NM State Aggies vs MTSU Blue Raiders Volleyball 10-25-25

We’ll pretty much get right to it without much preamble. It was a lighter crowd today at 459. I was sitting with the Reese family plus their future daughter-in-law, Sadie. (If Cooper doesn’t marry this girl that looks like Megan Fox, but seems a lot less crazy, the boy will need a talking to.) Like yesterday, Trey Reese was a bit uptight. He was pretty critical during this match. I felt like I should asked if there were some personal issues, but I didn’t want to pry.

The Aggies were again in their dark pink uniforms. On the bench, injured senior Ashley Herman was wearing a Bianca Perez t-shirt. (Let’s hear it for NIL.) The trainer and Coach Chelsea were looking casually elegant. Instead of the spiked heels yesterday, Chelsea was wearing more practical sneakers with 2-inch high soles today.

Set 1

Aggie Volleyball was again playing Middle Tennessee State. Zoe Ziegler started the Aggies off with a kill, but the Blue Raiders came back with a 6-point run, mostly because of a lot of Aggie errors. MT libero MacKenna Poole has funky serving delivery, but it was working well. The Aggies and the crowd started with some low energy. The Cheerleaders and Pistol Pete were working hard to get everyone going. Pete was also dancing for the camera girl. On the other side of the court, the MT reserves were boundless in their enthusiasm.

Jaelynn Kohli came back with a crosscourt kill. Her next swing was out, but Coach Jordan challenged that there was a touch. The call stood. Jae would get a kill on the next point, anyway. Maggie Lightheart stepped up with a block and then a clever tip at 5-8 MT.

Nellie Resse started at setter. The Coach didn’t keep her in the doghouse from yesterday. Claudia Rossi rotated in for her and made a diving crosscourt save at 5-10 MT, though the Blue Raiders would take the point. Kate Sinclair and Maggie would make kills, but at 9-13 MT, the Blue Raiders got an unblocked kill. Coach Jordan was rubbing his face and bald head on the bench, a sure sign of frustration.

The Aggies starting working a comeback. 12-14 MT, Makayla Martinez served up an ace. I noticed Bella Castro rotated in for Tess Fuqua. That’s a DS in for an outside hitter. The Coach might be trying to preserve Tess’ knees on defense. Jae made a major stuff at the net to tie it at 14. MT fired out and gave the Aggies at 15-14 lead going into the Media timeout.

Out of the break, Maggie got another kill. Makayla had a 6-point run serving, before MT finally sided out. The Aggies got a 2-point lead with a slap kill by Mia. MT came back. They tied it at 17 on an ace where Makayla and Bella nearly knocked heads trying to dig it. At 17-18 MT, the Aggies took a timeout. After the huddle, the girls talked to each other on court before play.

The Aggies retook the lead, 19-18, as Kate tooled a block. Tess did the same to take the Aggies to the Turn. At 21-19 Aggies, the Blue Raiders took a timeout and scored the next couple of points. Maggie saved a setter dump, but the Aggies fired out on the point. Jae made a no-look kill to bring the Aggies to set point. She’d close it out with a kill, her fifth, 25-22.

Set 2: Aggies 1, Blue Raiders 0

Tess’ mom and her little sister were on the video screen a couple of times. They’re photogenic, like Tess. The crowd was small enough that everyone got a close up, including myself. (How embarrassing.) A beautiful blonde girl with nerdy glasses came down to our section. Pistol Pete knew her and gave her a big, smiling hug. The girl sat down in front of us and a constant distraction for me.

Tess got an early kill. Nellie made a rolling dig on the next point, but the Aggies didn’t win it. She next missed a set to Zoe. The Aggies went down 1-5 and the Coach called a timeout. The team couldn’t have been distracted by the blonde girl. They were at the other end of the court now. Coach Hertel and Chelsea did all of the talking to the team, while Coach Jordan was checking his iPad. The team was animated in the discussion.

Tess got a kill out of the break. An MT player went sliding on her stomach off court trying to dig it. MT added to their lead, 2-7, as they blocked Maggie and then dunked on her. Jae tooled a block after, then MT was called for being out-of-rotation for the second day in a row. How does this happen at this level?

Maggie painted the corner to make it, 5-9 MT. Tess was blocked on the next point, but came right back with a kill. 8-10 MT was a long rally. MT sent over two free balls on the point and Kate finished it with a kill. 8-12 MT, Maggie made a diving dig. The ball popped over the net. A Blue Raider missed a dunk attempt on it and Maggie got a kill for it. Jae tooled a block and Zoe made a block to get it to 10-12 MT, and the Blue Raiders called a timeout.

Poole served up an ace for 3-point MT lead. The Aggies came back with a kill by Tess, Maggie getting a touch kill, and Jae hammering one, but the lead still stayed at 3 with an MT setter dump. 14-16 MT, after two crosscourt passes to set her, Maggie came up with a kill. Mia Fox powered a shot through the MT blockers. After an insane rally, Tess finished it with a kill. Still, the Aggies were 2-points behind. MT ran it up to 4 points with a dunk at 16-20. Timeout Aggies.

