  I told her about some of the ones I’d met and I agreed with her.  She mentioned that Coach Adams had gotten divorced since she’d taken the job here.  This might explain her weight loss and dressing down.  (She was wearing warmups again.) 

 

Janet also raved about watching ESPN+ for being able to see Aggie games.  She thought Adam Young was doing a great job broadcasting, especially compared to some of the opposing game call.  Jack Nixon came in at some point during the Women’s game.  We both wondered who would be doing the radio call after he retires.  (I tossed out Anthony Rifenberg from the Chihuahuas as a regional possibility.)  Janet didn’t think the radio call was valuable anymore.  Well, I was listening to the game call while I was watching the Men play later.     

 

By odd coincidence, on that same row, was an old co-worker of dad’s, Beverly, from 35 (?) years ago.  By odder coincidence, we’d met at the Pan-Am Center before.  Dad had come with me a couple of years ago and we’d run into her and her husband in the concourse.  I can’t find that blog and I don’t even think I mentioned it in there, but I remembered it because it was so weird.  Bev is 90 years young and still roots on her Aggies, God bless her! 

            

Third Quarter

My notes are spotty here.  Fanta made an assist to Anna for a layup and got a layup herself, but UTSA led, 37-43 with 7 minutes left.  Fanta had a turnover, but no harm from it.  Molly drew a foul and put down both throws.  Molly then had a steal and a layup.  It was 41-45 UTSA with 5 minutes left.  Roadrunner Sidney Love hit a 3 as UTSA ran it up, 41-50, with 4 minutes left. 

 

Various Native Americans attached to NMSU had been introduced during the breaks.  I wondered if the university’s most famous current Indian would be presented.  Indeed, football star, Shiyazh Pete, came out with a couple of, I think, golfers.  Wow, he is huge.  Up close or far away, Shiyazh is massive.  I told Janet that I’d met him a few a few times and that he’s great guy. 

 

Back to play, Fanta grabbed a rebound and Molly found Lucia for a layup and a foul, 46-50 with 2 minutes left.  Lucia made a block on defense, but drew her third foul in the process.  I took credit for Lucia’s good play tonight.  ***Last week while getting her autograph,*** I’d told her to listen her coaches because I wanted to see her play more.  She’d been listening since apparently.  Molly hit a jumper at the buzzer to make it 50-56 UTSA after three quarters.         

 

Fourth Quarter

Emma Dasovich came in for the Aggies and hit a quick 3.  Udo replied with a 3.  Emma wanted the last word on the matter and knocked down another 3.  56-62 UTSA.  Molly was flattened on an offensive play.  A gasp went up from the crowd, as it looked bad.  Molly got up, limped a little, and shook it off.  She got a layup just to show she was okay.

 

The Aggies made a good defensive stand, but Jenkins hit a probably back-breaking 3 at the shot clock buzzer.  58-65 UTSA with 7 minutes left.  Molly made another layup to make it, 60-67 with 5 minutes left.  The Aggies forced a turnover on the Roadrunner inbounds, but UTSA defended well after and forced a shot clock violation on the Aggies’ possession.  After a timeout, there was a defensive lapse, which led to an easy Roadrunner layup. 

 

At the top of the concourse on the other end of the court, I noticed the Men’s opponent, the Texas A&M Corpus Christi Islanders, were watching the game.  The Aggies went to a full court press.  Molly picked up her fourth foul.  And then I just wrote down the final score, 61-75 UTSA.  Well, I guess the end of the game wasn’t very interesting or I wasn’t paying attention. 

 

Okay, I think I used “UTSA” all the way through this.  The last time an Aggie team played the Roadrunners, I identified their team as, “USTA,” those tennis people.  I even posted it without realizing it.  No offense was intended, nor was I making a joke.  I just got confused.

 

Roadrunner Jordyn Jenkins led all scorers with 27 points.  She was 8 of 8 on free throws and had 11 rebounds.  Idara Udo had 11 points and Nina De Leon Negron had 14.   Molly Kaiser led the Aggies with 23 points.  Fanta Gassama had 11 points with 9 rebounds and Lucia Yenes had 9 points.

