NM State Aggies vs WKY Hilltoppers Volleyball 10-13-23

Peyton Castillo is out injured, but still beautiful.  

Well, lunch was a mixed bag.  I went to Freddy’s for another burger, my second in two days.  Yesterday’s 5 Guys was just okay, but Fred’s limited time only Grilled Cheese two-patty with bacon burger on Texas toast was awe-inspiring.  I can’t believe I ate a hamburger without ketchup and enjoyed it.  (Anyone who’s eaten a burger with me knows to bring plenty of ketchup.)  I may want all of my future hamburgers to be made like this from now on.  I wish I’d had some grape jelly to put on it.

 

(Okay, this may just be something only my mom ever did for my grilled cheese sandwiches, but the jelly does work with it.  It’s because the bread is essentially toast.  Try it for yourself.)

 

The downside was that, even though I brought a hearty appetite, this burger pretty much overwhelmed me.  It didn’t look that big.  With that full belly, it was nothing but pure folly for me to go next door for a Sonic Trick-or-Treat Blast.  I waited until about an hour after I got home to attempt to eat it.  Oh boy!  The first spoonful was like being hit in the mouth with various sweets.  I’d also mistakenly ordered a medium instead of a small.  It took two attempts to finish it.

 

What does this have to do with tonight’s Aggie Volleyball match with the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers?  Not much other than, in spite of taking an antacid and a cap of Pepto Bismol, I kept farting and burping during the match.  Good thing nobody was seated around me.  Given how the match went, I’d kind of like to keep going on about the burger.

 

Oh, very well.  I actually saw a tailgate going on in the Pan Am parking lot when I got there.  That’s pretty rare.  Also rare is WKU’s 64-match conference winning streak, which is the longest in the nation.  They’re a pretty good team.  The Aggies used to play them when they were in the Sunbelt Conference many years ago.  Coach Jordan and Coach Hudson have been coaching their teams in all of that time, so they’re renewing a rivalry. 

 

WKU has their players’ names on their jerseys, which is also pretty rare.  This season, they’ve beaten #12 Marquette out of conference and only Liberty has taken them to five sets in conference.  The team seemed shorthanded with only 13 players.  Their libero, Abby Schaefer, was wearing a face visor.  I’d guess she’s taken a bad hit to the face at some point.

 

The official attendance was zero.  I’d say it was around 1,000.  Three of the four refs were women.  One was short attractive middle aged woman that was the down official.  A line judge was the pretty tall Asian woman that I’d noticed before (hard not to).  She nervously tried to adjust the net before play while serving practice was going on.  She was shielding her head the whole time.  

 

The Aggie girls looked pretty serious before the match.  Rilen Garcia was the starting setter.  Ashley Herman also started.  During player introductions, Starr Williams threw an angry fastball into the crowd with a souvenir ball and startled a receiving fan.  She can pitch.

 

Set 1

The Aggies got three blocks early in the set by Mari Sharp, Ryleigh Whitekettle, and Kacia Brown.  For some reason, the Aggie setters were extremely nervous for the whole match.  At one point, Starr took Rilen aside to talk to her after she missed a dig.  Tied at 5 after a WKU service error, Bianca Perez came in to serve and set. 

 

The Toppers got a couple of easy overpass kills.  Kacia got the first Aggie kill at 6-5 Aggies.  However, after Starr shot wide two times in a row, the Aggies took a timeout at 6-10 WKU.  Coach Jordan talked to the setters and defensive players (the “Smalls”) separately.  Rilen and Aspen Aldous were seated next to Assistant Coach Hertel, instead of standing with the rest of the reserves.  He was talking to them while play resumed.  For the rest of the match, the reserve setters were seated and receiving instructions.

 

The Toppers made a couple more net serves, but they were blocking well.  Aleka Darko was blocked on an overpass swing.  9-12 WKU, Ryleigh got a kill off two blockers.  Ashley was blocked two points later, but Mari came back with a kill.  WKU net served again, up 11-17.  On the next point, the up and down officials disagreed on an out call.  Coach Jordan was hopping mad.  He didn’t have to challenge and there wasn’t a review.  The up changed her call and gave the Aggies the point.

