NM State Aggies vs Western NM Mustangs Volleyball 8-19-23

Aleka Darko rocks the cowboy hat.

I’ve agonized over buying an Aggie Country Pass for the last couple of days.  There are rumors of another lockdown.  (A planned emergency may be declared next month for purely political reasons.)  Finally, I found out on Friday that tonight’s Aggie Volleyball exhibition game versus Western New Mexico would require a paid admission.  That, more or less, cinched it.  I was miffed that there still weren’t any Volleyball posters yet in the ticket office, especially since I’d remember to bring a rubber band with me for them.

 

I decided I’d get something from the Concessions and settled on the Pete combo.  I didn’t really want a hot dog, but it was cheaper than a pretzel.  When I got to my seat to eat, it was a miracle!  The bun was fresh (and the dog was huge).  I don’t know what to say.  This is the first time this has happened to me at an Aggie sporting event.  Suddenly, I felt a little better about buying the Pass.  Of course, they buy all their buns at the beginning of the school year and they just get stale as the year goes on.

As mentioned at the Scrimmage, the Pan-Am Center is undergoing some renovations.  The obvious first change is the lighting.  It was like sunlight inside over the court.  I almost needed my sunglasses.  The court was now bounded with a layout like bigger colleges have for their volleyball courts.  The seats in the pullout sections next to the court have been replaced with new ones.  Other seating sections are supposed to be replaced as well. 

 

Alum player Lia Mosher was back to watch the team.  She’s not working for them and I don’t think she’s going to classes.  She’s just there.  That’s loyalty.  Ashley Herman and Darian Markham weren’t suited out play.  I was looking forward to seeing Ashley play some more, and I suspected something was wrong with Darian.  Nothing obvious looked wrong with them.  Maybe they’ll be playing soon.  I didn’t see Kaitlyn Espiritu anywhere, though she’s still on the roster. 

 

Morgan Stewart has a massive bandage on her hip, but she’d be the libero to start.  (I’m sorry Ron wasn’t here to see his favorite out playing.)  Rilen Garcia was the surprise starting setter.  During a promo on the video board, Rilen’s image came up, along the Sydney McIntosh.  The rest of the team cheered them. 

 

A pretty decent crowd came out.  I didn’t see fan Danny there.  I know he’s a fan of Western.  I probably just missed seeing him somewhere.  The team intro video had a couple highlights featuring alum Molly Johnson, who was there on the bench as the grad assistant.  (I still need to talk to her to gush on her.)  I noticed a very pretty Asian lady working as a line judge.  I hope to see more of her, though she did look very unhappy out there.

The girls in a huddle during the match.

Set 1

The WNM Mustangs went up 0-3 on the Aggies to start.  This team was not terrible.  They’ve got some height and were able to block.  Starr Williams fired high a couple of shots.  Mustang libero, Janey Cortez, made a nice off-court save on a point. 

 

The Aggies made a comeback with Ryleigh Whitekettle on serve.  She ran off 5 points.  Bianca Perez cycled in as setter.  Kacia Brown made a couple of kills on a tip and firing through a block.  10-6 Aggies, Sydney got a kill.  Morgan made a great dive save on the play.  Timeout WNM.  The Cheerleaders came out and performed, though they were wearing t-shirts, not their uniforms.  Pistol Pete was here in his traditional Western garb.

 

11-6 Aggies, Mari Sharp and Aleka Darko combined on block.  Aleka and Syd would combine on a block later.  17-8 Starr got her first kill and put in a couple more right after.  Late in the set, Peyton Castillo cycled in as setter and Bella Castro came in to serve.  Aleka finished the set with a kill, 25-14 Aggies.       

 

Set 2 Aggies 1, Mustangs 0

The teams did not changes ends, probably because this was an exhibition.  Bella changed into the libero jersey.  She looked loose and happy.  Peyton would be the starting setter.  The Football team in the stands showed off for Flex Cam.  I was pleased to see Ashley was still high-fiving everyone, including the coaches, before each set.

