Springhill Suites Borderland Invite AZ vs MT 9-7-18

Invitational Game 1: Arizona Wildcats vs Montana Griz

It’s 10:00am Friday on my vacation, but I’m here.  Actually, I’m glad to be here.  Yesterday was dreadfully boring.  Hanging out at home with nothing to do turned out to not be as relaxing as I’d hoped.  Worse, I’d discovered a couple things I’d bought for home entertainment for vacation were a complete bust.  I think I’ll do a review in a separate post later.  (I started rambling about it while writing this post and decided to cut it out).

Inside, I saw Adam Young across the court somewhat indifferently watching the match.  I wonder if he was required to be there, rather than wanting to be.  There were a couple of UTEP coaches there in team colors.  They changed sides to sit behind Montana, so they may have been mostly checking them out.  Assistant Coaches Rubio and Wallis were both there for the Aggies.  Coach Wallis had a video camera going, so they were taking the scouting seriously.  A few Aggie players joined them.  I saw Lia Mosher limping down the stairs, so she’s not going to be playing this weekend.

There was a small knot of Arizona and Montana fans inside for the match.  I ran into Danny outside the Pan-Am Center.  He was ready for some volleyball.  We sat together on the Montana side in the booster seats near the court.  (Those seats are NOT as comfortable as the regular seats and the whole row was on shaky mooring.)  Danny used to live in Montana and had rooted for the team.  He reported that it was 55 degrees in Missoula right now.  (Here in Las Cruces it was 80 and overcast and threatening.)

Given Arizona’s undefeated 6-0 record and Montana’s 1-5 record, I could kind guess beforehand how this was going to turn out.  At least MT won on looks; their players had a decided edge there.  The Griz coaching staff was quite appealing too.  Coach Allison Lawrence was an outright distraction for the whole match.  I’ve seldom seen a woman so trim, shapely, and stylish, not to mention, great hair.  She had a killer smile, but I only saw it come out once.  The Wildcats, by contrast, were not out there to look good.  While UCLA last year (9-2-17) looked like a bunch of lean gazelles, AZ seemed to have a general philosophy of recruiting girls with very large muscular thighs for the team.

Both teams warmed up and changed to play.  The MT girls took off their warm-up tops by the side of the court.  I averted my eyes quickly, not wanting to get thrown out before the match.  All the visiting teams had to do this, while the Aggies changed in their locker room.  I don’t know why the visiting locker room wasn’t open for them.  The Griz were also a very spirited bunch for the match.  Coach Allison looked calm and analytical.  (I wonder what she’s doing for lunch?  Should I go down and ask afterward?)  The AZ girls seemed strangely apathetic for the whole affair. 

Set 1

You know, if you don’t know the players, it’s really hard to do commentary on a game.  I’m just warning you up front.  Neither team started out the match looking very sharp.  The Griz didn’t even take a swing for a kill, just tipping the ball, for several points early on.  An Arizona fan got vocal on a point and wanted a replay.  I might have seen one replay during this whole invitational and even then I’m not sure.  (I never found out what the official delay was about in that game.)  There was only a full camera crew there for the Aggie games.

AZ had a slim lead halfway through.  Montana was doing a good job on blocking though.  I singled out Missy Huddleston for the Griz as being a hard-hitter in my notes.  There was one epic point at 14-11 AZ where you got to see everything: blocks, digs, and off-court saves.  Arizona kept the lead and won Set 1 25-18, but it was hard fought.  This is also where I got my t-shirt.  Given the crowd size, I had a pretty chance of getting one for the giveaway.  A pretty Aggie marketing assistant actually handed one to me.  Hey, I don’t have to scramble for one later.  

Set 2: Wildcats 1, Griz 0

While Arizona was looking pretty impressive with some shots, Montana had a slim lead halfway through when AZ took a timeout and another one a couple of points later.  MT even got an unexpected kill from a player who didn’t look that athletic. 

Arizona stayed with it and tied the set at 20.  Timeout Montana.  Justin Bieber’s Sorry played.  They had the bass turned up like a giant sub-woofer and I was vibrating.  Arizona came out and got a one-point lead, 23-22.  Montana took their last timeout, but the Wildcats closed it out, 25-23.

Set 3: Wildcats 2, Griz 0

Arizona came out looking sharp.  I think the first two sets were their warm up for the tournament.  At 12-5 AZ, Montana took their second timeout.  That one worked as MT went on a run and got it to 19-12.  But the Wildcats came back and finished it out 25-14 and 3-0 for the match.

I’m not familiar at all with these girls and I’m not a volleyball coach, so I can’t pick out individual players to praise.  (I need a scorecard for volleyball.)  In general, Montana looked good up-front blocking and they favored hitting from the antennas, rather than from the back court.  Digging in the back court may be an issue with them.  Arizona was really good at finding open court to hit at and finding a seam between defenders at the net.  If they have a fault, I’d say it was their team’s attitude.  They just didn’t seem into it or have the camaraderie I’ve seen most teams have.  Overly professional?  Arrogance?  Maybe they’re just not morning people.

Danny and I parted.  I was going home for lunch.  He mentioned that he’d meant to tell me earlier that Schlotzsky’s stopped serving ice cream.  “I know.  It’s ruined my life,” I replied.  We both agreed that that ice cream was the best thing there.  Nevertheless, I did plan on having diner there.  Okay, back for more volleyball later.