I started off today with some unnecessary drama. I was supposed to go to today’s Volleyball game between the Aggies and the Jax State Gamecocks with dad and his neighbor, Lamae. I called dad twice in morning and got no answer. I hurried down to his apartment and found him there fine. He just apparently didn’t feel like answering the phone.
Lamae unfortunately wasn’t feeling well and wasn’t going to be able to go. She’d enjoyed the last game (10-26-24) so much that she’d bought a volleyball shirt. Now she wouldn’t be able to wear it to a game this year, as this was the Aggies’ final home game. Dad was still okay with going, though the weather was so nice, he lamented being inside. Also unnecessary was the argument I had with dad about the route to take to the Pan-Am Center. With part of the parking lot blocked for football, it can be tricky to get in. (By the way, with the increased ticket prices, my $150 Aggie Country Pass has already paid for itself.)
Inside, the Aggie Assistant Coaches were again dressed alike with crimson tops and black pants. The injured Aggie players were all dressed in black. Attendance was a bit light at 432. One of the suites was full. There was a guy in the Booster section with a Coach Jordan poster. On one side, he looked happy. On the other, he was face-palming. (That side of the poster would be used several times today.) Again, there was no media coverage of today’s game, nor any Cheerleaders. However, Pistol Pete was present and there weren’t any technical glitches. PA Ed would be working football, but a student replacement did a good job in his absence. Three Softball girls were again working as ballgirls.
Once again, I didn’t see Morgan Stewart with the team, though she was still listed on the program and the website. Maybe she’s out sick. Her not being here today would probably prove unfortunate later. I found out Ashley Herman was the one who started the clapping tradition during the player intro video. (Who else?) The player intro’s were way more enthusiastic than usual. Makayla did a forward flip. Kacia Brown broke out her best dance moves. Nicole Briggs did a cartwheel. Starr Williams danced! Really! Inexplicably, Mari Sharp was skipped. Aleka Darko, who wasn’t starting was accidently announced in her place. Undeterred, Mari executed the splits on the floor.
Set 1
I’d told dad that ***yesterday’s game*** was a complete walk-over. We both thought this would be a quick match and that I was going to have to talk dad into staying for the Senior Day ceremony. The first point of the match disabused that notion immediately. It was an insane rally with JS making some great digs and Darian Markham making a pancake dig. Starr finished it off with a kill. This set the tone for the rest of the match.
Darian made another pancake dig on the next point, as JS tied it up. Starr had a kill on the next point. 3-1 Aggies, JS challenged the call. We didn’t realize at the time that this was more foreshadowing for the match. It was upheld. Also held up was a pair of golden balloons by the Reserves, which read, “2K.” Darian had just gotten 2,000 digs. She’s the only Aggie player to do so.
Rilen Garcia aced to make it 4-1 Aggies. Gamecock Katelyn Crofts had a block at 6-3 Aggies. Yasso Amin scored the next two kills by hitting the backline and one with a touch. Nicole decisively slapped one down at 9-5. Yasso then had a tip kill. A JS player tried to dig it while laid out on her back. Nellie Reese aced. 12-5 Aggies and JS took a timeout. The PA recognized Darian’s accomplishment. The girls let off a big cheer in the huddle and Darian had an ear-to-ear smile.
From there, Starr had another kill, Nellie had another ace, and Nicole had a dunk. 16-5 Aggies, Yasso had a block that was challenged. This call was reversed. That was a 7-point run on Nellie’s serve. JS was playing very hard during that run with several good saves. Nicole came right back with a kill. 17-7 was another long rally. Mari made a dig at the net with her back to the net, but JS won it on a touch.
Nicole had another kill. She was on fire. Kacia and Starr teamed up for a block. The Reserves attempted a Cheerleader-like lift in celebration. 21-8 Aggies, the JS team wanted a touch on their swing. Their Coach apologized to the ref and challenged again. This call was reversed, 20-9. Kacia came right back with a kill. The Reserves shouted, “Boom!” From there, Mari aced, Yasso tooled a block, and the Reserves went, “Woof!” The Aggies took the set, 25-11, on a long serve by JS. It looked in. They should have challenged that one.
Set 2: Aggies 1, Gamecocks 0
Pistol Pete went to work tossing t-shirts to the crowd in the break. So far, so good in the match, but troubling signs were there. Starr started the second set with a touch kill. I didn’t see a touch. Maybe the JS Coach should have challenged it. Sanni Rantanen tied it on a good kill for JS. Jax State took their first lead of the weekend on a block at 3-4 JS.
Kacia tied it with a kill and Mari aced to give the Aggies back the lead. JS retook the lead with an overpass kill. Kacia retied it at 6 with a kill. JS retied it at 7 with a kill. Ashley ducked under a serve to get the Aggies back in the lead, but an Aggie service error tied it back at 8. JS had a service error gave the Aggies back the lead. Mari made a quick reaction slap and put in a kill at 10-9 Aggies.