 

The set started with a long rally that Mari ended with a kill.  WNM would take the lead 2-3 with a kill and Kacia firing long on a swing.  The Aggies retook the lead 4-3, as Peyton made a low set and Mari came in from the backcourt for a kill. 

 

Assistant Coach Hertel was actively moving the players around on court before a point.  6-4 Aggies, Peyton snuck in a dump shot.  8-4 Peyton made a successful dive for a ball.  Aleka made a bump set and it fell in for a kill.  Alex Connatser cycled in early.  (Ron would have been so happy to see her, too.)  There were a couple of long rallies that the teams split.  Peyton made a save on an attempted dump shot. 

 

9-7 Aggies, Ryleigh missed a couple of shots and WNM got back into it.  10-8 Alex made a bad miss on the previous shot, but came back here with her first kill.  10-10 WNM tied it with a nice block.  Ryleigh put the Aggies back up with a kill down the line.  WNM tied it again at 11.  Bella made a great save at the net on that point. 

 

13-15 WNM, the automatic timeout came up.  Coach Jordan remained seated and talked to the team standing in front of him.  They were nodding along with what he said.  Coach Hertel talked to them some more in a huddle.  There were a couple of ladies sitting in front of me that were like fan coaches.  They were groaning and critiquing on every bad play from the Aggies. 

 

14-15 WNM, Peyton set Aleka for a kill.  15-16 Starr tooled a block.  16-17 Bianca hooked up Alex for a kill.  Ryleigh finally put the Aggies up, 18-17, with a kill.  Timeout WNM.  Kaylee Peterson came in and served up the Aggies’ first ace.  20-17 Mari made a diagonal kill at the net. 

 

Timeout WNM again.  The Football team had fun with Bongo Cam.  Assistant Coach Whitis had a long talk with Mari.  21-18 WNM got hit with a second Lift call in the set.  Coach Whitis talked to Kaylee out on court and got a smile out of her.  23-20 Mustang Maria Osorio got a clutch kill.  WNM took the next point with a save off the net and a tip kill.  However, a serve that went long ended the set, 25-23 Aggies.      

 

Set 3 Aggies 2, Mustangs 0

Morgan came back in as libero.  Anji Vishwanathan came in for the first time.  An excited little girl jumped up and down in front of me for Dance Cam.  The Football team declined to dance.  Bianca talked to the up official before the set.  It seemed official and not chatting.

 

Once again, WNM started with the lead with an ace.  Bella made a good dive save on the next point.  Serving had been pretty steady to this point, but Morgan served out early and WNM followed suit.  Maggie Lightheart (be still my heart) came in for the first time to serve.  Mari got her second kill of the set before making a net serve. 

 

Starr made the next two kills for the Aggies.  6-6 Maggie passed to Bianca, who got a tip kill off a block.  Starr got her third kill, before Bianca made a net serve.  Starr pounded another kill, which was nearly dug out on the other side, but went out.  10-8 Aggies, Ryleigh made a flying kill.  11-9 Mari’s swing was dug out, but Ryleigh put down a no-set kill.

 

There had been a muff at the net on the previous play.  Coach Whitis, upset by the play, went over to the reserves to lecture them.  When Ryleigh came out, he took her aside and talked to her.  12-11 Aggies, Kacia had a tip kill and then an “Excuse me” kill, but served out to tie the score at 13. 

 

14-13 Aggies, Anji got her first kill.  16-13 Timeout WNM.  Out of the break, Ryleigh hit the back corner with a kill and made a solo block.  Anji made two solo blocks on the next point.  Bianca had been a long serving run by this point.  She has an awkward jump motion, but it works. 

 

Aspen Aldous finally came in to the match to serve and set.  Kills by Mari, Kacia, and two by Ryleigh finished off the set, 25-15.  Aspen looked good setting.  Her height allows her to have her have a really light touch.  The Aggies take the match, 3-0.      