 

Stat-wise, the shooting percentage was close.  UTSA was up 45% to 44%.  However, the Roadrunners were 50% in shooting 3’s and 92% in free throws, while the Aggies were 33% and 75% respectively.  The Aggies did get 27 points off turnovers and (I think) led 9 to 5 in steals.  It felt like the Aggies just needed a bit more scoring off the bench.  Lucia did a good job.  Maybe she should start.

 

The basketball continues with the Aggie Men playing next. 

NM State Aggies vs Jax State Gamecocks Volleyball 11-9-24 Part 2

Part 1.

 

Set 4: Aggies 2, Gamecocks 1

The up official had a chat with the Softball girls between sets.  It seemed friendly.  JS took the first point of the fourth set after another insane rally.  The teams traded service errors.  Gamecock Kayla Williams blocked Starr Williams to give them a 1-3 lead. 

 

A JS service error and an Ashley Herman touch kill got it to 3-4 JS, but a service error by Rilen Garcia made it 3-5.  Mari Sharp and Yasso Amin made kills to tie it at 5.  The PA was in to it calling the kills.  A double touch gave the Aggies the lead, but a service error by Mari and a JS ace gave the Gamecocks back the lead.  There was some confusion on who was supposed to receive that ace.  Kacia Brown aced to tie it at 8 and then handed it right back on a service error.

 

Yasso tooled a block to tie it at 9.  An Aggie foul gave JS back the lead, but Yasso tied it at 10 with a kill.  Makayla Martinez then had a service error.  I think that was all of the Aggie starters making a service error this set.  A lift was then called on the Aggies to give JS a two-point lead.  Starr had kill and Mari hit the backline to tie it at 12.  A JS service error tied it at 13.  A four touches call gave the Aggies a 14-13 lead.  JS took a timeout.

 

In the break, Pistol Pete tossed out some mini-footballs with PA Ed.  He’d come by to watch some of the game before going over to call the football game.  He’s a fan.  Yasso went by and said, “Hi,” to him.  Out of the break, Rilen had a service error to put JS in the lead, and then JS returned the favor likewise, 15-14 Aggies.  Okay, after 9 service errors in this set, I think we can say both teams were playing tight, but they finally worked it out of their system by this point.

 

16-14 Aggies, Yasso had a kill.  Brooklyn Schiffli on Jax State went hard into the metal plate in front of the sideline table going after the ball.  She was okay.  The girls were going all out.  That lead wouldn’t last.  JS had a kill to make it 16-17.  Now, Coach Jordan looked mad.  Yasso came back and tied it at 17 with a kill.  Ash put the Aggies up on a kill, 18-17, off a set by Kacia.  Nicole Briggs dunked an overpass, but a JS setter dump brought the Gamecocks within 1.  After six JS challenges, Coach Jordan decided to do one and the call was overturned, 20-17 Aggies.  During the break, a couple of little girls were playing catch with a mini-football.  Neither could catch, but they were having a good time.

 

JS got within a point anyway on a block off Yasso, 20-19.  Timeout Aggies.  A little girl sitting behind the bench with her friends was put on camera and wished “Happy Birthday,” by the PA.  It was 22-19 Aggies after long swing by JS.  The team wanted their coach to challenge, but got a timeout instead.  (Was he finally out of timeouts by this point?)  Back to play, JS put one into the antenna, Nicole made a block, and Yasso had the finishing kill.  Aggies win 25-21 and 3-1.  What a workout and all I was doing was writing about it!

 

The Hitting percentage for the match was .112% to .250% for the Aggies, but JS was way up in blocks, 11-6.  Here’s your stat of the match, though.  The Aggies had 8 aces to 9 service errors.  The Gamecocks had 5 aces to 14 service errors.  As bad as the Aggies were serving in the last set, Jax State killed themselves at the service line.        

 

The Gamecocks were paced by Kayla Williams with 18 kills and our lovely Finnish player, Sanni Rantanen, had 14.  Yasso Amin led the Aggies with 15 kills.  Starr Williams had 12.  Libero Darian Markham finished her last home game with 20 digs and the all-time record.  I have to single out Nicole Briggs, who was dominating in Set 1.  She had 6 kills and 4 blocks and was hitting .556.  Today, you really saw that flash of potential.  I hope she’s got more of that for the rest of her final season. 