JS tied it again, but Kacia and Mari had kills to put the Aggies back up. 13-10 Aggies, Rilen made a great backset to Ashley for a kill. Yasso made a tip kill to put the Aggies up by 3. Sanni made an impressive kill into triple blocking to start a JS comeback. After an attack error by Ash and Nicole getting blocked, it was tied at 15. Timeout Aggies. Coach Jordan was not mad yet.
Ashley came back with a kill, along with Starr, and Mari made a solo block. 19-17 Aggies, Starr finished a point that I think had three overpasses. Mari tooled a block to put the Aggies up by 2, but they couldn't pull away. An attack error by Mari tied it at 20. JS took the lead by blocking a swing by Kacia. They also made an impressive off-court save on the point. Timeout Aggies. Coach Jordan still didn't look mad.
Mari tied it back up with a kill and aced to give the Aggies the lead. JS sided out. They made a serve that was ruled long, but the team wanted it challenged. It was overturned. Yasso tied it on the next point, but the JS challenged that call. The JS Coach turned to the Booster section held out his arms and said something that looked apologetic. The crowd in front of him laughed. The call was upheld. Whew! This actually got a big cheer.
Kacia aced to put the Aggies at set point, 24-23. The crowd stood, but sat back down as JS called a timeout. We got plenty more exercise before the end. Ash put the Aggies at set point again at 25-24 with a kill. She then went back to serve. Have I seen her serve before? A four touches call on the Aggies retied the score at 25.
Yasso put the Aggies back up on set point with a kill. She then went back to serve? Okay, now I know that something is up, because the Coach stopped letting her serve. We all love Yasso's high-toss Brazilian-style serve, but she nets it too often, which was what happened. Was Coach Jordan out of subs for the set? I don't know what was going on here. Like I mentioned before, these are the kind of spots where the Coach usually puts in Morgan, who is a steady server.
JS handed it back on a net serve for another Aggie set point. By the way, the crowd is going up and down on every set point. The Gamecocks took the next point and . . . whoa, whoa, whoa! Rilen was at the net blocking! This happened at the end of yesterday’s game. What's going on here?
JS took the next point, but Rilen got a block! The Reserves went crazy. I was going crazy. The Gamecocks took the set on a kill that Ash wasn't able to dig, 27-29 JS. It was almost worth losing the set to see the 5'7” (that's generous) setter make a block. At least we could all finally sit down.
Set 3: Aggies 1, Gamecocks 1
Except, I got up to go to the bathroom. In the concourse, I ran right into the Football team headed off to Aggie Memorial Stadium. I gave them a round of applause. I saw Coach Sanchez and got a fist-bump from one of the players. I also said, “Hi” and “Good luck,” to Shiyazh Pete as he went by. He gave me a wave.
There was no let-up on court. The first point was again an exhausting rally. Starr finished it with a kill. She's your best option for finishing. Mari scored a kill, but JS got a pair of kills to tie it. There was another long rally on that second kill. I couldn't hear what he said, but I'm pretty sure the Coach said something sarcastic to the Reserves.
Starr tooled a block, but an unidentified Aggie foul kept it close. 6-3 Aggies, Aleka and Kacia made a big block. Yasso was blocked and then Aleka and Kacia were tooled on a block twice to tie it at 6. Kacia gave the Aggies back the lead with a kill and then Aleka served. I'm pretty sure I haven't seen that this season either. I'm not sure what the Coach's strategy is here. (I hope the Coach doesn't have me serving by the end of this.)
JS had a kill to take a 7-8 lead. Mari made a heady dodge and avoided a JS swing to tie it at 8. A miss-set for JS gave the Aggies back the lead. Nellie put in a pair of aces that had the Reserves sliding on the floor in appreciation. Nicole and Starr made a block and the Reserves were doing Cheerleader lifts again. 12-8 Aggies and a timeout by JS.
Starr brought the thunder out of the break with a kill. She scored another kill, before a JS setter dump ended the run. JS followed that with back-to-back aces. Makayla was having a problem receiving suddenly. Aleka broke the run with a block. The Aggies were running around all over the court on the next point, but managed to win it. JS took a timeout with the Aggies up, 19-15.
Yasso had a touch kill out of the break. She also added a no-look walk-away to the kill to look cool. Mari fired out on the next point and hit the line judge. (No damage.) 21-17 Aggies, Yasso tooled a block and Maggie Lightheart (our sweetheart) came in to serve. She'd been used as a serving sub last year, but seemed to fall out of the Coach's favor since then.
The Aggies took the next point, but the JS Coach challenged it. With a long delay, I noticed some of the girls in the Reserves having a serious talk with Starr. Were they asking her how she got to be so great? The call was upheld. No drama for the rest of the set. Nicole and Starr finished it off with kills, 25-18 Aggies.
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