Tess was blocked out of the break to make it a 5-point lead. Kate had a kill and Nellie had an ace, but Tess was blocked again, 18-23 MT. Jae had a kill and MT hit the antenna on the next point, and MT took a timeout. Jae had a block and it was a 1-point lead, but the Blue Raiders finished it out with a couple of points, 22-25. That was hard fought. Trey was again getting uncharacteristically angry at the team for not playing up to their potential.

Set 3: Aggies 1, Blue Raiders 1

The Coach wasn’t happy either. After some consultation, he put Rilen Garcia in as the starting setter. At least this set started off close. Maggie got a couple of kills and Kate added a kill. 3-4 MT, Gabrielle Clinkscale hit a kill that rebounded high into the stands. This got an “Oooh!” out of the crowd. It might have hit an Aggie on the head, though you’d think that person would have had to have come out.

Tess had a kill at 4-6 MT. Nellie was the alternate setter, who rotated in. Unfortunately, she hit the floor hard diving for a ball a couple of points later. The Coach immediately pulled her for Claudia. Zoe then came up big with a block, another block with Jae, and a kill that tied it at 8. MT immediately took the lead back. Tess made a pancake save on one point, but MT won it and aced on the next point, 8-10.

Maggie brought it back by tooling a block and getting a kill to tie it at 11. Rilen made back-to-back great sets and Mia and Tess got the Aggies to a 14-13 lead with kills. However, MT was back in the lead, 14-15, at the Media timeout. I needed a breather and I was just watching. The Aggies tied it after a long rally with several hard swings. Kate was the finisher. Claudia served up an ace for the lead, but served out on the next point. Zoe got the lead back with a kill.

The Aggies poured it on with kills by Jae and Maggie and a block from Kate. 21-18 Aggies, MT took a timeout. Maggie got another kill out of the break. Rilen was on serve during this run. The Reserves and the Cheerleaders were doing a golf swing on her serve. Trey didn’t know the significance of it. Maybe Rilen is a golfer. Maggie got another kill and was all smiles. The crowd was into it. Mia got it to set point with a kill. MT challenged it, but was denied. Jacqueline Corcoran came in to serve and put in an ace to finish it, 25-20 Aggies.

Set 4: Aggies 2, Blue Raiders 1

Trey and I were somehow having a discussion about Jean Shepherd and A Christmas Story to start this set. On court, the score was again tight with lots of errors. Mia made a kill early. The next Aggie kill was by Maggie at 7-6 Aggies. Jae fired one out at 7-8 MT and the Coach surprisingly called a timeout. He wanted to nip any run in the bud.

Mia tied it at 8 with a kill. Kate gave the Aggies the lead with a block. Maggie next hammered one in anger and hit another hard one at 11-9 Aggies. She wanted this one over. MT was called for a lift and Kate had a block to make it, 13-9 Aggies. MT took a long rally at 14-11 Aggies. Rilen saved a block on the point and Makayla made a dive save, as well.

MT closed in to 14-12 Aggies and the Aggies took a timeout. MT took the next point, though there was confusion on the call by the refs. The Coach went ahead and challenged, but it was confirmed. The Aggies turned it up after this. Mia tooled a block and, after another long rally with hard hits, Jae came away with a kill. Nellie had come back in to serve and had a 3-point run. MT took a timeout at 18-14 Aggies.

Jae had a kill and Maggie added a tip kill to get the Aggies to the Turn. 21-17 Aggies was an insane rally. MT made a save way off the court to keep it going, but lost the point. MT challenged, but it was again upheld. Unlike yesterday, the refs had a good day today. Mia and Jae combined for a double stuff and Mia slammed the door with a kill to get the Aggies to set point. Maggie finished it with a kill. Aggies take the set, 25-20, and the match, 3-1.

If yesterday’s match was tense, today’s was exhausting. The Aggies were playing from behind for nearly the whole match. The Aggies were only hitting .189, but that beat out the Blue Raiders’ .104. Kills were 56 to 44 for the Aggies. Serving was an Aggie asset yesterday, but not today. MT was up 6 to 5 in aces and the Aggies had 9 service errors to the Blue Raiders’ 5. The difference was in blocking with the Aggies up 11 to 6.

Blue Raider Gabrielle Clinkscale led all scorers with 20 kills. Maggie Lightheart was next with 19 kills and 11 digs. Jaelynn Kohli had a great game with 12 kills and 6 blocks. Tess Fuqua wasn’t on today, but had 8 kills. Mia Fox also had 8 kills and hit .467. The three setters, Nellie Reese, Claudia Rossi, and Rilen Garcia were all about equal in assists. Somehow using three setters today worked.

While at McAlister’s yesterday, I noticed a new restaurant, Roni’s, had opened next door. I was kind of shocked, since they’d barely put up a “Coming Soon” sign last month. A macaroni and cheese restaurant seems like a hard sell given that I fix that myself regularly, but it was really good. They can put a bunch of stuff on it. I had it with bacon and broccoli with a garlic parmesan drizzle. The garlic cheesy bread side was awesome. This was a bit pricey, but I need to try at least one more combination there.

