NM State Volleyball Crimson and White Scrimmage 8-16-22

 

Taking one day off was too much to ask.  I was carpet-bombed with paperwork the day I left and had no chance of finishing it before I left.  That’s what I get for giving my co-workers a week’s notice I was going to be off; they had time to prepare a sendoff.  So I have plenty to look forward to when I get back.  The question is: Was it worth it?  Read on.

 

For my day off while waiting for the evening game, I missed connecting with Aunt Judy to wish her a Happy Birthday.  My dad once again turned me down for going to an Aggie game (of any sort).  I’d also crossed circuits with Ron.  I’d thought we were going to eat before the game and he’d already eaten before the game.  I had to wait until after the game to eat, which was a long time from my late breakfast.  And otherwise, I was overly busy rushing to be ready and then had to cool my heels, bored, waiting to leave. 

 

I was in a precious mood when Ron picked me up.  It had just down poured this afternoon.  The sky was still threatening with cool stiff breeze blowing as we pulled into the Pan Am Center parking lot.  Inside, we were immediately confronted with the massive north end construction of the new luxury boxes.  They don’t look like they’re going to be ready soon, but most of the structure is in place.  With the construction, the main Concessions was closed, but one of the others was open.  

Ron picked up a program by the door from a stack that I’d missed.  I didn’t see any schedule posters available.  There is a new permanent kiosk store front for merch up front.  AD Mario Moccia was pretty pleased with this development in a recent interview.  He’d been at the Soccer Exhibition Saturday and came in here later in game and sat with Coach Jordan, who was watching this scrimmage from a desk at one end of the court.  (In another interview after this game, Mario was floored by the attendance tonight.)              

 

In an interview during the summer, Coach Jordan talked about how he had a hard time turning away anyone trying out for the team, which accounts for the large roster.  He also said he was focusing on recruiting a taller team.  One look at the girls on court quickly confirmed both of those statements.  There are 24 girls on the roster.  Instead of the usual abundance of Liberos and Defensive Specialists, the team is now stocked with an arsenal of tall Outside Hitters.  Last year, the Aggies seemed to lack firepower and were thin in the offensive positions.  This should take care of that.

 

Distressingly, one of my favorites from last year, Setter Alana Embry, was not suited out to play.  Ron said he saw her with a finger bandaged.  Hometown girl, Kaitlyn Espiritu was also on the shelf.  I’ve been waiting to see her play for a couple of years.  Worse off was Lindsay Blakey.  She was in uniform, wearing kneepads, sitting on the bench, and not even on the roster.   I felt she was really underused last year, in spite of performing well at a position the Aggies were thin at.  Lindsay had one of the best plays of the year last season with her truly unexpected ace against Northwestern (9-3-21).  Last I’d seen her was at a Football game where she was apparently dating the punter (11-27-21).

 

Also on the sidelines was returning star player, Tatyana Battle, who is now the Team Operations Director.  I thought I saw her teammate, Cat Kelly, working with her, but I’m not sure.  I would have needed a closer look.  If that was Cat, I’ve never seen her so happy.  I hope she's over her playing injuries wherever she is. 

 

A great crowd showed up.  A bunch of students came.  I saw some guys that were probably Football players in attendance.  What looked like at least one high school Volleyball team was there.  (I think the Coach gave them a shout out after the game.)  We had two troops of Cheerleaders come in.  One was in white and the other was in crimson.  This was a dress rehearsal for them as well.  The White squad started out with the cheering.  The Crimson came in for the next set.  (It felt like there was some rivalry between the groups, but that may have just been me.)      

 

The other star of the game was the Pan Am’s shiny new court surface.  It looked magnificent.  It fit right in with the new scoreboard and sound system.  We had the full roster intro for the team.  Returners Sidney McIntosh and Mari Sharp seemed to have brought their own cheering sections.  New local girl, Cameron Rodriguez, got some extra cheer.  Star Lia Mosher got the biggest ovation.  Katie Birtcil, the other returning star, was the only one wearing pants to play in.   

 

Set 1

I took a bunch of play-by-play notes, but given that this wasn’t an actual game (though it was certainly competitive), I’m just going to point out some interesting plays and talk about the players. 

 

Mia Peterson was on the team last year, but didn’t play.  In her first action, she got the first dig and first kill of the match on the first play.  I already knew about her.  One of my co-workers ran into her at the gym and immediately started hitting on her.  (Another co-worker had a flirtation with Savannah Davison a couple of years ago.  These girls are irresistible.)  She got a lot of playing time in the match, so the Coach wanted to get a good look at her.  Mia’s got skills and hustle and seems like a leader-type.  As a red-shirt freshman, she needs some polish and experience.  Mia’s also quite fashionable.  I think she was the only one out there wearing earrings. 

 

A couple of other new hitters were Jayde Shelton, a rare lefty, and Kacia Brown.  Jayde seems to do well with her odd angle of hitting.  Kacia does it with muscle.  Rylee Fay doesn’t have the prototype volleyball bod, but seems to be tagged as the main Setter.  She took a lot of serves during the match and has a good one.  Freshman Bianca Perez worked a lot of the game as the other Setter. 

Anji

6’1” freshman Taylor Snow and 6’4” graduate Molly Johnson made for an intimidating blocking combo at the net.  They seemed to naturally pair up well together.  They were also swinging it with some kills.  Another new tall blonde, Ashley Herman, also had a couple of kills in this set.  The first ace of the set was served by Anji Vishwanathan.  When Ron and I were out in the parking lot, we saw a lady wearing traditional Indian clothing going into the building (along with a pretty girl riding by on a skateboard, it was a little surreal).  I’ll make a leap and say they’re related. 

