Springhill Suites Borderland Invite NMSU vs AZ 9-8-18

Invitational Game 4: NM State Aggies vs Arizona Wildcats

Today’s game was at noon.  I wasn’t able to get a hold of Ron Friday night and was worried I’d wake him up this morning, since he works at night.  I decided this didn’t look like a promising match up and went by myself.  Surely this wouldn’t come back and haunt me later.

At the Pan-Am, I could see another good crowd developing.  It may have been a bit smaller today than Friday night.  The student presence was reduced.  Tom was fully in Aggie gear today, so no divided loyalties there.  He did get heckled during the match by an Arizona fan, who must have noticed him yesterday in the AZ hat.  The Softball girls were still ball-hawking on the sidelines.  By doing this are they excused from climbing the berm or are they being punished for something?  (Actually, the Softball girls volunteer to do stuff for Aggie sports all the time.)

I didn’t see Lia Mosher on the sidelines and got concerned, but then I saw her.  Her hair was now wavy and pulled back in a ponytail.  Perhaps Lia’s hair actually has some natural curl to it.  Between this and her wearing glasses, it’s like she’s trying to go incognito.  (No chance given her height and build and good looks.)  More importantly, I didn’t see her wearing the boot.  I think she’ll be okay in the near future. 

Jordan Pleasants was back dressed out as libero.  I could see a discussion between her and Halle Razo before they put on their uniform tops.  Hannah Combs from last year’s team was there on the sidelines.  She looked like she was walking okay, so that’s great to see. 

Looks like they’re definitively leaving the lights on during the player intros.  That’s too bad, but better than playing in the dark.  The girls tossed mini-volleyballs into the crowd.  Thumbs up to the fans; they made some great catches.  A kid below me was playing with one.  Hey, those things are signed by the team.  I’m feeling some envy.

Arizona is not as big as Montana, but seeing the teams out on court, AZ was definitely bigger than the Aggies in general.  Only Megan Hart and Lindsay Blakey had any significant height advantage.  The Wildcats hadn’t impressed me that much against Montana and UTEP.  Their athleticism and physicality seemed allow them to wear down and overpower those opponents.  The Aggies, on the other hand, looked like a hot mess last night, but they were very gritty and are hard to beat at home.

   

Set 1

Arizona came out maybe a bit flat in Set 1.  The same thing happened when they played the Griz, so I wonder if I was correct in writing that they’re not morning people.  The Aggies basically led for the whole set.  Megan Hart was monster here.  (In a game sense.  She’s a beautiful young woman.  I can’t wait for you to be on poster, Meg.)  She was doing it with hard kills.  She did it with a soft touch.  She did it blocking.  She got a set and a dig on one point.  Megan was everywhere. 

Ashley Anselmo was also there with blocks and kills when she was in.  Cat Kelly started and had a great back court kill.  Captain Tatyana Battle hammered an overpass kill.  Natalie Mikels served up an ace late in the set as Tom serenaded her.  (That might have actually distracted the defenders.)  Savannah Davison ended the set on a kill 25-16 Aggies.

Set 2: Aggies 1, Wildcats 0

The set was close at the start.  Arizona hit two early serves out.  Jordan P. served up an ace.  Savannah did one of her crowd-pleasing kills.  Lindsay came in with a kill.  AZ came back and tied it at 7 and almost hit Pistol Pete on the play.  Cat and Lindsay combined for three blocks on one point, but the Wildcats took the lead. 

Their advantage grew and the Aggies started to fall behind.  Coach Jordan burned his timeouts after a shank by Jordan P. and Savannah getting blocked on a kill, but they weren’t able to right the ship.  Arizona took it 25-17.  There was a great point for the Aggies in the set as they got three great digs and Megan floated a soft hit into the far corner.  Krysten Garrison came in on the last point.

Set 3: Aggies 1, Wildcats 1

Jordan George came in as the libero to start this set.  I actually saw that coming.  Coach Jordan has got a short lease on this position.  (Too many Jordans here and none of them are last-named Abalos.)  I think Arizona actually changed their libero from their last game, but changing during the game had to surprise them.  Montana must have felt the same way when the Aggies did it.  Both opposing teams had to be heartened by the change, figuring they were getting a lesser player.

Jordan G. looked pretty confident out on court and was taking charge on setting up.  I was pleased to see that.  The Aggies scored the first four points of the set and AZ took a time out.  The Aggies kept the lead, but the score tightened up.  Bridgette Lowe came in for the first time and Halle came in to serve.  Krysten also cycled back in and got a kill. 

However, Arizona tied it at 17 and moved ahead.  Savannah got a big kill to close it up.  Megan got a block and a kill and then another kill.  But, Arizona reached set point first at 24-23.  I have no earthly idea what happened next.  The AZ coach complained about something to the down official.  This set off a 10-minute delay.  A spontaneous Aggie chant came about five minutes in.  The up official blew his whistle twice trying to get play resumed.  After all that inexplicable delay, the final point took four seconds.  25-23 Wildcats.          

Seriously, you won the point, you had set point, what were you arguing about?  That ridiculous unexplained pause and the loss of the set took all the air out of the crowd.  Was this the turning point in the match?  Perhaps some karmic retribution might be forthcoming for that act of gamesmanship?  Read on.