 

13-17 WKU, Starr made a mishit into the net.  Ash came back with a kill and Starr then tooled a block to make it 15-18.  The next point, the up judge was nearly taken out on a block.  (Hey, it was just one bad call.  Be nice.)  WKU out served at 16-20.  Maggie Lightheart came in to serve for a point.  She missed a dig and came right out.  Assistant Coach Whitis talked to her afterward. 

 

17-20 WKU, lots of bad hits on this point by both teams made for a long rally.  The Aggies outlasted the Toppers and took the point.  The Aggies took a timeout at 17-22.  Ryleigh fired wide coming out of the break, but WKU net served again to sideout.  Ash and Kacia combined on a block and Ry had another kill, but the set ended 20-25 Toppers with a kill into an open spot on the court.  None of Aggies even moved for it.

Shaney Lipscomb returns.

Set 2: Hilltoppers 1, Aggies 0

Oh my goodness, former Aggie star player, Shaney Lipscomb, was here in the crowd.  Yeah, this girl attracts attention.  Wow!  (Still haven’t forgotten her tossing me a souvenir ball in 2021.)  I wasn’t entirely surprised to see her.  The team Twitter had recently posted some pictures of her working out with the team.  (She is definitely still in playing shape and has a great tan to go with it.)  I am curious as to why she’s here.  I remembered her saying she wanted to get into journalism to do some activism.  (Nobody’s perfect.) 

 

One of WKU's assistant coaches!  Really!

As the teams exchanged ends, I got a good look at the Hilltoppers.  Oh my goodness, one of their assistant coaches is Megan Fox!  She might be going under the alias “Jena Otec.”  Her movie career has kind of bottomed out.  I’ve been called out before for insisting that Taylor Swift was covertly acting as an assistant coach for the UNM Lobo Women’s Basketball team.  (Just another reason to hate her.)  But this time, I’m sure. 

 

 (I’m just trying to have some fun here.  It’s not like the match was fun.)

 

On the second point of the set, the Toppers finally aced, but then immediately net served again.  Morgan Stewart came in to serve and would be coming in for the rest of the match.  Ryleigh and Alex Connatser, who started this set, combined on a block to tie it at 2.  Morgan made an out serve on the next point.  She almost hit the backline with it. 

 

3-4 WKU, the Aggies took this point after an insane rally.  The Toppers nearly took it on a free ball, but the Aggies saved it.  Bianca was then called for a double touch, but Ry came back with a kill.  Bella Castro came in to serve to put three “smalls” in the backcourt.  5-6 WKU, Bianca made a one-handed dump shot for a kill.  The crowd loved it.  Starr dropped the hammer for a kill and Bianca got a block (with a facial, even) to keep the buzz going at 7-8 WKU.

 

Mari had a flying kill and Ryleigh got a kill to tie it at 9.  Ry, Starr, and Alex were all in to put three “bigs” at the net.  Bianca net served next.  Ryleigh would get a kill, but got blocked two points later.  Mari had another kill and Kacia had a solo block to tie it at 13.  WKU got the lead back at 13-15 going into the Media timeout.

 

From there, the Aggies were only playing from behind.  Right out of the break, WKU scored on three-straight blocks.  Ryleigh finally broke the run with a kill, 14-19 WKU.  On the point, Bianca dug out a setter dump shot.  Mari came back with a couple of kills.  One was granted after a challenge and a quick review.  On the other, Schaefer made a great diving pancake dig to keep the point going for WKU.  Starr tooled a block to make it 17-20, but Alex was solo blocked next to break the run.

 

18-23 WKU, the Toppers had another service error.  Ryleigh got a kill on the next point.  Topper freshman middle Izzy Van De Wiele was taken out after the point.  Coach Hudson got in her face and chewed her out on the sideline, I guess for not getting a block.  The player looked terribly unhappy. 

