Savannah looks good with her hair down, though she only
plays with it braided.
With two weeks of vacation left this year, it was
suggested to me that I take off five of those days as single days. Since it’s easier to cover (or not bother
doing anything) for me for a day, it works out better for them. It also works out for me, since I could take
off days like today to watch some weekday volleyball and basketball later. This wasn’t good timing at work to have taken
the day off, but is it ever?
Brushing aside some guilt and trepidation about quarter
end processing tomorrow, I was looking forward to the match today. God knows my day lacked entertainment. I tried to avoid most of the theatrics of a
show trial in Washington that dominated all media. I finished writing a comic review that I
had been trying to finish for the last four days. And I ironed about 20 shirts and three pairs
of pants. Thrills. Without the volleyball, this would have been
a wasted day off that I would have rather have been at work for.
I did have a good lunch, since I had a free Chik-fil-a sandwich coupon and got one
of their “Ice Dream” cones. I was happy
like a little kid licking that cone on the way home. They serve some pretty good ice cream there. Regrettably, this made my meal at the Pan-Am before the match pale by
comparison.
There was a line at the concessions, which was a good
sign for attendance (which was pretty good tonight), especially since it
included some kids and their parents. On
that note, I got the kid’s meal with the hot dog and popcorn. It was the cheapest meal option and I wasn’t
that hungry. I forgot why I never order
this; it comes a small drink. The
raspberry tea is the only worthwhile item on the concession menu. You need a big tasty drink to wash down the
bad food. The hot dog bun wasn’t stale,
but the dog wasn’t more than lukewarm and tasteless at best. Grrr . . .
I’m sick of bitching about the concessions. They’re nice people running it, but I want
better food. Since I’m already
overpaying for bad food, I’m not worried about the price going up if the
options are better.
I juggled my meal and a new Pan-Am anniversary poster
and a volleyball signature card and only spilled the popcorn once. I saw Danny at his usual spot and decided I
wanted some company this evening more than my usual seat behind the bench. I ran into Adam Young, who was doing the TV coverage, as I was carrying my
load down. He said the team really
needed a win tonight after losing two five-set matches to start conference
play.
I got to congratulate Adam for his interview with new
Aggie starting quarterback (and let’s hope I don’t have to use that phrase
again for the rest of the season), Josh
Adkins. Adam had asked him about
playing big time high school football in Texas.
From his experience, I doubt any size crowd at Aggie Memorial is going to make him nervous. Like Larry
Rose III, we have his mom to thank for him signing with NMSU. She liked Las Cruces.
In between bites of regret of my hot dog, I looked over
the team warming up. My heart sank as I
saw Lia Mosher back on crutches and
in a boot. This might explain the team’s
loss to Bakersfield last week if she
dropped out during or before the match.
She looked okay in the Cal
Baptist match (9-20-18), so she must have re-aggravated the injury. With Brielle
Sterns also out, it’s lucky that the Aggies are deep at middle
blocker. I’d also noticed in that match
that Brittany Welch wasn’t
there. She wasn’t here either. I wasn’t expecting her to play this season,
but not seeing her at all is a real bad sign.
I think I saw some talent there in the Scrimmage (8-18-18).
She’s still listed on the roster at least.
Danny added a little opposition gossip. Apparently, Arizona Wildcat fans were calling for their longtime coach to be
fired for their loss here (9-8-18).
No wonder they played so hard in the rematch (9-14-18). The girls might have been playing for his
job. I got to add that he’s the brother
of Aggie Assistant Coach Keith Rubio. They don’t look anything alike
(Half-brothers? Adopted?), so you wouldn’t have guessed from seeing them.
Captain Tatyana
Battle was awarded a gameball for her 1000-th point, before the
introduction. The lights went down for
the intro video and weirdly stayed down while the Aggie players were
introduced. Jordan Pleasants was in at libero.
Julianna Salanoa was also
starting. Several of us there
collectively held our breath, but the lights came back up for the game. Whew.
I doubt anyone who was there (or listening in my case) can forget that
lights out game last year.