In other college sports news, Aggie Soccer played their final game of the season against UTEP tonight. They had a longshot chance to get into the conference tournament with a win, but only managed a scoreless draw. The UTEP recap credited Aggie goalie Valerie Guha with keeping the Miners off the board. The Miners were also eliminated from contention.

In more momentous news, I saw on the UTEP site that their Volleyball team had beaten Western Kentucky. This snapped their 100-game winning streak in the conference regular season! And it was a sweep! Don’t start building the trophy case yet. WKU swept right back in the next match. These two are likely headed to a rematch in the conference tournament and will likely both get into the NCAA tournament.

NM State Aggies vs MTSU Blue Raiders Volleyball 10-24-25

I like this picture.  It's Kate, Nellie, and Jac.

 

Last week wasn’t good for Aggie Sports.    Aggie Volleyball had two losses to Missouri State.    They went down 0-3 on Friday.    Maggie Lightheart wasn’t playing.    She might have been out sick, since she was back the next day.    Tess Fuqua played out of her mind in the loss.    She had 19 kills (in a three set loss, are you kidding me?) and 13 digs, which led both teams, and was hitting .444.

Saturday, the Aggies won the first two sets, but MO St. worked the reverse sweep by taking the next three, 2-3.    The fifth set was even a blowout.    Maggie was back with 12 kills and 19 digs.    Tess had 18 kills.    Jaelynn Kohli had 16 kills and Zoe Ziegler also played well this weekend.    The official recap noted the Aggies’ extreme drop off in the team’s serving efficiency.    They were playing in Springfield where my Aunt Judy lives.    I told her that her team wasn’t very hospitable to my Aggie girls.    She wasn’t the least bit sorry.   

Aggie Soccer did get a 2-1 win over MTSU.    Meredith Scott, our little ham, and Amaya Simoni-Walters both scored.    Unfortunately, they followed that with a 0-2 loss to WKU.    They now need a win at UTEP and some help to get into the conference tournament.

The crusher was Aggie Football’s mid-week loss to Liberty, 30-27.    I was able to listen to that one.    The Aggies were down 20-6 in first half, but came back to score 3 touchdowns and take the lead late in the fourth.    However, Liberty came back with a long march for a touchdown and to take the lead.    The Aggies still had a minute left and got into long field goal range to attempt to tie it.    A last second miss ended the game.    The Aggies led in all the offensive stats, but a kick return for a touchdown and two muffed punts was the difference in the score.

Their next game against Missouri State was another heartbreaker.    The Aggies scored 10 in the fourth to tie it.    MO St. had a chance to win it on a 50-yard field goal, but a miss sent it to overtime.    The Bears scored a touchdown on their first possession.    The Aggies lost it on an interception on their first play of overtime, 24-17 MO St.    That was Logan Fife’s fourth interception of the game, which partly explains the loss, although the Aggies got three turnovers themselves (two interceptions and a fumble).    There were also lots of penalties in this ugly game.

That’s plenty of Aggie Sports recapping.    I had the new Turkey Ranch BLT at McAlisters for lunch.    It was delicious, but super-filling.    Tonight, Aggie Volleyball would be taking on the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders.    They have a similar overall record, but are 2-6 in conference.    Up front at the Pan-Am Center, they had the new Basketball posters out.    I declined a giveaway flag, but in turn, gave back the temporary tattoos from the Baseball exhibition.    The attendant there was thrilled with them.         

I was again sitting with the Reese family.    I asked what had happened to Maggie last weekend.    It was worse than I thought.    She has a heart condition that flared up on the trip.    She stayed in Dallas with Coach Hertel and went to the hospital, before going up to Springfield the next day.    I think this was a known condition.    It hasn’t affected Maggie’s play, but it’s hard not to be concerned for our sweetheart.    It’s a bit on the nose that she’s literally named “Lightheart,” but it’s a brave heart, too.

It was a low crowd out tonight (att. 512).    The girls seemed a bit subdued.    The ball girls were again from Aggie Soccer.    Rachel Haan was with them.    She looks big compared to the other soccer girls, but next to the volleyball girls, Rachel looks small.    Cooper Reese from the Baseball team came in later and recognized her, though he didn’t know what team she played for.    He noticed her thighs were solid muscle.    Cooper was wearing an eye-catching Blue Wahoos minor league hat.    He said he’d wanted to get one of every Major League team, but couldn’t get himself to buy a Dodger or a Giants’ hat.       

Cooper’s lovely girlfriend, Sadie, was here.    I was introduced to her and said, “Hi, Mia.”    She’s a dead ringer for Mia Fox on the Volleyball team and I couldn’t understand why she wasn’t out on court.    It might just be me that saw the resemblance.    Nice job either way, Cooper.    There was some conversation about the Baseball players having a dance and they have to bring dates.    Some of the guys are having trouble with that.    Cooper is just going to be rubbing it in on his teammates’ faces.   

