Postcards from the Edge: Blanks 11

Lake Solitude, Bighorn National Park, Wyoming.   

Teton Mountains, Wyoming.  

Double Arch, Arches National Monument, Utah.

El Paso Chihuahuas vs OKC Dodgers 9-23-22

It had taken nearly the whole season, but we finally got there.  Ron and two of my co-workers, Jacob and Chuck, went to a Chihuahuas game.  I’d gone with the co-workers three other times (8-11-15, 6-15-16, and 4-19-17), and I’d also been earlier this season on a company outing (7-16-22) with Ron. 

 

The team has had a good season and a nice bounce back from last year.  The Chihuahuas were in first place and playing in the team in second place, OKC Dodgers, and had a chance to clinch the division in this series.  They’d lost the first game of the series badly, but won the next two in one-run contests.  I’d missed a 9-8 day game on Wednesday and I’m still kicking myself.  Jay Groome pitched 8 innings the next day for a 3-2 victory.  Right now, the Chihuahuas were up two games on OKC. 

 

It was a heavy traffic trip to El Paso down the Interstate.  We got to the stadium way early, but they were doing a giveaway.  There haven’t been many this season.  I thought Ron would like the bucket hat, since he has a couple of others, so I picked this date.  There were already a bunch of people in line at gate.  I saw a lot of Chihuahuas, UTEP, and Dodger shirts and hats in the crowd.  

 

I’d warned Ron to leave his pocket knife behind, because he’d had to go back to his car with it on a couple on previous occasions.  Regrettably, I forgot to tell Chuck this.  He decided to leave his in a nearby pile of rocks.  Upon entry, we got our bucket hats.  Magnificent. 

 

Walking down the concourse, we passed our old friend, Tim Hagerty, the voice of the Chihuahuas.  I immediately waved and said, “Hi, Tim!”  His arms were full of food and he was hustling back to the booth and didn’t see me.  It also occurred to me that, while we are old friends from listening him on the radio, he doesn’t actually know me.     

 

We found our seats.  They were a couple of rows up from the field, next to the pup’s dugout, and directly in front of their bullpen.  I went to go get something to eat.  Everyone else would wait, but I was hungry.  I picked up the cheeseburger and fries meal with the souvenir cup.  (I forgot to get a picture of it, but it was nothing special.)  I had to wait in line for a while and it was expensive, but, gosh darn it, it was really good.  I can’t even explain it.  After finishing, I grabbed an ice cream cone.  Maybe pizza and a pretzel next time.

 

At the seats, I was crammed in between Chuck and Ron, who not small individuals.  Somehow, I got the meal down anyway and only screwed up once on the scorecard (but pretty badly).  The starting lineups were announced.  The starting pitcher, Pedro Avila, and his catcher, Brett Sullivan, were warming up right in front of us.  I yelled to them when their names were called out but to no avail.  On field, a pretty attendant was talking to a little boy.  She was rehearsing him, since he was saying “Play ball!” tonight.  Lastly, Chico came by.  I waved and called to him.  At last, somebody acknowledged my cheering. 

 

 Avila worked a quick top of the first to start the game.  The Dodgers were having a bullpen day, which kept me busy scoring (and I messed it up).  On the first batter of the bottom, rehabbing Kevin Pillar and the second baseman collided on a popup.  Everyone was okay.  The Chihuahuas then rattled off four straight hits.  Eguy Rosario drove in Brandon Dixon for the first run.  The bases were then loaded.  A foul ball went into the net right in front of us.  Balls and strikes were displayed on the video screen where the K-zone was calling them, so there was no ambiguity there.  The inning ended on a comebacker to the pitcher.  1-0 Chihuahuas.

 

Avila worked a quick second.  The Dodgers brought in a new pitcher in the second after facing two batters and Connor Hollis doubled.  Relief was not achieved as Dixon hit a three-run home run to center over the gateway, and CJ Hinojosa hit a two-run homer off the left field porch.  Upon replay, the ball hit above the rail and bounced back on to the field.  The Dodgers brought in a third pitcher to get the final out.  6-0 Chihuahuas.

 

In the top of the third, Avila gave up a leadoff walk and then a double.  He got two strikeouts and a ground out to end the threat.  In the bottom, Hollis drew a walk with three balls and a step off by the pitcher with no one on.  I had to explain that was an automatic ball.  The Dodgers brought in their fourth pitcher.  Dance Cam played the C&C Music Factory song, Sweat, during the break.  One guy really worked it and got a big hand from the crowd.

 

In top of the fourth, Chuck and Jacob got up to get a meal and Ron moved over.  I could finally breathe.  The guys ended up eating and watching the rest of the game at the stand at the top the section.  Jacob got the nachos in a dog bowl, which weren’t available at the beginning of the season as I heard from another co-worker. 

 

Avila gave up another walk and double in the inning.  Taylor Kohlwey in left made a great diving catch to end the inning.  He got an ovation from our section as he came back to the dugout.  Centerfielder Thomas Milone had the ball and tossed it to the crowd.  Tossed balls flew over our heads pretty consistently during the game.  The Chihuahuas went down quickly in the bottom. 

 

Jason Martin led off the top of the fifth with a home run to right center.  I was listening to Tim on the radio call, of course.  Upon replay, he didn’t think it had gone over the yellow line.  6-1 Chihuahuas.  Meanwhile, Avila racked up a couple more strikeouts.  In front of us, there was a kid playing a Dragonball Z video game.  I was momentarily mesmerized as a King Kamehameha attack went off.  The Chihuahuas only managed a walk in the bottom.