Set 1
Seattle looked good right off the bat. After going down 5-0, Coach Jordan called a timeout.
The Aggies’ first point didn’t come until 8-1 on a Savannah Davison tip. Oops,
I’m out of raspberry tea because of my small cup. I’ll just have to tough it out for the rest
of the match. Damn. 9-2 Redhawks was an epic point that Juli got
a touch kill on. This would spark an
Aggie comeback for the set.
With Megan Hart
on serve, the Aggies pulled to within 11-12 Redhawks. Encouragingly, it wasn’t just one player
doing it; they were all contributing. Taty
got an overpass kill to tie it at 13.
I’m not going to mention the opposition much here, but #4 Mahra McLeod came in at this
point. You couldn’t miss her as her hip
was bandaged up like she’d escaped from an emergency room after a car
accident. Wow, this girl really wants to
play. Also, normally sure-tongued PA Ed was having trouble announcing the
Serbian girls’ names on the team. He was
doing okay with the tough Hawaiian ones.
Nobody said announcing was easy.
18-17 the Aggies took the lead briefly. 20-19 Seattle, timeout Aggies. Danny’s friends from last time were sitting
behind us. Another fellow sat with them
and started talking about the politics of the day. Not only was trying to escape politics by
being here, I didn’t agree with him and had to bite my lip, because I wasn’t
missing any of the game to discuss it.
Megan Hart served up an ace to make it 21-20
Aggies. At this point, the game pace
quickened and I couldn’t keep up any detail in my notes. The Aggies got to set point first, but Taty
netted the serve. The Aggies got two
more set points, but couldn’t finish it.
Seattle then got two set points, but they couldn’t finish either. 29-28 Aggies, well into extra points, Taty
got the kill, though Seattle made the save of match on the point. The Aggies went through two more set
points. By this point, everyone was
getting tired from standing up for these set points, but we were way more
disappointed when Seattle converted on their third set point to take it 33-31.
33-31!
Was that 10 set points?
I may have lost count. What a
heartbreaker! Neither team wanted to
lose that set by the end. It was sheer
determination on both sides that kept it going that long. I was impressed by how well the Redhawks were
digging and blocking. Equally, the
Aggies really showed some resolve after going down big early. If the crowd was deflated, the girls
weren’t. After six five-set matches this
season, going down a set wasn’t going to faze them.
Set 2: Redhawks 1, Aggies 0
Taty put in a couple of aces at the beginning of the
set. She can serve well. Ashley
Anselmo was also coming up big early with some kills that seemed to spark
the Aggies. At 8-4 Aggies, Seattle
called a timeout. 11-4 Jordan had an
“excuse me” accidental hit over the net for a kill. That got some smiles from the team.
14-10 Aggies, Savannah netted a serve. Coach Jordan on the sideline had his face
buried in his hands. Sav had played hard
on the previous point and seemed out of breath at the serving line. Maybe a little more conditioning would help
to cut down on her errors. 15-12 Aggies,
Seattle went on a run and the Aggies called a timeout. They got the momentum right back. At 20-14, Seattle called their other timeout,
but the Aggies would close it out, 25-17.
Halftime
More like half-a-halftime. I was just about sprinting to make it to the
bathroom and back before play resumed. I
missed the rolled taco giveaway. I think
200 were given out. One of the ladies
behind me got one. I don’t think I
missed anything. (I don’t like rolled
tacos. Too greasy.) The loudest cheer from the crowd tonight came
when the tacos were brought out. Kayla Green and Victoria Castro from the softball
team were doing the serving. (Are they
being punished? What did they do that
they have to keep working for the volleyball team? They’re seniors.)
I’ll also mention here a couple of promos for other
Aggie events. The Aggies are holding
another Downtown Rally tomorrow in
the evening. I admit to some thoughts of
sneaking out of my nearby workplace to attend, but I don’t think that would
work out well for me. Maybe I’ll get to
go to this event someday. The next home
football game is next week. Free Aggie
hats are being given out for reserved seats.
That’s a pretty good promotion.