 

Set 4 Aggies 3, Mustangs 0

“Hold on, folks.  We’ve got extra volleyball,” said the PA.  I’m sure this was supposed to be a four-set match regardless of the score.  They should have said something before the match started.  The Cheerleaders left anyway, as did the Football team, and some of the crowd.  (Of course, I have nothing better to do, especially nothing better than watching beautiful young women play volleyball.)  Bella was back in at libero.  Rilen was the setter.  I was getting cold.  I need to remember to wear another layer in the Pan Am Center. 

 

Sydney started it off with a kill.  Rilen served an ace to make it 2-0.  Ryleigh tooled a block to make it 4-2.  5-3 Rilen had an assist to Kacia.  Peyton and Alex came in, and Peyton had a net serve.  Starr had a kill and Mari added two more.  Peyton cycled out.  Coach Jordan had her sit next to him and put his arm around her for a talk.  Who is this guy?  He’s not yelling.  He’s being nice coaching.

 

Rilen went on a serving run.  Mari and Ryleigh teamed up on a couple of blocks and Ryleigh tooled a block for a kill.  Aspen subbed in to serve.  16-8 WNM blocked out Ryleigh.  She hit the antenna a couple of points later.  16-11 there was an overrule by an official that gave WNM the point.  Bella made a dive save at the net, but the Mustangs took the point, 17-12.  Next point, Syd fired a kill into a block.  Next, Kacia and Maggie teamed up on a block. 

 

Then the disaster.  On a pancake dig attempt where a couple of girls were going for it, Ryleigh went down hard.  She sat up, babied her left arm, and was crying.  The trainers ran out to her immediately.  There was uncomfortable quiet for a minute until Coach Jordan asked for some music.  The down official said back, “They want you to sing.”  It was a moment of levity, but this was serious for the season.  Ryleigh got up and walked off and was tended to off court.

 

Jacqueline Gomez-Gallegos was sent in to several cheers of the crowd.  (She must have had friends watching.)  But then she was pulled back before the point started.  Back to play, 20-13 Aggies, Aspen set Kacia for a kill.  Coach Jordan went over to check on Ryleigh.  Kacia put in two more kills.  Ryleigh went over to sit on the bench holding her arm and appeared to be crying.  I don’t know if she was crying because she was in pain or if she just found out her season was over.  (I’m tearing up myself.) 

 

Jacqueline finally came in for real and may have gotten a tip kill to make it 24-13.  (Freshman Mia Daniel never made it in to the match, though she was suited out to play.  She was the last player in the reserves.)  WNM didn’t quit and ran off four points.  Finally, Maggie ran way off court for a save.  Bella took her hit and long bumped it over the net facing backward.  Maggie made the kill that ended it, 25-17.  4-0 Aggies in sets.     

 

The official story of the match had Kacia Brown with 12 kills, Mari Sharp with 11, and Starr Williams and Ryleigh Whitekettle with 8 kills each.  Morgan Stewart, Bella Castro, and Rilen Garcia had 5 to 6 digs each.  The setting situation for the team looks good with four serviceable options.  The team has several good hitters and some good blocking.  From these two games, the team doesn’t seem to have an ace server, so they’d better work on being consistent.   

 

However, the official coverage ended at Set 3.  There was no mention of Ryleigh’s injury, which was the only thing that really mattered.  I’m not sure if it was her elbow or wrist.  It was her offhand, but she’ll still be out quite a while if something was broken.  She wasn’t put in a sling, but she’ll likely be getting X-Rays.  The team should still be competitive, but losing Ryleigh likely ends their championship run.  More personally, Ryleigh was in terrible pain and that was awful to see.  She didn’t strike me as someone who cries over nothing. 

 

I’m remembering seeing Megan Hart dive for a ball once on court and I think the whole crowd gasped.  I didn’t see her do that again for the rest of the season and I’m sure that was coach’s orders.  The shorter girls can make those diving plays with less chance of injury than the tall ones.  Apparently, Ryleigh wasn’t told to let those kind of plays go, but I don’t blame coach.  I’ve seen girls injured playing other sports, but volleyball injuries just seem to be worst in terms of damage and pain.  We’ll hope for the best.       

Hopefully, we'll get to see Ashley Herman play in the next match.