 

Before the sixth inning, there was Section Volleyball with a net strung up in the stands and fans slapping a ball back-and-forth.  A reliever was warming up in front of us, but Avila finished the inning with a strikeout.  That was his 122-nd of the season, ninth of the game, which set a Chihuahuas’ record.  The pups’ offense was still dormant in the bottom.  Pitcher Jesse Scholtens, who was guarding the catcher, chatted with the third base ump, Jose Navas, during the inning.  I didn’t realize players and umps were that friendly.

 

Ryan Weathers came in for the seventh.  He gave up a solo home run to center.  6-2 Chihuahuas.  For the Stretch, a bunch of kids from a baseball team behind us were singing.  This was followed with the dancing Chihuahua video and Mariachi music.  The camera found some fans dancing.  They invited a nearby Chico to join them.  There wasn’t any offense in the bottom.  Chihuahuas third base coach, Robbie Hammack, also chatted with Navas.  He must be a friendly guy.      

 

Another Chihuahuas’ reliever, Michel Baez, worked a clean eighth.  Before the bottom, Avila was recognized by the PA for setting the strikeout record.  He came out of the dugout and played to the crowd.  Bullpen catcher, Michael Cantu, stopped to give him a round of applause.  The Chihuahuas had leadoff walk, but that was all.  There’d been a little girl screaming and crying behind us for most of the game.  The family left and I can’t say I missed her.  A guy to the side of us got a tossed ball.  He tossed it right to a kid to a round of applause. 

 

Tom Cosgrove came in to pitch the top of the ninth.  He was checked out by Navas in a friendly manner before coming in.  Cosgrove got the first out by beating the runner to first after a comebacker.  He gave up a walk and a single, but finished off the game.  Chihuahuas win 6-2!

 

Pedro Avila is our easy player of the game, along with Brandon Dixon.  There were 6,000 in attendance and the game took two-and-a-half-hours.  On the way out, there was a group of fans around a TV chanting, “UTEP!”  We found out later that the Miner Football team had been playing Boise State in the Sun Bowl and beaten them.  They were 13-point underdogs.  After the game, Boise State fired their Offensive Coordinator and their quarterback transferred.  I was more surprised they were playing college football on a Friday night.      

 

It took a few minutes, but we did recover Chuck’s knife from the rocks.  I would have felt bad if we hadn’t found it.  It was a great night at the Dog House.  When Ron and I were at Aggie Football the next night, I kept checking up on the Chihuahuas.  They won a close 3-2 game to win their division.  They will be playing for the PCL Championship on Friday.  I’ll cover that result and a possible Triple-A Championship in another post.

NM State Aggies vs Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Football 9-25-22 Part 2

Continued from Part 1.

Halftime

Let’s quickly check the out-of-town scores.  Aggie Volleyball won.  I knew that from being there.  Aggie Soccer beat UTRGV on the road, 1-0.  Later on Sunday, they lost to SFA 2-1.  Makenna Gottschalk had a season-high 7 saves.  Loma McNeese scored both of the Aggies’ goals in those two games.  Also on the radio halftime show, Jack Nixon talked to the New Mexico AG Secretary.  He was chatting about the state’s weed crop, since it’s been legalized here.    

 

I ran to the bathroom right at the whistle and avoided the long line that forms later.  The Aggie Pride Band performed . . . Anime theme songs?  I missed the introduction, but I thought I heard that.  I didn’t recognize the tunes.  The Band actually sang the intro to one of the songs (not words, just the melody).  That was cool.         

 

The Cheerleaders came up into the crowd selling cowbells.  I wonder if this is a fund-raiser, as they were also selling them at a table out front.  I happily purchased one to the chagrin of Ron, who does not appreciate this Aggie tradition.  He actually got up and left for part of the third quarter, perhaps sensing what was to come.  The group of Cheerleaders that performed in front of us disappeared for the start of the quarter. 

 

Third Quarter

Quick recap, it was 35-10 with the Aggies in the lead.  They would receive to start the half.  A couple of penalties sabotaged the Aggie drive.  Hawaii began their first possession of the half.  They got a quick first down.  On the next set of downs, they reached third down.  Oh my God!  The cacophony that erupted from the deployment of a bunch of extra cowbells was completely deafening.  I couldn’t hear anything for a few seconds afterward.  Anyway, it somewhat worked.  There was an incomplete pass that was nearly intercepted.

 

I’d noticed a nice healthy-looking family of four come in at the start of the game in masks.  I kept noticing them, because they kept going back up to the Concessions.  They’d eat and drink and put the masks back on.  No further comment necessary.  We’d lost about half of the Student Section.  It was past their bedtime or they needed to study. 

 

Lawrence Dixon had a big punt return for 37 yards that started the Aggies off in Hawaii territory.  They kept it on the ground for the whole series with mostly Star Thomas doing the rushing.  Ahmonte Watkins punched it in for a touchdown.  42-10 Aggies. 

 

We found the Cheerleaders.  They performed in the endzone at the north end of the stadium.  (We were in the south end.)  The Sundancers had performed in the first half.  On the sidelines, a couple of players practiced blocking techniques.  There was another t-shirt toss into the crowd.  This time on our end of the stadium.  Walking around in the crowd was Aggie Basketball star Jabari Rice.  He’s not hard to recognize, especially when he’s wearing a jersey with his name on it.  He also had a purse.  Ron said it was a “man-purse.”  I’ll take his word for it.