 

Lastly, we had 7 challenges with 4 reverses.  Six were by the JS Coach Derek Schroeder, who was doing whatever he could to get his team a victory today.  They’ve had a rough season at 1-15 in conference.  He did a good job getting them fired up to play, that’s for sure.  However, clearly the refs weren’t having a good day.  The pretty line judge wasn’t working today like she was yesterday.  Coincidence?   

      

Senior Day Ceremony

This is going to take a minute with seven graduates.  Broadcaster Adam Young recorded a voiceover listing the players’ accomplishments.  Sydney McIntosh always seemed to have potential, but was overshadowed by other hitters on the team.  She unfortunately spent this season on the shelf injured. 

 

On that matter, Ryleigh Whitekettle’s injury wrecked the team.  As much as other players stepped up, seeing your star player go down at the beginning of the season was crushing to morale and I don’t think they recovered.  Possibly worse, I don’t know if they’re beating WKU or UTEP or UNM this season even with her.  I don’t know if Ryleigh is going to play as a graduate here, or somewhere else, or not at all, but she finishes her career awesome in any case. 

 

I always thought of Aleka Darko as our little blocking machine.  (She’s not little.  I’m just being endearing.)  She had the best smile on the team since Briana Ainsworth and that’s saying something.  I think my dad likes her, too.  A weeping Rilen brought flowers out to her.  I wouldn’t have picked her as sentimental.  Nicole Briggs . . . just one more year, please!  I’ll make the Coach focus the offense around you.  She’s a transfer portal heartbreaker.  

 

Yasso Amin is another one.  When she’s on, she’s been so good.  What a great transfer!  She’s also working on her second degree in Kinesiology.  (Individualized Studies was most of the other girls’ majors.)  Kacia Brown was definitely one of those players who stepped up this season.  Between hitting, blocking, and serving, she’s had big play after big play all year.  Ashley brought flowers out to her and gave her a big hug and was obviously holding back tears.

 

I’ve seen Mari Sharp as the captain.  She’s basically out there on every point, which means she can hit, block, dig, and serve at a high level.  Mari helps other players be great, because the other team can’t ignore her on any point.  She’s getting a degree in Public Health.  Mari came strutting out wearing cowboy boots, but her presumed sister stole the show in tight, shiny black leather pants and spiked heels.         

 

Legendary broadcaster Jack Nixon did the voiceover for Darian Markham’s career, which seemed appropriate.  This was a double dip was Darian.  She got her Senior Ceremony last year **(11-4-23)***, before she decided to come back.  Instead of a framed jersey, this time she got a pair of signed volleyballs.  I’ll repeat what I wrote about Darian last year.  The Coach praised her effort in doing so much on court.  He turned to the team, “She’s doing so many jobs that aren’t being done.”  Ouch!       

 

Perhaps because of the number of graduates, they didn’t do their usual ceremony, where the Coach says something about each girl and then they get an opportunity to give a farewell speech.  Usually, there’s lots of tears, “thank you’s,” and some gentle ribbing.  This time, an angry Coach Jordan took the microphone and said how proud he is that the program turns out exceptional young women, who will be successful in whatever they do after schooling.  He then delivered an ultimatum that this senior class needs to take the team to an NCAA birth.  Mic drop.  Well . . . that took everyone by surprise.  I’ll give updates on the team in later posts.       

Other College Sports

This post has gone on way too long, so why stop?  Dad mentioned the former Aggie star quarterback and Vanderbilt QB, Diego Pavia, was suing the NCAA.  It’s something about NIL eligibility.  Vanderbilt lost this weekend and only scored one touchdown.  Diego needs to concentrate on football, not lawsuits.

 

I watched some of a college football game back at dad’s apartment after we went out for pizza at Dominos.  That was just what I needed, to spend nearly $30 on an okay large pepperoni pizza and parmesan knots.  I’m not a Domino’s fan, but dad wanted pizza and it was on the way home.  Also, I was too hungry to lobby for a better pizza.  There was a ticker update on Aggie Football’s game against WKU.  They were down 14 points five minutes into the game. 