Set 3: Aggies 1, Redhawks 1
Point #1 of the set was epic. Both teams wanted to set a tone early. (I wished I’d written down who won the
point. I think it was Seattle.) 3-1 Aggies, Briana Ainsworth got a dump kill.
I love that shot from her; it’s so sneaky, though it’s only going to
work a couple of times in a match. Ed
announced the Raising Canes
straight-set win promotion here. It was
a little late for that unfortunately. He
seemed a bit half-hearted doing it.
The Aggies continued to stay in the lead. Sav was really having some real problems in
this set. After about five bad digs and
a net serve, she was keeping the Redhawks in the set. She’s out there on about every point for a
reason though, as she generally makes up for it with her kills.
17-10 Aggies, and Seattle called a timeout, but it didn’t
help. 20-11, Seattle won the point, but
props to Bri for keeping the point going twice, as she dove into a sideline
table and then slipped on the floor making two saves. 22-13, a Redhawk player made a kick dig. Any part of the body is legal for hitting the
ball. 25-13 Aggies was the Set 3 final.
Jordan finished it out with two aces in a row.
Set 4: Aggies 2, Redhawks 1
Another hard-fought opening point. (Still forgot to write down who won it.) The Aggies again got out to a lead. 7-4 Aggies, the Redhawks won this point on an
overrule by a net judge. The back judge,
who was standing right in front of the ball, ruled Savannah’s shot good. It certainly looked that way from the
stands. This was probably the only
contentious point of the match for the fans against the refs.
I noticed Julianna was running a decoy on several
shots. It actually worked a couple of
times. This was entirely because she had
been making some shots in the match.
12-7 Aggies, timeout Seattle.
Right after, Megan served an ace right on the back line. Ooh,
shivers in the crowd. Seattle began a
run and closed it to 14-12. Timeout
Aggies.
I finally noticed AD
Mario Moccia sitting across the court at the scorer’s table. He seemed really unhappy watching for some
reason, but he did put on a smile to take a selfie with his marketing
department. 17-14 Aggies, after two
great saves, Taty killed it. Afterward,
her and Sav netted their serves. Coach
Jordan was clearly dying watching.
21-16 Aggies, Bridgette
Lowe, who’d played several of the extra points in the first set, came back
in and combined with Julianna on a block.
Timeout Seattle. 24-17 Bri served
up an ace. Juli then put it away on the
next point to win the set 25-17 and
the match 3-1.
We have to say it again, “The Aggies are tough to beat
on their home court.” With a good-sized
crowd and playing in an arena, I’m sure it’s a bit intimidating for
opponents. Seattle U really came out
determined in that first set, but I think that extra point victory just sapped
all their energy. For whatever problems
the Aggies have, they have a lot of weapons to make up for it.
They’re still not putting the player totals up on the
scoreboard this season, so I can’t tell you exactly who was doing well with the
kills. (Maybe I could try tracking it on
the program, but I think I’d lose my mind doing that, taking notes, and
watching the match.) I can guess that Tatyana Battle and Savannah Davison were on top with the kills, but this really did
feel like a team effort.
I’m going to single out Megan Hart, but for her serving, more than her great blocking and
hitting in the middle. She’s a weapon at
the net and the back line. Ashley Anselmo I think also really set
the tone in the second set for Aggie domination for the rest of the match. Lastly, Briana
Ainsworth, in addition to her hustle was another potent server. Jordan
Pleasants’ also had two important aces.
Is it a bit ironic that I’m praising the team’s serving when the Coach
may have been ready to throttle a couple of the girls for it? When you’re trying to get in a really good
serve instead of a safe one, bad things can happen.
Ice cream is for winners! Except I got really cold in the Pan-Am
tonight for some reason. I was wearing
two t-shirts and two pairs of socks (because my boots are a bit too big for my
feet). I was sweating in the sunny heat
on the way over, but chilled inside once the sun went down. I waved off going somewhere for ice cream,
but instead waited until I’d warmed up at home before scooping out a dish from
my freezer. Another good win with some
grit thrown in. I’m looking forward to
the weekend match.
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