On that matter, Coach Chelsea and the trainer were both looking elegant.    Chelsea was in attractive, but impractical-looking on a court, spiked heels.    The pretty trainer was in more practical sneakers, though it looked like they had 2-inch high soles on them.    Injured senior, Ashely Herman, was off the scooter and was upgraded to limping around in a boot.    During the player intro’s, Mia accidently tossed her souvenir ball directly to the Coach.    He rolled his eyes and tossed it into the crowd.         

Set 1

The match started well with the Aggies going up 5-0 on 3 aces and a kill by Tess and a block by Maggie.    MT took a timeout and sided out coming out of the break.    Maggie rolled off 3 more kills, along with Sadie, errr, Mia slamming a kill and Zoe getting a block.    The Aggies ran up a 14-7 lead.   

On the next point, Maggie made a pancake save, but Jaelynn fired out.    Not only is Jae’s right thumb taped up, her whole wrist is taped up tight.    It’s amazing she could swing at all.    After 3-point MT run, 14-10, the Aggies took a timeout.    Maggie got a kill right down the middle out of the break.    Her and Zoe teamed up on block next, but this was challenged by MT.    The refs surprisingly ruled for a replay and the Aggies took it anyway.

Jae, Zoe, and Maggie all had blocks.    Maggie made a hard smashing kill and the Aggies took the Turn, 20-10.    Jae got on track by hitting the line for a kill.    Claudia Rossi served up an ace.    Finally, Maggie finished it with a kill, 25-14.

Set 2: Aggies 1, Blue Raiders 0

We’re looking good to this point, but for Set 2, MT ran up a 0-4 lead.    When Jae had an out swing, the MT reserves shouted, “O-U-T!    Out!”    A service error ended the run.    Zoe had a net violation next, but Maggie came back with a kill that was nearly 3-D coming at us, 2-5 MT.   

Cooper was briefly watching the World Series Game 1 tonight on his phone, in spite of his dislike of the Dodgers.    He was also eating a churro.    I warned him that he’d end up wearing the sugar and cinnamon from it.    Tess had 4 kills, along with Maggie having 2 kills and Kate Sinclair having a kill.    Claudia put in another ace, but the Aggies were still trailing, 12-15 MT, into the Media timeout.

Maggie added another kill.    14-16 MT, she made an off-court save and got a block for the point.    After Maggie put in a tip kill and got the score within 1, MT took a timeout.    Kate Sinclair tied it at 16 on a block and the Aggies went up, 18-17, when the Blue Raiders were then called for being out-of-rotation.   

MT took the next couple of points and the Aggies took a timeout.    In the break, the videoboard showed a couple of guys hitting each other with pool noodles in the stands.    Also, two of our Pistol Pete’s were here out of uniform.    The third Pete was working the game.    Kate was blocked out of break, 18-20 MT.    Mia put in a very sneaky tip to get it to a 1-point lead again.    Jacqueline Corcoran came in to serve for Mia, hit the tape, but the ball fell over.    MT dug it out.    Tess tried to dunk the overpass on the dig, but MT dug that out too, and got a kill on the point.    At 19-22 MT, the Aggies took another timeout.

Tess came back with a kill, Zoe and Jae made a block, and Makayla Martinez aced to make it, 23-24 MT.    The Blue Raiders called a timeout.    Out of the break, Makayla aced again.    “An ace from Mighty Mouse!” was the call from PA Ed.    Jae tied it at 25 with a kill, but an MT tip would win the set for the Blue Raiders, 25-27.    I couldn’t help but notice that Trey Reese sitting next to me was really on edge and getting irritable with the team.    He’s usually much more mellow watching his daughter, Nellie Reese.    I’m not sure why he was uptight for this match.    His mood was matching the team’s.   

     

Set 3: Aggies 1, Blue Raiders 1

Wave the Wonder Dog came in during the second set.    They put him up on Dance Cam . . . or not.    The camera was there for him, but the director never put him on screen.    Maybe Wave is having a contract dispute with the university.    Great!    That’s all we need here at NMSU, our biggest Athletic star in a legal fight.

Gabrielle Clinkscale started off Set 3 with an ace for MT.    We got a good view of the ball swerving as it came over the net.    It was wicked.    This was followed by a service error.    3-1 Aggies, Jae made a block that ended a long rally.    At one point, the ball touched all three Aggies at the net and somehow made it back over.    On next point, Mia was out-jousted at the net.    Coach Jordan was yelling at her, “You lost to the setter!”

Maggie tied it at 4 with a touch kill.    She added 3 more kills to make it 10-4 Aggies.    One of those points was another long rally with MT making an off-court save.    MT challenged the next point and got it reversed, but Mia got the point right back.    Kate and Jae both tooled blocks, before Tess aced again to make it 15-9 going into the Media break.    MT challenged the ace, but the call stood, and to add further insult, Tess aced again out of the break.   