 

Let’s finally talk about a few returning players.  Lia did not play in the first set.  I’m wondering if she’s okay, since she only saw limited action in the match.  Katie was in and firing in kills as usual.  Libero Darian Markham had the play of Set 1 with a great pancake save that got a rise out of the crowd.  Anji finished that point with a kill.  Darian also had a great serve receive on the final point, as Kacia won it for the White squad with a kill, 25-22.

 

Set 2: White 1, Crimson 0  

Lia started in this set, but whiffed on her first swing and was cycled out.  Defensively, Rylee made a dive save and Sidney saved one over the press table early.  Sidney also got the crowd going on a kill.  Lots of kills poured in from Jayde, Katie, and Kacia.  

Morgan

Freshman Morgan Stewart was the other Libero and was on court for most of the match.  She had several of good digs in this set.  Morgan’s very eye-catching on court and quickly turned into a favorite for me and Ron.  She looks like a good player on court and hustles.  I’m sure the Coach would like to be able to use Morgan as a serving sub.  She had a couple of aces in the first set, but she faulted on serve a couple of other times. 

 

There was some great defense in the middle of this set.  On one play, Katie dove for a one-handed dig and Morgan also had a great dig on the point.  Lia finished it with her first kill.  Darian went off-court for a save and got a big cheer from the crowd.  She was all smiles afterward, as usual.  Morgan took an off-court dive for a save after and had a pancake save on another.

 

The Crimson squad took a 20-12 lead.  Katie and Anji helped the White to make a comeback with several kills.  They actually tied it up at 20.  Cameron came in to serve and had a great dig on a point that Taylor won on a kill.  The Crimson squad did finally take the set 25-21 on a double touch call.

 

Set 3: White 1, Crimson 1

There were two officials working the net for the match.  A couple of players called the lines.  Alana, all smiles, who had been working one corner, chatted with the up official between sets.  (Work that charm, Alana.  Maybe the Aggies will get some calls down the line.)  I’m guessing she was telling him that another player was taking over.  (And I can recognize her, but can’t identify her as she was wearing a jacket.  Darn it.)  The teams also changed sides during the break.  I’m guessing the conference will go back to doing that this season. 

 

There was more good defense in this set.  Morgan and Bianca both made great emergency saves on the same play.  Mari made a dig at the bench.  There was an epic off-court pass to Mia for a kill.  Cameron had a great save.  The swing afterward on the point deflected hard into the crowd.  Taylor had an ace and Rylee had an ace off the tape.

 

Midway through the set, this effort took a toll.  There was a cross-up collision on a dig, then an out serve, and a bad dig.  The girls seemed to be flagging.  They got their second wind (or were yelled at enough to play better).  Morgan and Kaylee Peterson, another freshman Libero, both combined to save what would have been an ace serve.  Mari and Kayleigh Thomas, our somewhat unhappy-looking player pic at the top of the post, combined on a block.  I’ve been wanting to see more of Kayleigh playing, if for no other reason than her redhead.  Katie won it for the Crimson with a kill after a long rally, 25-18.

 

Set 4: Crimson 2, White 1 

I wished they’d made an announcement beforehand about how many sets they were going to play.  After over an hour and a half, some of the crowd left, either thinking it was over or they’d seen enough.  The up official watched the Cheerleaders perform between sets, something I don’t think I’ve seen before. 

 

Lia came on to start the set.  She had a kill, was part of a block combo, and served an ace off the tape.  Bianca also served an ace that deflected into the PA.  Mari got a kill on the line in the corner.  I think this was the only call where there was some dissension among the refs and the girls calling the lines.  Assistant Coach Whitis, who was coaching one of the teams (Assistant Coach Hertel handled the other), immediately argued with the player in front of him who made the line call.  She (darn it, who is she?), a small Libero-type, started pointing at the floor and yelled back at him.  It was nice comedic interlude.

 

Molly and Taylor combined on another block.  Lia and Mia did the same on another point.  Rylee fired in two aces.  Kayleigh went into the press table going for dig.  She was going all out to impress.  The White squad won 25-16.  The match finished with the two squads tied in a draw.

 

Coach Jordan went over to the PA and made a slashing motion.  He took the mic and thanked everyone for coming out and said they were going to have a great season and to come out Saturday for the exhibition game.  I don’t think this game has really much to do with who the Coach puts in as his main starters and reserves.  It does give all the girls an opportunity to play in front of a crowd, which is nice given the size of the roster.  It’s also a way to introduce the team to the fans and get them excited for the season. 

 

I’d hate to have Coach Jordan’s job in trying to figure out who to play regularly.  A lot of the girls looked really good.  I took all these game notes and only summarized them (what I could read of them, they almost illegible), so I sold some of the players short.  All of the tall blonde hitters kind of blended together.  I plan on going to the exhibition.  After that, I might have more educated comments on the roster.    

 

Only slightly starving, I finally got my dinner after the game.  I felt like I inhaled my Ultimate Cheeseburger at Jack-in-the-Box.  We also got Blasts at Sonic for dessert.  I really enjoyed mine, “I’m glad this thing has a bottom, because otherwise, I’d just keep eating it.”  Back at my apartment, I wasn’t able to get my old TV to work to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Comet TV.  Instead, we watched the end of a ball game on the computer.  I’m looking forward to seeing more of this team for the season.  They look good.