 

When I got back home, I noticed UTEP Football was leading late against Kennesaw State on the ticker.  (I was still watching football at home.)  I decided to listen to that game on the radio first, thinking it would be over quick.  They were not on KROD AM as usual.  They were doing a postgame show on a Miner Men’s Basketball game.  The hosts extremely salty over a 89-60 loss to Utah Valley.  Yeah guys, you’re going to do great in the Mountain West conference, especially the way you’re “handling” a “pathetic” WAC foe.

 

I remembered hearing something about the football game being on KLAQ FM.  For a game almost over, this game ended up taking over a half hour.  KS tied it.  UTEP had a chance to win it with a long field goal, missed it, but got a penalty and a closer re-kick that also missed.  The Miners finally won it, 43-35, but it took double overtime.     

 

I then turned over to Aggie Football, sort of reluctantly, but the Aggies had mounted a comeback to get within 3 points.  Unfortunately, they were unable to tie it and WKU pulled away, 41-28.  The Aggie defense was actually decent, but 20 points off of 5 offensive turnovers did them in.  It’s all coming down to that last game against UTEP for both programs.  At least the crowd got fireworks afterward.

 

The call-in postgame show featured a couple of angry fans, probably season ticket holders.  They cannot bear the thought of this team regressing back to sub-.500, after two straight years of going to bowl games.  I kept listening thinking they were going to hand it off to Aggie Men’s Basketball for their game against Utah Tech, but there was no coverage.  Volleyball had zero broadcast coverage this weekend and they had nobody available to broadcast basketball with Jack and Adam doing football.  This is a problem, but at least the important thing was that the Aggies won 75-63 on the road, which was a bug-a-boo for them last season.   

NM State Aggies vs Jax State Gamecocks Volleyball 11-9-24 Part 1

I started off today with some unnecessary drama.  I was supposed to go to today’s Volleyball game between the Aggies and the Jax State Gamecocks with dad and his neighbor, Lamae.  I called dad twice in morning and got no answer.  I hurried down to his apartment and found him there fine.  He just apparently didn’t feel like answering the phone. 

 

Lamae unfortunately wasn’t feeling well and wasn’t going to be able to go.  She’d enjoyed the last game (10-26-24) so much that she’d bought a volleyball shirt.  Now she wouldn’t be able to wear it to a game this year, as this was the Aggies’ final home game.  Dad was still okay with going, though the weather was so nice, he lamented being inside.  Also unnecessary was the argument I had with dad about the route to take to the Pan-Am Center.  With part of the parking lot blocked for football, it can be tricky to get in.  (By the way, with the increased ticket prices, my $150 Aggie Country Pass has already paid for itself.) 

 

Inside, the Aggie Assistant Coaches were again dressed alike with crimson tops and black pants.  The injured Aggie players were all dressed in black.  Attendance was a bit light at 432.  One of the suites was full.  There was a guy in the Booster section with a Coach Jordan poster.  On one side, he looked happy.  On the other, he was face-palming.  (That side of the poster would be used several times today.)  Again, there was no media coverage of today’s game, nor any Cheerleaders.  However, Pistol Pete was present and there weren’t any technical glitches.  PA Ed would be working football, but a student replacement did a good job in his absence.  Three Softball girls were again working as ballgirls.

 

Once again, I didn’t see Morgan Stewart with the team, though she was still listed on the program and the website.  Maybe she’s out sick.  Her not being here today would probably prove unfortunate later.  I found out Ashley Herman was the one who started the clapping tradition during the player intro video.  (Who else?)  The player intro’s were way more enthusiastic than usual.  Makayla did a forward flip.  Kacia Brown broke out her best dance moves.  Nicole Briggs did a cartwheel.  Starr Williams danced!  Really!  Inexplicably, Mari Sharp was skipped.  Aleka Darko, who wasn’t starting was accidently announced in her place.  Undeterred, Mari executed the splits on the floor.