 

Ry and Mari got kills to get it to 22-24 WKU.  The Toppers took a timeout as the crowd was fully into it.  The highlight of the match was actually a fan on camera during the break.  The fan was a pudgy middle aged guy who performed a Floss to the music and also went Gangnum Style.  The crowd appreciated his dancing skills.  Out of the break, Ry got a block to make it 23-24, but an Aggie dig went high into the video board to end the set, 23-25 WKU.  Morgan had a four-point serving run there at the end.

 

Set 3: Hilltoppers 2, Aggies 0

I went to the bathroom during the break.  I could hear a former Aggie Volleyball player being honored on court.  (It wasn’t Shaney.)  I noticed some members of Aggie Football and Women’s Basketball were in the crowd.  Oh my God!  Coach Hudson was still chewing out that Izzy girl as the set started!  Was this personal?  This like a scene from an Aggie Football sideline with Coach Kill.  If she was wearing a helmet, he’d be grabbing her by the facemask.

 

Starr got a tip kill on the second point of the set.  WKU saved an overpass kill on the next point and won it on a tip.  Mari came back with a kill to make it 2-3 WKU.  The next point was some kind of miscommunication on the set, which resulted in a DT.  Coach Jordan stepped on court between points to talk to Bianca.  Morgan made a great one-handed save on the next point, but WKU won it.  At 2-6 WKU, the Aggies took a timeout.  Coach Jordan again huddled with the setters.

 

Right out of the break, there was a bad set.  The coach wiped his forehead and sat down.  That’s his usual sign of being disgusted with the team.  The Aggies almost went down 2-8, but Coach Jordan challenged a touch call.  The up official watched the replay and opened her mouth in shock.  The call was overturned to give Ryleigh a kill, 3-7.  The “smalls” came in.

 

Mari got a kill.  5-7 WKU, Morgan hit a free ball over the net that dropped in for a kill on the backline.  That got a smirk out of her.  The coach challenged again at 5-11 on an out call.  The crowd wanted it, too.  It was an easy overturn, 6-10, for a kill for Kacia.  The Toppers came back with their second ace.  Mari came back with a flying tip kill.  She was starting to lose her topknot with her hair tied up.

 

7-14 WKU, Rilen was called for a DT.  The coach took her out and put in Aspen, who has not been used much this season.  She set Starr for a tip kill and came out.  WKU had a DT soon after.  9-15 WKU, Bianca served out, but Ashley and Kacia came back with kills.  Aspen was back in to serve.  In play, she looked a bit rough on defense.  Kacia was blocked, but WKU served out right after.

 

14-19 WKU, Aleka and Kacia combined on a block.  The crowd was still there and into it.  Next point, “Boom!” said PA Ed.  Starr got a big kill.  Aspen had a great set on the point.  Starr got the next two points with kills.  19-24 WKU, Ash and Starr combined on the block. 

 

The Aggies got the call for the next point, but a net call was challenged by WKU.  That Coach Hudson put his backpack on during the review was telling.  Coach Jordan sent Mari over to talk to the up official during the review.  She skipped over to her and then skipped back, but didn’t get a response the coach liked.  The set did end there with the call overturned, 19-25, and 0-3 for the match for the Hilltoppers.                

 

Honestly, nobody was too surprised by this outcome from what I heard in the crowd.  I don’t really have a stat of the match.  The Hilltoppers just outplayed the Aggies.  Serving was an issue for them with only 2 aces with 9 errors.  The Aggies had no aces and 4 errors.  The Coach said in an interview earlier in the week that the Toppers received very well.  

 

Blocks were 12 to 10 in favor of WKU.  That was closer than it felt while watching.  Hilltoper Logan Grevengoed led with 6.  Kacia Brown had 5 for the Aggies.  Kaylee Cox 20 kills for WKU.  Nobody on the Aggies was in double digits.  Callie Bauer had 38 assists for WKU.  Bianca Perez had 20 for the Aggies.  Rilen Garcia and Aspen Aldous only had a handful each.  The Aggies setters seemed rattled for some reason at the start and it got worse as the match went on. 

 

Let’s hope the Aggies can come back from this.  They are the second best team in C-USA.  The problem here almost feels more mental than being physically outplayed.  This may even go up to the coaches being too psyched for the match.  We’ll see what happens tomorrow.