After Jae made a couple more kills, MT took a timeout.    MT took the point at 18-10 Aggies, though Makayla made a tremendous off-court save on the point.    Maggie got the Aggies to the Turn with a pair of kills.    MT took the next two points and the Aggies took a timeout.    Maggie and Mia added kills out of the break.    MT got next two points on a setter dump shot and an attack error.    Makayla and Nellie both made diving saves on the second point.    An MT ace made it, 23-20 Aggies, and the Aggies took a timeout.    Jae then had a kill to bring it to set point.    MT took their final timeout, but out of the break, Maggie finished it with a flourish.    She fired a kill that rebounded high into the stands, 25-20 Aggies.              

Set 4: Aggies 2, Blue Raiders 1

Trey Cooper noticed one of the MT players on the display was showing “Michaela Dlouha?”    On the program it reads, “Michaela Dlouha’.”    The computer display didn’t know what to do with the accent mark.

MT took the first two points of the set.    On the next point, Maggie made a diving one-handed dig and Jae finished it with a kill.    Maggie had another kill, but the Aggies started falling behind.    After an MT kill, one of their Reserves started doing “The Worm” on the sidelines.    That wasn’t one for the highlight reel.    Coach Jordan told the team to “Calm down,” and finally called a timeout at 2-6 MT.    The camera showed the Women’s Basketball team in attendance.    (I’ll have more to say about them on Sunday with their first game.)

2-7 MT, Nellie tried to push Jae out of the way for a set and missed the ball.    I don’t know who was out-of-position, but the Coach took Nellie out and put Rilen Garcia in.    Rilen immediately set Jae for a kill and Tess for two kills.    At 7-8 MT, the Blue Raiders challenged a touch call and got it reversed to 6-9.    Mia and Maggie came back with kills.    8-12 MT, the Blue Raiders fired a swing straight through Tess’ block.    The ball was dug out behind her, though the Aggies did lose the point.   

10-12 MT, Tess with a kill.    On the next point, Rilen made a great set for Zoe for the kill.    Tess tied it at 12 and MT took a timeout.    The Blue Raiders retook the lead, but kills by Jae and Tess tied it at 14.    Jae tied it at 15 with a block and the Aggies took the lead, 16-15, on a double touch call.    A block error gave the Aggies a 17-16 lead.

MT challenged for a touch at 19-16.    You know what they say, “You can’t take those challenges home with you.”    The call was reversed, 18-17.    The Blue Raiders were not happy with the officiating tonight.    Mia had a kill and Maggie aced to get the Aggies to the Turn again.    Timeout MT at 20-17 Aggies.   

Tess made a kill at 22-18 Aggies.    Kaylee Peterson came in to serve.    With Rilen and Bella Castro in, the Aggies were going with their “little backrow ninjas.”    Kaylee aced and Zoe made a block to get it to 23-18.    After a service error and a couple of out swings, the Aggies took a timeout at 23-20.    Tess was blocked out of the break, but Zoe got a kill to take it to match point.    It was a rejection by Zoe that ended it.    Aggies take Set 4, 24-21, and the match, 3-1.           

Robin Reese figured that the Aggies needed to win four of their last eight games to make the tournament, so they’re off on the right foot.    The team lead in hitting .228 to .165, 53 to 43 in kills, 12 to 5 blocks, and, get this, 13 to 5 in aces.    Their serving may be back on track, as service errors were 6 to 8 in favor of the Aggies.   

Raegan Durbin led the Blue Raiders with 13 kills and Logan Carr had 5 blocks.    Maggie Lightheart was outstanding with 23 kills (hitting .429 and a career high), 12 digs, 3 blocks, and 2 aces.    She is playing her heart out, literally.    Tess Fuqua had 10 kills, 9 digs, and 6 aces (!).    Jaelynn Kohli put in 9 kills and had 5 blocks.    Zoe Ziegler was a tower with 8 blocks.    Nellie Reese had 23 assists even with getting pulled in the fourth set.    I do credit Rilen Garcia’s insertion with turning around the set.     

Thank goodness this didn’t go the full five, because I needed to go to bathroom.    I didn’t stick around after the match.    Back at home, I was greeted by the Apartment Cat.    (I don’t know who owns him.)    I spent several minutes petting him, but he didn’t seem interested in hearing my recap of the match.    We’ll see if the Aggies can finish this homestand with a win tomorrow.

NM State Aggies vs UTEP Miners Volleyball 10-11-25

 

And a little additional Aggie Sports coverage later. It was a potentially busy day for events, but also potentially not. It was going to rain in the evening; it was just question of when and how much. We’ll start with Aggie Volleyball’s rematch with UTEP.

In the afternoon, NBC showed a USC/UCLA volleyball match. Though USC is ranked and has a better record, UCLA took them in three sets. (UCLA is a volleyball school now, after their football team lost to the UNM Lobos last month.) I hoped this was a good sign for this afternoon’s match.

The Reese family was also keeping an eye on the weather. We could watch their daughter inside the Pan-Am Center, but their son would be outside this evening at Baseball. I asked Robin how the girls were doing after last night’s loss. She said that the older girls were okay, but the younger ones were taking it hard.