 

Hawaii started their series getting a first down.  The cowbells came out for third down and caused a false start.  On the replay of the down, Brayden Schager was hit, but managed to get a pass off for the first down.  One of their players was also injured on the play.  HI got another first down off a pass and then had another false start.  With fourth down on the Aggie 16, HI went for it and Jalen Walthall caught a pass down the middle for a touchdown.  42-17 Aggies.

 

First play of the next Aggie drive, Gavin Frakes put one up downfield and was intercepted.  The ball was a bit underthrown.  HI took over on the Aggie 40.  Before the quarter ended, they’d made a fourth-and-four to continue the drive.

 

Fourth Quarter

The Cheerleaders performed during the break.  During Kiss-Cam, the girls fake kissed for the camera.  Back to play, Schager was hit on a fourth-and-two, but still completed the pass for the first down.  Chris Ojoh had three tackles on the drive, including one for a loss that seemed finally stop the drive.  HI settled for a field goal.  42-20 Aggies.

 

The Aggies took a quick timeout as HI set up for an onside kick.  Ojoh would come up with the ball on the kick.  He was wearing a different jersey and number on the play.  Him having to change shirts might have been the reason for the timeout.  Timothy Gans ran for a couple of first downs.  There was an Aggie penalty on first-and-goal.  Frakes’ helmet came off on a rush and he had to come out.  Diego Pavia came in for him.  He made a nice fade pass into the endzone, but it was broken up.  Brett Money made the 26-yard field goal to make it 45-20 Aggies.

 

The Student Section was mostly gone by now, but the rest of the crowd was still there, probably mostly for the fireworks show.  We were all singing along with a Journey song over the PA during the break.  (I forgot the song and didn’t write it down.)  On the way to Volleyball this morning, Ron was listening to them in this car. 

 

Hawaii was still fighting.  They got 40 yards on a flea-flicker pass.  Schager passed for another first down and got HI deep into Aggie territory.  They lost another player to injury that stopped the drive as the player was attended to.  Coach Kill came over ask about him or offering help at one point.  After the player had been taken off, the Cheerleaders played with Wave the Wonder Dog and got their pictures with him during the break. 

 

An Offsides on the Aggie defense continued the drive.  HI made a fourth-and-two, but lost another player to injury.  There was an Interference call in the endzone that gave HI another down closer to the goal.  I thought it looked like good coverage.  There was a face mask on the next play by the same player, who was pulled out afterward.  Even on the Aggie 1 yard line, HI still had to go to fourth down to finally score on a shovel pass.  There was a sack on the two-point conversion.  There was no onside kick with only a minute-and-a-half left.  Pavia came back out to QB.  After a handoff and two kneel downs, the Aggies won it 45-26.

 

The Aggies rushed into the stands on the north end.  They then did a lap around the stadium and slapped hands with fans on the railing.  Hawaii went over and saluted their fans before leaving the field.  “Hey Coach, can we watch the fireworks?”  “Fireworks are for winners!”  (In fairness, the Aggies left before the show, too.)  With the game over, I finally admitted to Ron that I’d seen lightning flashes to the southwest of the stadium.  I didn’t want to say anything, because I thought if I denied it, we might not have another long lightning delay.  Hey, it worked. 

 

The fireworks started five minutes after the game.  The stadium lights went out and it was about a 15-minute show.  A bunch of kids were playing out on the field.  After the show, a couple of people at the top of the stairs had their phone lights on to guide people.  The stadium lights did eventually come back on.  The Aggie Pride Band was playing everyone out.  On the concourse, Jabari Rice was there sitting on a wall.  People were coming up and saying, “Hi,” which we did.  I got to shake hands with him.  Ron and I listened to the Aggie postgame call-in show on the way back, and I kept listening when I was back home.                  

 

From the radio, I learned that this was the Aggies’ first win over Hawaii.  How did they do it?  Very simply, just eyeballing it, the Aggie Offensive and Defensive lines were bigger than Hawaii’s.  That’s hard to believe, but true.  The other thing was that Coach Kill did what Coach Jordan did in Volleyball today: they settled on a line up and stuck with it. 

 

We’ll give a gameball to HI QB, Brayden Schager.  He made some good plays under pressure.  For the Aggies, Jamoni Jones had two touchdowns, and Star Thomas ran for 144 yards with a touchdown.  Kicker, Brett Money was 7 for 7.  On defense, Chris Ojoh had 10 solo tackles and 14 total with assists.  And thanks for talking me into coming to the game, Chris.  

NM State Aggies vs Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Football 9-25-22 Part 1

I really hadn’t planned on going to this Aggie Football game against Hawaii (no, I’m not putting in the unnecessary apostrophe).  However, I was persuaded.  First, Coach Kill came on the Aggie Coaches Show Wednesday and outright begged people to show up.  AD Mario Moccia came on and said that it was also AG Day at the game and there would be attractions and free food, not to mention, there’d be postgame fireworks.

 

However, what really might have done it was the team Twitter.  There was a video posted by star linebacker Chris Ojoh.  (Yes, there are “star” players on the team. Basically there are two: Ojoh and Trevor Brohard, pictured above.)  The young man was all smiles and charisma and said they really needed the fans.  “Bring the kids!”  I was charmed.

 

Ron and I were already there to watch Aggie Volleyball earlier in the afternoon.  It made for a long day, but why not?  (I’ll tell you why, because it makes writing this stuff up all at once crushing.  Not to mention, I still haven’t started writing about the Chihuahuas game I went to on Friday.)  After going for lunch and a couple of detours, we returned to the university. 