 

Set 1

I’d told dad that ***yesterday’s game*** was a complete walk-over.  We both thought this would be a quick match and that I was going to have to talk dad into staying for the Senior Day ceremony.  The first point of the match disabused that notion immediately.  It was an insane rally with JS making some great digs and Darian Markham making a pancake dig.  Starr finished it off with a kill.  This set the tone for the rest of the match.

 

Darian made another pancake dig on the next point, as JS tied it up.  Starr had a kill on the next point.  3-1 Aggies, JS challenged the call.  We didn’t realize at the time that this was more foreshadowing for the match.  It was upheld.  Also held up was a pair of golden balloons by the Reserves, which read, “2K.”  Darian had just gotten 2,000 digs.  She’s the only Aggie player to do so. 

 

Rilen Garcia aced to make it 4-1 Aggies.  Gamecock Katelyn Crofts had a block at 6-3 Aggies.  Yasso Amin scored the next two kills by hitting the backline and one with a touch.  Nicole decisively slapped one down at 9-5.  Yasso then had a tip kill.  A JS player tried to dig it while laid out on her back.  Nellie Reese aced.  12-5 Aggies and JS took a timeout.  The PA recognized Darian’s accomplishment.  The girls let off a big cheer in the huddle and Darian had an ear-to-ear smile. 

 

From there, Starr had another kill, Nellie had another ace, and Nicole had a dunk.  16-5 Aggies, Yasso had a block that was challenged.  This call was reversed.  That was a 7-point run on Nellie’s serve.  JS was playing very hard during that run with several good saves.  Nicole came right back with a kill.  17-7 was another long rally.  Mari made a dig at the net with her back to the net, but JS won it on a touch. 

 

Nicole had another kill.  She was on fire.  Kacia and Starr teamed up for a block.  The Reserves attempted a Cheerleader-like lift in celebration.  21-8 Aggies, the JS team wanted a touch on their swing.  Their Coach apologized to the ref and challenged again.  This call was reversed, 20-9.  Kacia came right back with a kill.  The Reserves shouted, “Boom!”  From there, Mari aced, Yasso tooled a block, and the Reserves went, “Woof!”  The Aggies took the set, 25-11, on a long serve by JS.  It looked in.  They should have challenged that one.

 

Set 2: Aggies 1, Gamecocks 0

Pistol Pete went to work tossing t-shirts to the crowd in the break.  So far, so good in the match, but troubling signs were there.  Starr started the second set with a touch kill.  I didn’t see a touch.  Maybe the JS Coach should have challenged it.  Sanni Rantanen tied it on a good kill for JS.  Jax State took their first lead of the weekend on a block at 3-4 JS. 

 

Kacia tied it with a kill and Mari aced to give the Aggies back the lead.  JS retook the lead with an overpass kill.  Kacia retied it at 6 with a kill.  JS retied it at 7 with a kill.  Ashley ducked under a serve to get the Aggies back in the lead, but an Aggie service error tied it back at 8.  JS had a service error gave the Aggies back the lead.  Mari made a quick reaction slap and put in a kill at 10-9 Aggies. 

 

JS tied it again, but Kacia and Mari had kills to put the Aggies back up.  13-10 Aggies, Rilen made a great backset to Ashley for a kill.  Yasso made a tip kill to put the Aggies up by 3.  Sanni made an impressive kill into triple blocking to start a JS comeback.  After an attack error by Ash and Nicole getting blocked, it was tied at 15.  Timeout Aggies.  Coach Jordan was not mad yet. 

 

Ashley came back with a kill, along with Starr, and Mari made a solo block.  19-17 Aggies, Starr finished a point that I think had three overpasses.  Mari tooled a block to put the Aggies up by 2, but they couldn't pull away.  An attack error by Mari tied it at 20.  JS took the lead by blocking a swing by Kacia.  They also made an impressive off-court save on the point.  Timeout Aggies.  Coach Jordan still didn't look mad.