The girls were wearing pink uniforms, which, surprisingly, didn’t look bad. They did seem a little subdued. The crowd was a bit smaller than yesterday at 1792. The UTEP section seemed bigger. Several of them were coming at the same time I was. There were still plenty of kids here for the match. Mustache-less Pete was our Pistol Pete of the Day. Tess Fuqua was starting this time. Jacqueline Corcoran was starting over the taller Kate Sinclair. Coach Jordan was going small.

Set 1

That decision paid off immediately, as Jac got the first kill of the match. Maggie Lightheart made it 2-0 after tooling a block. Then Nellie Reese had a mis-set and the Miners came back. Tess had a no doubt kill to make it, 3-2 Aggies. That lead was short-lived. The Miners took the lead after a Carry call on the Aggies. 3-6 UTEP, Maggie was blocked. The Miner Reserves let off a big cheer. Kaya Weaver then had an ace off Maggie.

It got worse from there. 3-9 Miners, UTEP made an off-court save on a big swing by Jaelynn Kohli. Kate would be blocked on the point to finish it. After another ace off Maggie, the Aggies called a timeout. Out of the break, Kate was blocked. Maggie dug it out, but UTEP finished it with a kill. 5-11 UTEP, Jae came back with a kill. The crowd was still into it and cheered. After that, Maggie and UTEP traded service errors. I don’t know what triggers back-to-back SE’s so often.

7-12 Miners, Kate made a solo block. The crowd roared. Tess was blocked on the next point and the UTEP section roared. Jae had a tip kill at 8-13, but UTEP took the next three points, including another ace off Maggie. She was served at constantly ***last weekend*** and dug them out, but it wasn’t happening this weekend. Ashley Herman, injured on her scooter, was yelling at the team from the bench. Another issue was “high air,” as the Coach would say. They were firing the ball long. 8-18 Jac was blocked and the Aggies took another timeout.

Yesterday, Coach Jordan didn’t seem mad. Today he was. I think he could take losing to a better team, but couldn’t tolerate them beating themselves. 9-18 Miners, the UTEP girls wanted to challenge the play. After all of the reversed calls yesterday, UTEP Coach Wallis wasn’t happy with the refs. Coach Jordan didn’t talk to the team in the break, but the starters talked to each other. The call was reversed, 8-19.

8-20 Miners, this was a low point. There was a nice dig by Makayla Martinez on a serve and the team let the ball drop to the floor. Tess came right back with a kill with some heat. The kids were yelling and cheering. Where would we be without the indefatigable children cheerleading? Tess got another kill on a tip. Makayla made two great saves on the point. 11-21 UTEP adjusted and blocked Tess. Tess pointed to herself to setter Claudia Rossi to take the blame for it.

That’s another issue. Nellie started. Rilen Garcia rotated in, but then she was pulled for Claudia. Nellie was on the bench next to the Coach getting instruction. He wasn’t happy with the setting. I said all three setters should be kept warm and ready to play, but this isn’t how I meant it, not in the middle of a set. Rotating three setters doesn’t usually work, unless the Coach was writing off these two matches and wanted to get them work. Tess had a final angry kill at 12-21. An out swing by Jae ended the set, 12-25 Miners.

Set 2: Miners 1, Aggies 0

UTEP took a 2-1 lead after another ace off Maggie. Their serving was giving her fits. A mis-set by Nellie had Mia Fox taking a swing into the antenna for another UTEP point. Maggie made a swing into the net. UTEP added a setter dump to make it 1-7. The Aggies took a timeout. The usually cheerful Reserves were lifeless.

Mia was blocked out of the break. 2-8 Miners, Maggie had a tip kill, but couldn’t even celebrate as she took a shot to the nose. Not the face! Not that beautiful angelic face! It bothered her for a minute, but no blood. Nellie had a mis-set next, which is so uncharacteristic. I should mention that UTEP was all smiles to this point. One of their servers was even smirking.

4-9 Miners, Rilen came in and Jae got a touch kill. 5-10 Kate buried one and the crowd was yelling. 6-10 UTEP was busted for being out-of-rotation. Kate followed that with at tip kill. Jae made a solo block at 8-10. The crowd was definitely back into it. Maggie had a good 4-point run on serve.

UTEP had a mis-set at 9-12 Miners. Jac made a solo block next. Rilen then had a mis-set, but Tess tooled a block at 11-13. 11-15 Miners, UTEP made a save over the sideline table and got a kill. Maggie came back with a crosscourt kill. 12-17 the Miners hit a hard kill and the Aggies took a timeout.

Trey Reese was on camera in the break. His nieces framed him with souvenirs. They were enjoying it. Robin Reese was trying to be anonymous. Tess and Maggie came back with kills. After UTEP had an attack error, they took a timeout. Was this UTEP’s first timeout of the weekend? The Miners were no longer smiling.