 

First, we were glad that we ate beforehand, because we never found the free food.  We went to the exhibits in the south lot next to the Pan-Am Center.  There were a bunch of booths for organizations, a little tractor pulling kids along for a ride, and a little stage with a couple of performers (who didn’t have a microphone or speakers, so we didn’t hear them).  The only booth I almost found interesting involved local beekeepers.  I’d been looking for some local honey, but they didn’t have any on sale there.  There was another lot on a field nearby that might have had animal exhibits, but Ron wasn’t interested in taking the walk over. 

 

So much for AG Day.  I saw a guy wearing a University of Hawaii t-shirt working in one of the booths, which was odd.  It did prompt me to remember that when I was in high school in El Paso, I had a Hawaii t-shirt, too.  It was really randomly at a store there and I randomly got it.  It was one of my favorites.  I wore it to death and finally had to discard it. 

 

It was about an hour till kickoff and the gates were open.  We ran into the friendly usher we’d met earlier.  She was in a cart offering rides to people who had trouble walking.  She was still there after the game and we said “goodbye” to her.  Inside, I picked up some cinnamon roasted nuts as a snack.  There were some Hawaii fans there looking over the Aggie merchandise tent. 

 

It was a beautiful evening and night here in Las Cruces, just perfect to be outside at an event.  I did see some rain in the distance earlier, but we hoped for the best.  Inside the stadium, I noticed they’d changed the American flag to a different pole and were using a larger flag.  The teams were warming up on field.  Finishing, the Aggies gathered together at midfield and let out a big roar. 

 

Wave the Wonder Dog’s handler brought him up into the stands to greet his family.  Wave was happy and waving his tail.  He’d be busy tonight.  A casually-dressed Pistol Pete sped down the sideline on a motorized skateboard.  The Aggie Pride Band came out with a few Folklorico dancers.  Ron and I were listening to the radio.  I could barely hear it, but I did hear some of Coach Kill’s pregame comments, “We gotta catch the damn ball and run the damn ball.” 

 

Considering there wasn’t a big community sales effort, there was a great crowd of nearly 13,000.  It was officially a bit more than half of the opening night crowd, though the Student Section was full.  From the broadcast, I found out that Hawaii’s Aloha Stadium was actually closed and being demolished.  Hawaii was playing on essentially on a soccer field with 9,000 capacity in the stands.  (I always thought Aloha Stadium looked cool and interesting.)  There was a moment of silence for deceased high school football player Abe Romero.  I’ve read a second and different news account of why they think he died on field.  I’m starting to smell a cover up.     

 

For the team introductions, Pistol Pete was horseless.  Sigh.  I guess the horse still hadn’t recovered from his last appearance when he got spooked.  It wasn’t a good look for Pete.  The Aggies came out and some of them did a quick prayer in the endzone.  I’m going to say that’s why they were there.  I didn’t have the opportunity to individually ask them. 

 

The visiting team usually just comes out and goes straight to their sideline.  Hawaii actually charged out on field waving an American flag and a Hawaii state flag.  The whole team went to the endzone for what was definitely a prayer huddle with a player doing an invocation.  Given their lack of a big home crowd for their games, I can see why they’d take this opportunity.  Good on them.  They actually did bring quite a few fans for their visitors section.

 

First Quarter

The Aggies won the toss and deferred.  (I’m required to report on the coin toss.)  HI had some confusion on their first play and had to take a timeout.  The Student Section was pretty loud.  Much like NM State, Hawaii had been switching between two quarterbacks, but for this game they only used Brayden Schager.  On the first play, he was being chased when he found a man 20+ yards downfield.  A Personal Foul then pushed HI deep into Aggie territory.  Brohard already had two tackles in the series.  I’d just picked up his new poster this afternoon.  It was a quick march down the field for the Rainbow Warriors that resulted in a touchdown, 7-0 HI.

 

Gavin Frakes started for the Aggies.  He was also the only QB used today, except for a couple of plays at the end.  The Aggies kept it on the ground with a couple of good rushes mostly by Jamoni Jones and Star Thomas.  On a fourth-and-one on the HI 27, Thomas blew through the line for a touchdown.  For the point after, the Aggies used a new kicker, Brett Money.  Poor Ethan Albertson.  He’d been relieved of his duties after too many misses.  It’d gotten into his head.  Money made it.  After a couple more successful kicks, PA Ed Carnathan would not be able to resist saying, “Brett Money is money!”  7-7.  There was an HI player injured on the drive.  I mention this because it’ll be a recurring theme later.

 

The Student Section went crazy for a t-shirt toss.  Later in the half, the t-shirt Gatling Cannon was rolled out and fired into the other side of the stadium.  HI went three-and-out.  There was a near tip interception.  The Aggie defense is still looking for that first turnover. 

 

The Aggie offense worked it downfield again.  Frakes ran for the second first down.  He also ran it in untouched down the middle from the HI 20.  Frakes’ fake toss was so good, I didn’t see the ball again until he was holding it up in the endzone (and the play was right in front of me).  14-7 Aggies.    

 

Next series, HI got a first down, but their drive was then hobbled by a false start penalty from crowd noise.  Ojoh got the sack on third down to force the punt.  He was credited with four tackles on this series.  The Aggies opened their drive on Star Thomas’ legs as he ripped off a 57 yard run.  Frakes rushed it to inside the HI 5 to end the First Quarter.