 

Mari tied it back up with a kill and aced to give the Aggies the lead.  JS sided out.  They made a serve that was ruled long, but the team wanted it challenged.  It was overturned.  Yasso tied it on the next point, but the JS challenged that call.  The JS Coach turned to the Booster section held out his arms and said something that looked apologetic.  The crowd in front of him laughed.  The call was upheld.  Whew!  This actually got a big cheer.

 

Kacia aced to put the Aggies at set point, 24-23.  The crowd stood, but sat back down as JS called a timeout.  We got plenty more exercise before the end.  Ash put the Aggies at set point again at 25-24 with a kill.  She then went back to serve.  Have I seen her serve before?  A four touches call on the Aggies retied the score at 25. 

 

Yasso put the Aggies back up on set point with a kill.  She then went back to serve?  Okay, now I know that something is up, because the Coach stopped letting her serve.  We all love Yasso's high-toss Brazilian-style serve, but she nets it too often, which was what happened.  Was Coach Jordan out of subs for the set?  I don't know what was going on here.  Like I mentioned before, these are the kind of spots where the Coach usually puts in Morgan, who is a steady server.

 

JS handed it back on a net serve for another Aggie set point.  By the way, the crowd is going up and down on every set point.  The Gamecocks took the next point and . . . whoa, whoa, whoa!  Rilen was at the net blocking!  This happened at the end of yesterday’s game.  What's going on here? 

 

JS took the next point, but Rilen got a block!  The Reserves went crazy.  I was going crazy.  The Gamecocks took the set on a kill that Ash wasn't able to dig, 27-29 JS.  It was almost worth losing the set to see the 5'7” (that's generous) setter make a block.  At least we could all finally sit down.

         

Set 3: Aggies 1, Gamecocks 1

Except, I got up to go to the bathroom.  In the concourse, I ran right into the Football team headed off to Aggie Memorial Stadium.  I gave them a round of applause.  I saw Coach Sanchez and got a fist-bump from one of the players.  I also said, “Hi” and “Good luck,” to Shiyazh Pete as he went by.  He gave me a wave.

 

There was no let-up on court.  The first point was again an exhausting rally.  Starr finished it with a kill.  She's your best option for finishing.  Mari scored a kill, but JS got a pair of kills to tie it.  There was another long rally on that second kill.  I couldn't hear what he said, but I'm pretty sure the Coach said something sarcastic to the Reserves.

 

Starr tooled a block, but an unidentified Aggie foul kept it close.  6-3 Aggies, Aleka and Kacia made a big block.  Yasso was blocked and then Aleka and Kacia were tooled on a block twice to tie it at 6.  Kacia gave the Aggies back the lead with a kill and then Aleka served.  I'm pretty sure I haven't seen that this season either.  I'm not sure what the Coach's strategy is here.  (I hope the Coach doesn't have me serving by the end of this.) 

 

JS had a kill to take a 7-8 lead.  Mari made a heady dodge and avoided a JS swing to tie it at 8.  A miss-set for JS gave the Aggies back the lead.  Nellie put in a pair of aces that had the Reserves sliding on the floor in appreciation.  Nicole and Starr made a block and the Reserves were doing Cheerleader lifts again.  12-8 Aggies and a timeout by JS.

 

Starr brought the thunder out of the break with a kill.  She scored another kill, before a JS setter dump ended the run.  JS followed that with back-to-back aces.  Makayla was having a problem receiving suddenly.  Aleka broke the run with a block.  The Aggies were running around all over the court on the next point, but managed to win it.  JS took a timeout with the Aggies up, 19-15. 

 

Yasso had a touch kill out of the break.  She also added a no-look walk-away to the kill to look cool.  Mari fired out on the next point and hit the line judge.  (No damage.)  21-17 Aggies, Yasso tooled a block and Maggie Lightheart (our sweetheart) came in to serve.  She'd been used as a serving sub last year, but seemed to fall out of the Coach's favor since then. 

 

The Aggies took the next point, but the JS Coach challenged it.  With a long delay, I noticed some of the girls in the Reserves having a serious talk with Starr.  Were they asking her how she got to be so great?  The call was upheld.  No drama for the rest of the set.  Nicole and Starr finished it off with kills, 25-18 Aggies.

 

Part 2.