16-17 Miners, Mia dunked one on top a defender’s head. UTEP hit one into the antenna to tie it. The Aggies got the lead on a kill by Maggie, 18-17, and the crowd erupted. Mia increased the lead with a block and the crowd was chanting. Tess had a 6-point run on serve.

UTEP came back. Jae was blocked and the Miners tied it at 19. The UTEP section started chanting for their team. The Aggie fans immediately shouted them down, but on court, the Miners took the lead. Maggie was blocked and she was aced on again. 20-22 UTEP, the Miners had a service error. Jae had a kill after a long rally to fend off set point, but an out swing by Maggie ended it, 21-25 Miners. The UTEP section shouted “UTEP” over the Aggie fight song.

Set 3: Miners 2, Aggies 0

I admit I’d gotten angry early in the second set, as the score got humiliating. I try to remember that it’s just a game, but it’s hard to take getting your nose rubbed in it. I can only imagine what the Aggie players were feeling at that point. The Aggie crowd was a bit deflated. UTEP fans started a chant before play. Maggie and Mia were sharing a laugh on court, so they were able to stay loose and keep it in perspective.

Maggie started the set with a pair of kills, though Mia was blocked by Kaya to tie it at 2. Kaya had an overpass dunk for a 2-3 Miner lead. Jae tied it at 3 with a kill. UTEP had an unblocked kill at 3-5. Jac made a save way off-court on the point. Jae sided out with a kill. Maggie went on serve and the Coach was yelling at her from the bench. Jae came back with another kill and a block to make it, 7-5 Aggies.

7-6 Aggies, the Miners took the point after a huge rally. Jac made a couple of nice digs on it. UTEP retook the lead. 7-9 Miners after an overpass tip. Claudia was back in at setter. Kate had a block to tie it at 9. Tess made a crosscourt kill to tie it at 11. Nellie was setting on the point and made a sliding set from her knees on the point. Maggie tooled a block to tie it at 12.

The Miners took the lead, 13-14, on an unblocked kill. The ball bounced into the stands in front of us. The Media timeout came in at 13-15. The Coach spoke mostly to the ref in the break, instead of the team. The camera found some kids in a suite dancing. The Coach put Bella Castro in for Maggie on serve receive. It worked. Jae got the kill on the point.

15-18 Miners, Jac rotated back in and had a kill and then tooled a block. She was fired up. 17-20 Tess had a kill and Maggie followed that with a kill. UTEP libero Fuka Sekita had a pancake save on the point. 19-20 Maggie tooled a block with a touch kill. Timeout UTEP. Jae would tie it at 21 on a block.

Maggie fired out on the next point, but the Coach challenged a touch. The girls were loose and laughing in the break. I think the crowd was more tense. The call was reversed, 22-21 Aggies. The girls and the crowd celebrated. However, UTEP came back. 22-23 UTEP got an ace off of Jac. Timeout Aggies. The Miners took the next point and the Aggies called their final timeout.

Maggie got a kill on the next point, 23-24 Miners. She took the ball and ran back to serve. Claudia quickly ran back and took the ball from her. It was her turn to serve. I like that Maggie wanted the responsibility, though. Jae tied it at 24 with a kill. Unfortunately, the Miners took the next point and Jae fired out to end it. Miners take the set 24-26 and the match, 0-3.

The Aggies put up a much better fight today than yesterday, but had to be knocked to the mat first. Also, unlike yesterday, the Miners did have play their best to win this. A couple of mistakes on their part might have changed the match. Still, the Miners are more talented and played better. The Aggies didn’t play their best and what’s going on with the Coach and the setters? Their mistakes were out-of-character like they were tight. I don’t know if these teams have bad blood, but the fans might after this. Aggie fans aren’t going to tolerate their house getting taken over.

The Miners out-hit the Aggies .202 to .089, though the Aggies led in kills, 35 to 31. The brutal stat was serving. UTEP had 7 aces and 7 SE. The Aggies had 1 ace and 7 SE. The Miners led in blocks 11 to 7. Serving and blocking are two things the Aggies usually do well. The serving issue might have been mental, but the Miners just did better blocking. The Aggies were much more tenacious against their other rival, the Lobos, but maybe UNM wasn’t as good the Miners.

Once again, Torrance Lovesee led the Miners with 11 kills. Kaya Weaver had 10. Even having issues today, Maggie Lightheart led the Aggies with 11 kills and had the only Aggie ace. Tess Fuqua led the team in digs with 10. I was impressed with Jacqueline Corcoran at the end of the match. She seems undersized, but could really play and with passion. Hopefully, this flips a switch with her performance.

Ominously, in the postgame huddle, the Coach just said, “Meet me in the locker room.” (Or words to that effect.) The girls waved to their families in attendance and then took off. I worry what fate awaited them. Even in victory, Coach Wallis was likely chewing out UTEP for letting the Aggies get back into to this one. (Heck, I was getting mad all over again just writing this.)

Aggie Baseball Exhibition

At least with only a three-set match, the Reese family was able to go to Presley Askew Field to watch their son, Cooper Reese, pitch. The bad news was that during the third set, we were told that it was raining outside. When I got out, it was damp and cloudy, but not currently raining. More seemed to be sure to come, but I was hopeful.