 

Second Quarter

I saw a couple of familiar faces on the sidelines.  A couple of officers from work were chatting with AD Moccia there.  Unless I wasn’t paying attention, I don’t think they were part of an on-field recognition.  It might be kind of cool to be invited down to be on the sidelines.

 

Even cooler was Jamoni Jones starting the quarter with a rush for a touchdown to make it 21-7 Aggies.  Hawaii started their drive backed up to their own 4 after a holding penalty on the return.  HI threw for a first down, but then had another false start.  After a 36-yard rush and a pass interference in the endzone, HI was inside the Aggie 10.  Ojoh got the tackle on a QB keeper and the crowd was fully engaged.  HI took a timeout, but were not able to get into the endzone after.  They settled for a field goal.  21-10 Aggies.  The Aggies went three-and-out on their next series.  Carlson got off a good punt to put HI inside their 20. 

 

Another Raising Canes Challenge was announced.  The Aggies needed to score at least 25 points to activate it.  Thanks, but I’ve had plenty of chicken for the week after this afternoon’s meal.  The Women’s Tennis team was honored for winning the WAC on field.  In the stands though was the game highlight.  A girl in a shredded midriff tank top came down the stairs.  I could scarcely believe I was seeing full generous exposed side boob and under boob in public in a crowd.  Ron’s eyes were popping out of his head.  Remembering his marriage, I quickly moved to shield his eyes from the spectacle.  Regrettably, we did not see this young woman again.

 

Back to the Aggie offense, on a third-and-11, Frakes connected with Justice Powers for 28 yards.  Another connection with Powers for 19 yards got the Aggies to inside the HI 5.  Jamoni took it in from the Wildcat formation.  28-10 Aggies.  During the series, the attractive Cheer coach came by with Pete working the crowd.  Unfortunately, they didn’t come by us.

 

An Aggie penalty on the kickoff put HI on their on their 35.  A third down pass went for 28 yards to Caleb Phillips.  It was a juggled circus catch, but he came down with it.  Deep in Aggie territory, HI went for it on a fourth-and-three, but the Aggies held.  From the turnover on downs, Frakes rushed for 25 yards and got an extra 15 on a facemask.  On the goal line, Jamoni initially rushed in for a touchdown, but it was waived off on review.  In the closing seconds of the half, Frakes found Thomaz Whitford for the TD.  35-10 Aggies.  At this point, I finally noticed that something was missing.  I wasn’t being startled by cannon fire after every score.  Ron said the ROTC cadets were having trouble with the primer after the first couple of shots.      

 

Continued in Part 2.          

NM State Aggies vs CBU Lancers Volleyball 9-24-22

 It was hard not to wonder how the Aggies would respond after Thursday’s shock loss.  Still that was no reason to show up Saturday to the Pan-Am Center an hour early for the game.  Ron and I did go by the ticket office first to buy tickets for tonight’s Aggie Football game.  I’ll get to that later.  (Actually chronologically, Friday night we went to a Chihuahuas game.  I’d rather do that first, but I need to get some pictures and scans and finish filling out the scorecard.)  It was shaping up to be a long day and night of Aggie Sports.

 

We pretty much got there before the teams did.  There were only a couple of Cal Baptist players on court warming up, along with a few scattered fans.  At the top of the steps, we ran into Rito on the Aggievision crew, who’s the son of a co-worker.  I chatted with him for a minute.  He’d already been there a while and would be there working the football game, too.  Going down the stairs, we ran into Marketing Director, Nicole Sack.  Ron began haranguing her with some ticket ideas (mostly discounts).  I spitballed a couple as well.  Ron told me after that he’d been hoping to run into her. 

 

The rest of the CBU players came out quietly.  The Aggies were howling down the tunnel before they came out to a round of applause from the fans that were there.  They seemed in good spirits and loose.  Coach Jordan apparently hadn’t broken their will to live in his postgame comments. 

 

Ryleigh Whitekettle was dressed out to play after sitting out Thursday for injury.  She was practicing digging with Kacia Brown, who accidently bumped one into a group of fans.  They were laughing and embarrassed.  Ashley Herman, who seems to be the team’s exuberant mascot, and senior, Lia Mosher, were dancing to the Jackson 5’s, ABC, in a near-choreographed routine. 

 Lia and star, Katie Birtcil, met with the CBU captains and referees at the scorer’s table.  It was all smiles and everyone shook hands.  The Aggie girls burst into the Aggie Fight Song while waiting to use the court to practice.  Okay, the Coach fired these girls up in the right way.  While practicing hitting, Ryleigh accidently slapped one into the seats where the CBU coaching staff were sitting, including their very attractive blonde assistant coach, Michelle Wright.  (I’d remembered seeing her before, 10-28-19.)  The Lancers were wearing tank tops with arm sleeves to play in.  A boldly bad fashion choice, though not as bad the pants some of the Aggie girls are wearing.  Mia Jerue (pictured) on their team looked cute.  She was singing along with Icona Pop’s, I Love It, on court.             

 

It was a good crowd of over 800.  During the Anthem, I could hear a chorus of girls singing, but I didn’t figure out who it was.  The Cheerleaders were not here.  They were going to be busy with Football later.  Pistol Pete was here and looked kind of lonely.

 

Set 1

Our starters were Lia, Katie, Darian Marham, Taylor Snow, Molly Johnson, Bianca Perez, and Mari Sharp.  Mari had the first Aggie kill at 1-2 CBU.  Katie had the next two, before Jayde Shelton and Rylee Fay (pictured at the top) subbed in.  Katie had another kill at 4-5.  The up official wanted the ball, examined it, and then threw it out of play.  Did Katie bust the ball?  I could believe it. 