Set 4: Wildcats 2, Aggies 1

Halle Razo was your new Aggie libero.  I thought Jordan G. did a good job, but I’m not the coach.  By the end of this season, I wonder if I’ll end up as libero for a set.  I should start bringing a wig with me to games just in case.  AZ immediately started targeting Halle on serves and kills.

This set was close early again.  Lindsey pounded in an angry kill to tie it at 4.  Halle dropped in an ace for some revenge.  Arizona took the lead anyway.  I saw them even bust out the decoy move on some kills.  Krysten was getting blocked consistently on her swings and Cat came back into the game.  18-14 AZ, time out Aggies.  Pistol Pete led a troop of kids dancing Gangnam-style.

It really didn’t look good at this point.  Whatever the coach said in the timeout, however, lit a fire under the girls.  (They were on the other side of the court.  I had no chance of hearing it.)  The Aggies fought back.  Nat went on a run serving.  23-21 AZ, the Wildcats lost the point on a double touch.  The Aggie bench let out a scream.  

By 23-23, the crowd was believing and right back in it.  The Aggies fought off a match point, and Megan finished the set off with a block.  27-25 Aggies!  I think one of the Wildcat players slammed the ball into the floor afterward and it bounced into the crowd.  

Set 5: Aggies 2, Wildcats 2

“Put in #2!” I’m guessing that missive was from Analyssa Acosta’s parents.  I was all for that.  I’ve met her; she’s a nice girl.  Why not send in another libero?  Noticeably absent from all the players being used in the game (14 out of 21 players on the roster), Juliana Salanoa was running sprints across the court, presumably at the Coach’s request.  She seemed okay, but never came in.  I’m sorry Jules, but stay ready.

Both teams were nervous to start.  Three straight errors opened the set.  Arizona took an early lead as backcourt digging confusion by the Aggies may have peaked.  The Wildcats were the first to 8 (8-6) and the teams changed sides.  Megan and Lindsay kept it close with kills and blocks.  Megan and Savannah combined on a block to tie it.  I noticed my hands had nearly gone numb from clapping.        

 

Ashley came up with a block to put the Aggies up 10-9.  Taty came flying in from the backcourt for a kill to make it 11-9.  Briana Ainsworth served up an ace, 12-9.  The Aggies had a match point at 14-11, but finished it with another Taty kill at 15-12.  That’s the set and the match. 

AGGIES WIN 3-2!

The crowd had been going nuts ever since the Aggies had gotten the lead.  I was jumping up and down in the aisle after the final point.  I was so happy for the girls here.  They really grinded out these last two wins.  The fans’ pride in the team was almost palatable.  Coach Jordan shook hands with the AZ coach and then turned to the crowd.  He held up his arms and let out a roar.  It’s always hard to quantify intangible contributions, but I think the crowd helped today. 

Let’s take stock here.  Home winning streak intact.  Check.  Undefeated Arizona beaten.  Check.  What a day!  To be honest, I’m guessing the Aggie team was the only one coming into the game with some confidence about a victory today.  The Aggies actually seemed to matchup better against the Wildcats than the Griz.  Those treetops (Megan and Lindsay) gave AZ problems for the whole match and they didn’t have answer for them. 

Okay, now for the reality check.  In the locker room afterward, the coach probably told the team how proud he was of them and then blistered their ears.  I don’t know how the Aggies won this one.  Their problems in the backcourt may have been worse in this game than the last.  This was a very exploitable flaw even to my untrained eyes.  Were it not for some front court advantage in this game, this one would have turned out way different. 

Whoever is at libero is getting targeted, especially Halle.  I wouldn’t call Savannah a liability on back court defense, but opposing teams sure think so.  She gives the team so much on offense, so she can’t come out.  But Sav may be trying to do too much, wearing out, and making bad decisions and hits as the game goes on.  The issue at libero may be causing that. 

I’m glad to see so many girls getting a chance to play out on court.  I’m sure opposing teams may getting befuddled dealing with so many unexpected threats in the game.  I wonder if the team can do what they’re doing successfully for the rest of the season.  I think they’ll settle on a more regular roster once Lia is back.  They caught Montana and Arizona off guard, but future foes will be ready for the Aggie bench.  But who cares today!  This was certainly the best win I’ve ever seen the volleyball team have.  I’ve never seen the team scrappier or the coach craftier.          

Pizza is for winners!  Owing to my distaste for Papa Johns deciding that they’re going to be serving diversity, rather than pizza (don’t get me started on this topic), and my dislike of most other pizza chains’ physical product, I went local and got a Roadrunner Pizza.  I surprised dad by coming by and sharing it and telling him about the win. 

I had to sheepishly call Ron and tell him he missed a great game because I was afraid I’d wake him up.  He said he wouldn’t have been able to go anyway, but we did plan on going to soccer on Sunday.  In the Aggie Football pregame, Jack Nixon talked about the girls’ victory and brought it up during the game a couple of times.  AD Mario Moccia was pleased and promised more money for the volleyball program.  For my part, I’m pretty sure this win was the highlight of my vacation and will definitely be a highlight for this season.