I called Fan Michael from my car, as he had the ticket for me. Cade Shumard’s parents during Volleyball were saying that Cade had their tickets, but they couldn’t get ahold of him. I was just about in the same boat (poor choice of words given the weather). I had to leave a message for Michael. I dithered about what to do, but thankfully he called me back a couple of minutes later.

Let me properly set the scene. It’s kind of cold and rainy, about to be really raining. The advertised exhibition with the Mexican team would not be happening due to their visa issues, so this was just an inter-squad scrimmage. Tickets for this event were $50.

The parking lot was full. Inside the stadium, it was full. I was stunned. Where were these people during the regular season? I asked Michael later about the crowd. His two word response, “Free beer.” It’s true and there was free soda, as well. They had 7-Up’s, which usually nobody carries, and I got an A&W Cream Soda, also rare.

Michael was holding a pizza slice when I met him. I picked up one of those. It was a bit cold. It might have been from Peter Piper Pizza, but deep dish style, and was pretty good. A local restaurant had three tents set up handing out Mexican food. I went back for nachos and cheese quesadas, which were also good.

One of the tents was in the Diamond Club area. They’ve redone it and it looks good with an elevated pavilion. I was able to see the game from there. The food tent was serving something that smelled like barbeque, but maybe looked like tacos. I never got a good look. I stood in line twice, but it was moving too slow with the rain and I gave up. What I ate was pretty filling anyway.

Also, I had to wolf it down. The rain got worse after I got there. I didn’t want my nachos to get soggy. I’d dressed for the possibility of rain, but it didn’t stop me from getting soaked. Michael had also gotten a ticket for Ken. I was sitting with him in the usual spot. Ken announced that he wasn’t planning on going out to games this season. The university had made a huge settlement with former disgraced Men’s Basketball Coach Greg Heiar. Ken didn’t want to support NMSU after that.

A local bank (not mine) was handing out giveaways. I got a small, clear bag with four hand sanitizer pens and three temporary Aggie tattoos. I probably should have declined. They were also handing out car window shades. People were opportunely using them as umbrellas over their heads.

There was a DJ under a tent along the third base line. He was blaring loud Mexican music. This was sort of like Mexican League Baseball, but the music wasn’t stopping for pitches; it was continuous. However, they did not have a midget bat boy working the game. (Michael knew exactly what I was talking about.) Jack Nixon was working the game was the PA.

As for the game play, I did see Cooper briefly in his first inning start. There were some runs scored in the innings I was there. I was told there were programs somewhere, but I never saw them. I sort of anticipated this and didn’t even think about bringing scorecards. It was raining, there was loud music, and I was stuffing my face with food. Paying attention to a ball game seemed unlikely.

I was there for about an hour, maybe three innings, before I couldn’t take it anymore. Ken had left earlier. Trey had gotten to see his son pitch and came by to see Michael. I’d eaten all the food I’d gotten and couldn’t see myself kicking back and enjoying the game. I said, “Thanks for the ticket and see you later.” While there were people in the stands, most of the crowd seemed to be under the grandstand drinking. They were having a good time.

I think the baseball team will be able to play under any conditions after this experience. The organizers could not cancel this event for either the lack of an opponent or the weather. For $50 tickets sold to a bunch of fans, the guys had to play regardless. You’d wish that they’d scheduled this for next weekend when there’s no Aggie Sports going on on campus. Given this was the final game before they tore up the old turf and put in the new one that might not have been an option. We certainly wish they’d put up a new canopy before tonight.

Aggie Soccer

Pulling out of Baseball, I drove by the next door Soccer field. They were just about to start their final home game. I had an umbrella in the car, but I was already soaked. (I could have taken it into baseball, but that seemed dangerous in the close quarters of the stadium. Indeed, Ken almost brained me with his several times sitting next to him.) Still, I nearly stopped at the thought of seeing some of the cuter girls on the team sopping wet. Sigh. It might have been worth it, just to see that fantasy brought to life.

Back at home, what a time not to have any hot chocolate on hand. I was about to buy some last week and didn’t do it. I had to content myself with some hot tea, while checking the live scoring from the game. I was briefly heartened to see the Aggies up on a goal by Amaya Simoni-Walters 38’ in. The rain had also stopped at some point, which made me feel worse about not staying.

However, checking back later, they had lost 2-1 to LA Tech. It was also raining again, so I at least felt better about coming home, though I felt really bad for the girls. The two LA Tech goals had happened late and within five minutes of each other. That must have been crushing. Even worse, the Aggies had peppered them with shots. LA Tech had less than half the shots, but made theirs count.

It was also Senior Day. The listed attendance was on par for just friends and family for such an event (att. 300). What a way to go out at home and they still have three road matches left in the season. A win at UTEP in a couple of weeks is their last chance some redemption. Except for the food, this was a triple header of disappointments tonight and like pulling teeth to write. A weekend off for the fans is in order.