 

The Aggies went on a run as Mari got a couple more kills and Jayde spiked one into the corner.  10-6 Aggies and timeout CBU.  A group of pretty young blonde girls came in and sat at the courtside table.  They might have been family members, as they met with the team after the game.  CBU got back into it with a block and an ace, 10-9.  12-10 we had our first long rally.  Mari and Taylor ended it on a block.  The Aggies extended the lead to 13-10, but Reese Reed on CBU made a great dive trying to save the point. 

 

Mari had a tip kill and Molly got her first kill.  Taylor aced at 16-13.  Katie buried one and CBU took a timeout on the next point, 18-14.  Coach Jordan seemed calm and approving of the play so far.  Pete tossed t-shirts into the crowd during the break.  A second Aggie service error got the Lancers back into it.  18-16 a serve that was going out was instead dug on the Aggie side.  Two players then collided in the confusion.  Nobody was hurt, other than their pride.    

 

Katie put in another kill and Mari added another on a touch call.  22-16 was another long rally.  Lia and Jayde ended it with a block.  Morgan Stewart came in to serve.  Lia buried another attack.  22-20 CBU got back into it after winning a long rally.  The Aggies showed effort, but looked bad on the point.  Timeout Aggies.  Mari put in a kill out of the break.  On the next point, she dove over the scorer’s table going for a dig.  Katie got two more kills to finish off the set, 25-22.

 

Set 2: Aggies 1, Lancers 0

I didn’t realize it at the time, but I’d just seen all the players that were going to play today for the Aggies.  (Mia Peterson is listed in the official scoring as being in Set 1 for at least a point.  I never saw her, but I might have blinked and missed her.)  There were no starting changes for Set 2.  Ron changed seats to the other side of me.  I swapped seats to the side of him in the next set.  There’s been a guy sitting in front of us these last few games that likes to stand up a lot cheering and we can’t see the court around him.

 

Mari chipped in an early kill at 1-1.  Taylor added a couple of kills.  4-2 Aggies, Lia and Molly combined for a block.  Taylor had a service error and the Coach yelled at her.  Molly had another kill at 5-3.  Meanwhile, Pete was talking with another, out-of-uniform Pete.  There’s several guys running around games with big, black mustaches.  Other Pete would help with the next t-shirt toss. 

 

7-5 Katie with an offspeed kill.  There was a delay as the camera at the net was dislodged.  I’m surprised that doesn’t happen more often.  The Aggies had their fourth service error, but it wasn’t hurting them.  Lia came in with the tip kill, Mari had a kill off a block, Taylor slapped a kill, and Bianca put in an ace.  12-7 Aggies and CBU took a timeout.  No problem.  Bianca came back with another ace.  The next point was another insane rally.  A CBU player got a dig with her shoulder at one point.  It was initially ruled for the Aggies as Katie leaned out of the way of an out-swing.  However, it was overruled on a challenge.

 

15-9 Bianca did it with a dump shot here.  16-10 this was the kill of match.  Molly hit one hard enough that the dig ricocheted straight up and hit the bottom of the scoreboard and dropped in for the kill.  After another kill by Katie and an ace by Rylee, CBU took a timeout, 18-11.  Morgan came in after another Katie kill.  20-13 Morgan did her signature move as she ducked under a serve at her that went out.  When she comes in, being a reserve player, she gets aimed at. 

 

Mari got another kill.  Morgan had a couple of good digs on the next point, but it ended on an Aggie Double Touch.  This got the Coach going at the refs.  21-15 Jayde put another kill into a corner.  That’s her shot.  CBU challenged another call and prevailed, but the Molly had another kill and the Aggies took Set 2, 25-17.

 

Set 3: Aggies 2, Lancers 0

At the start of the set, Lia went over to fist-bump Assistant Coach Whitis.  He ignored her until it was obvious she wouldn’t go away and finally gave in.  He was really vocal from the bench during the match.  Ashley usually high-fives everyone before a set starts.  She started with Coach Jordan, who reluctantly gave her a slap.  (How could she not be his favorite?)

 

Mari and Taylor started the set with a block.  Molly hit the backline on a kill.  6-2 Aggies, Katie had a solo block.  She was doing this in addition to the kills and getting a bunch of digs in the match.  Katie also had a couple of kills in between Lia accidently slamming a shot into the net.  9-4 timeout CBU.

 

The Aggies ran up the score.  Jayde and Mari had two kills each.  Lia came back with her bearpaw slap and a tip kill.  Bianca and Katie had aces.  18-8 timeout again CBU.  The Aggie reserves were whooping it up.  I didn’t recognize the movie, but there was a clip about fireworks on the video screen to promote the fireworks show after Football tonight.  Even the down ref was laughing.

 

The Lancers cycled in some of their reserves, including Mia Jerue (who did get a kill).  This might have sparked a rally for the team along with some Aggie errors.  19-13 Molly hammered a kill.  20-15 yet another long rally.  This one ended on a tip by Taylor.  20-17 probably the longest rally of the match.  Though CBU took this point, the crowd applauded the effort by both teams.  Timeout Aggies after losing 7 points of their 10-point lead.  Maybe it was for a blow after that point, maybe it was for strategy.  The coaches huddled amongst themselves for a minute before talking to the team.  

22-17 Rylee dialed up an ace.  That was number 7.  The Cane’s Challenge was achieved.  More on that in a minute.  23-18 no more messing around, Lia pounded one.  Morgan (pictured) came in to serve.  Jayde and Lia combined for a block on next point.  For match point, Morgan hit the tape.  The ball hung there for an instant and then fell over on the CBU side for an ace.  25-18 and 3-0 Aggies win!  The crowd was really going there on the last point.  Morgan maybe got a little tight.  She was totally embarrassed by that serve, putting her hand to her mouth in shock.  The rest of team razzed her.           

 

Katie Birtcil pretty much did it all and led in kills with 14.  Mari Sharp came a bit out-of-nowhere with 12 kills.  Molly Johnson had 9.  Christine Graf led the Lancers with 9.  The Aggies led convincingly in all the categories, though the blocks were low and nearly even.  It was 49 to 29 in kills and 8 to 1 in aces (with 5 errors).  Bianca Perez had 3 of the aces.  While this was a sweep, CBU played very tenaciously.  I don’t know when I’ve seen so many long rallies in one match.  Lastly, props to the PA (whose name I keep not getting), who did a great job, including doing fan commentary on Flex-cam and Dance-com.   

 

It was like Thursday’s disastrous game never happened.  I’d attribute the change to Coach Jordan.  He finally decided on a line up and stuck with it.  In an interview done after this game played during the football broadcast, he was actually pleased with the outcome.  I’d hate to put the UTRGV game on Alana Embry being worked in as a third setter, but that seemed to throw the offense all off, even the other setters (which doesn’t make sense).  As Ron said, “They were six players on court Thursday.  Today, they were a team.” 

 

Still, this can be a problem.  There’s a bunch of good players sitting on the bench right now.  I don’t know how good they’ll be if needed in a pinch if they’re not getting some work in.  They’re too good to be sitting around watching the game for the rest of the season.  They’ll transfer to somebody else’s team next year, unless they’re told they’ll be starting next year.      

 

We ran into the usher that Ron had befriended during Baseball season.  He asked her about the Raising Cane’s Challenge.  If you take your game ticket to Cane’s, you can buy one meal and get one free.  We didn’t have tickets, just the passes.  She suggested showing the passes.  We went by the ticket office and they didn’t know for sure either.  They gave us two old tickets.

 

We went to Raising Canes and mentioned the Challenge and they just gave it to us.  I wonder if this success might depend on who the manager was on duty and how busy they were.  I didn’t realize though that it was for the four-piece meal.  I ended up giving a strip to Ron, who guzzled it instantly. 

 

Ron had forgotten his radio again for the Football game.  We went by my apartment and I grabbed my extra one.  Then Ron decided to go back home to get his.  He lives on the outskirts of town.  In other words, we had plenty of time to get back before the Football game started.

NM State Aggies vs UTRGV Vaqueros Volleyball 9-22-22

 

After two Aggie Soccer games that ended in draws (9-16-22 and 9-18-22), I came real close to writing up one-page recaps for each.  I never thought I’d consider doing that for Aggie Volleyball, but here I am.  Tonight did not go well.

 

I will set the stage.  Going back to the Aggies’ road trip, Lia Mosher came up huge and was on the All-Tournament team.  I got that from listening to the Aggie Coaches Show.  Coach Jordan also mentioned that Setter Alana Embry was over her finger injury and played a bit.  His scouting report on tonight’s opponent, UTRGV, was that they were as good as their 11-4 suggested, even though they were a preseason pick for seventh in the WAC.  Looking at their schedule, they didn’t seem to have beaten anyone significant.

 

Ron and I went directly to the Pan-Am Center without the usual pregame meal or plans for a postgame meal.  We’d both eaten beforehand.  AD Mario Moccia had mentioned during the Coaches Show that there was a free popcorn deal, if you bought a large drink.  I took them up on that.  A nice fellow, who had just got a beer, gave Ron his free popcorn.  So, we both made out well.

 

Tonight’s game was on the radio.  Unfortunately, Ron forgot his.  I brought two.  Unfortunately for me, the old one I was using had nearly no charge in it.  I had to hope for the best.  On court, Director of Player Operations, Tatyana Battle, looked elegant in a loose-fitting blouse and slacks.  The Cheerleaders were practicing lifts.  Cat Kelly (I still don’t know what her position is with the team) recruited a few girls to act as ball girls.  I keep waiting for her to recruit me.  In return, I’ll only ask for . . . we’ll negotiate it.  (Ron will have to keep my notes.)

 

A good crowd came out for this first WAC contest.  In the player introductions, the Vaqueros looked fairly pleasant and athletic.  They are also a very international squad with 12 players from other countries.  This included their 5’2” Libero, Regina Tijerina, from Mexico.  Sarah Cruz, the leading scorer in the conference, was from the Czech Republic. 

 

The lights went out and the spotlights came on for the Aggies’ intro for the first time.  The intro video featured a honey shot of a smiling Darian Markham, which got a big cheer.  I held my breath waiting for the lights to come back up.  (There have been technical issues in the past.)  The girls tossed souvenir balls into the crowd for the first time, too. 

 

Set 1

After the match started, a lady next to me pointed out that the scoreboard was still showing the stats from the last match (9-10-22) and they weren’t right then either!  The teams weren’t doing much better.  I think the first six points had them both trading errors. 

 

Alana did come in early to serve and set.  She had a couple of double touches, but did look athletic going for digs.  Molly Johnson stood out for the Aggies in kills, but she was the only one through much of the set.  She kept them in it, but it was 12-15 UTRGV at the Media timeout.  On that point, Darian actually tried kicking the ball over, not being in position to make a dig.  That is legal.

 

15-17 UTRGV, Lia got her first kill on a slam dunk on an overpass.  However, her and team kill leader, Katie Birtcil, were getting blocked or hitting out.  Both teams weren’t serving well in the set.  Lia would come back with a couple of encouraging kills with her signature “bearpaw” slap, but the Aggies fell behind about half through and never recovered.  19-25 UTRGV.  During a timeout, the camera showed a girl with a handmade sign for reserve player, Kayleigh Thomas.  I keep wanting to see the redhead play.

 

Set 2: Vaqueros 1, Aggies 0

Not getting enough offense, Coach Jordan put in Jayde Shelton and Mia Peterson (pictured nicely at the top), to mix it up.  Alana also started.  After the Aggies had made three out shots, the Coach put in Bianca Perez to set.  He spoke to Alana on the sidelines for a while, not angry-looking though.  Down 0-5, the Aggies took a timeout.  Losing the next point, the Coach sent Katie over to talk to the up official to argue.  The official gave him a Yellow Card. 

 

3-6, Katie got her first kill off a block.  Molly continued to get the kills and a couple of blocks.  Mia kept firing out, until the Coach took out her and talked to her on the sidelines.  Darian made a couple of heroic saves.  At 11-16, freshman Anji Vishwanathan from the reserves came in.  I should mention that Ryleigh Whitekettle was unavailable tonight.  Given the number of arms on the team, that didn’t seem like a big deal when it was announced at the beginning of the match.  Katie added a couple more kills, as well as kills chipped in by others, but they never recovered from that bad opening.  UTRGV took it 19-25.

 

Set 3: Vaqueros 2, Aggies 0

I ran to the bathroom.  Today I’d had two large cups of water, three cups of McAlisters sweet tea (I went with dad for lunch there and had a great sandwich), and I was drinking a large raspberry tea here.  I felt like I’d been in the bathroom all day.  I ran into AD Mario on the way back and said, “Hi.”  He didn’t look happy.  I finally heard the PA play Jump in the Line for the first time.  I also passed by a guy admiring one a souvenir ball that he’d caught.  I already have a ball (9-8-21).  They’re magical. 

 

Kacia Brown was now starting.  Lia started off with a kill.  The Vaqueros were called for being out-of-rotation next.  3-1 Aggies, Kacia got her first kill.  However, the Aggies committed their seventh service error and tied the score at 3.  Anji and Jayde combined on a block to tie it at 6.  Anji got her first kill on a tip, as UTRGV started to pull ahead, 7-10.  Under the net, Katie and some Vaquero players shared a laugh.  I have no idea why.

 

9-10 Alana connected with Lia for a pretty kill.  Unfortunately, Rylee Fay missed the connection with Lia for a whiff, 10-14.  Morgan Stewart briefly came in for defense.  Ron and I were pleased to see her, but in this circumstance, as it looked like the Coach was throwing in the towel.  By 13-19, UTRGV was sending in their reserves. 

 

14-19 Molly got a kill that painted the line.  UTRGV challenged the call.  Their reserves started dancing a doe-see-doe to the PA music.  They then started “swimming” on top of each other.  I don’t know what that was all about.  Call upheld, and Sydney McIntosh came in for the Aggies.  I noticed the girl waving the sign and could see the back of it.  It said, “I love you,” to a named official.  I don’t know if said official was there, or if this was a reused piece of poster board.  (I also saw this girl afterward with a souvenir ball.)   

 

15-22 Alana missed Lia on a set.  This was really bad.  19-23 Lia and Kacia combined on a block.  22-24 Kacia and Molly combined on a block.  That was as close as it got.  Rylee and Katie aced in the set, but the match ended on the Aggies’ tenth service error.  22-25 and 0-3 UTRGV sweeps it.

 

Well, Molly Johnson had 9 kills and Sarah Cruz was held to 7 kills.  (In fact, nobody had double digit kills.)  That’s all the positives for the Aggies.  The stats were actually oddly equal, except for having more than double the number of service errors.  It was nice to see Alana back in action, kinda.    

 

My radio gave out late in the third set, which was way longer than I thought it would last.  At the end of the match, I grabbed Ron’s to hear the postgame interview with the Coach.  Immediately upon plugging it in, I heard Coach Jordan calling this the “Worst performance he’d ever seen from one of his teams.”  He also called it, “Tragic.”  He didn’t even credit UTRGV with playing particularly well in the win.  Broadcaster Adam Young called the Coach’s comments, “Candid.”  Meanwhile, the team was in a huddle and cheering about something.  The girl with the sign was there with them.  At least they weren’t overly upset about the loss.  

 

I’m not qualified to critique, but I’ll hand out these observations.  There’s lots of good players here, but they’re not playing as a team.  At some positions, the Coach doesn’t seem to be able to choose.  Working out three Setters this week clearly diminished all of them.  This sort of reminds me of the Football team’s problem, as they keep switching between two quarterbacks.  The players are the ones playing, but personnel decisions and training are on the coach.  You have to put the right ones in the right combination.  If the players aren’t sorting it out, the coach has to.

 

Personally, I was in shock.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen them go three-and-out on their home court in conference.  It usually takes a PAC-12 team to do that.  Ron was numb.  The rest of the crowd may have been as well.  It only took an hour-and-a-half.  At least the beat down was quick.  I’m writing and posting this quickly to get it out of my system.  I hope the girls are doing the same before their next match on Saturday.