Borderland Invitational UTEP vs Pacific Volleyball 9-7-19

 UTEP Grad Asst. Tatyana Battle

Doesn't she look adorable here?

I went back home after the morning match, since it was going to be four hours until the next match.  I wrote up the recap, but wasn’t able to take a nap like I wanted.  I waited about eating lunch, hoping I’d be able to get with Ron and go out to eat before the next match.  He was still busy with the remodeling project and wouldn’t be able to go at all.  I had found a Raising Canes coupon laying in the Pan-Am Center concourse after last night’s game.  During the match, nobody had said anything about a promotion.  It was only good for today and was a two-for-one coupon, so I was keenly disappointed to not be able to use it.

Instead, I choked down a meal out of a can in record time.  I listened to a bit of Aggie Football playing Alabama while I was eating/gagging.  Their stadium had more people in it than there are here in Las Cruces.  The Crimson Tide scored on a rush on their first play from scrimmage.  Exactly nobody was surprised.  This might literally be the best opponent the Aggie Football program has ever played.

I came back to the Pan-Am and sat by Danny and Mike.  I was embarrassingly confused for a moment watching the teams warming up.  The Pacific Tigers were wearing orange tops (like UTEP wears) and the Miners were wearing black tournament t-shirts.  For the actual game though, they switched colors.  (Thank goodness, it might have confused me for the whole match.) 

On the sidelines, Coach Ben Wallis, former Aggie assistant, was leading the Miners.  Congratulations (darn it).  Coach Wallis was interviewed on KROD last month.  He offhandedly said something that had me scrambling to look up their team roster.  Yes indeed, he had taken graduated Aggie star player Tatyana Battle with him as a graduate assistant.  Congratulations to her as well (darn it).  Coach Wallis had run a bunch of summer camps for girls and boys in El Paso.  Interestingly, he mentioned that Men’s Volleyball is the third most popular sport internationally (behind soccer and basketball).  Most other countries have professional Men’s leagues. 

When Coach Jordan was interviewed earlier in the week on the radio, he said he thought of Coach Wallis as a brother and had helped him get the job.  That said, he said it’s going to be awkward to play against him.  Still, Jordan said he plays against close friends all the time and it is kind of fun.  AD Mario Moccia, earlier on the Aggie Coaches Show, had also wished Wallis well, except for the two hours where they’ll be enemies when their teams are playing.  That said, Coach Jordan was not above playing some head-games.  His Assistant Coaches, Rubio and Hertel, started working the match as ball boys.  Jordan himself was sitting on top on the south grandstand in the shadows watching.

UTEP #3 Briana Bustillos 

I was disappointed in Miner team roster.  Former Aggie and the Miner’s libero last season, Briana Bustillos, was no longer on the team.  (They didn’t list a dedicated libero on the program, though there was one in the game.)  I was really looking forward to seeing her play.  She’s such a cutie with a wonderful smile.  Irbe Lazda in the lineup caught my eye as an impressive physical specimen.  The Miners also had a pretty little permed blonde on the bench, but she wasn’t suited up to play.  Taty looked smart in her UTEP polo shirt.  Another Assistant Coach was an eye-catching snow white blonde, Andrea Beaty.  (Though Katie Hoekman in the same position for the Pacific team was probably a bit hotter and certainly seemed more pleasant, as we shall see). 

It was another light crowd, but UTEP did bring some fans.  They were scattered around the arena.  (These visiting teams should coordinate better and sit in the same section, like for Women’s Basketball games.)  Emerson was here for this game sitting next to PA Ed.  The UTEP team got a big cheer when they were introduced.  Coach Wallis and Taty were given a special introduction.  Ben waved to the few Aggie fans present.  Taty was too shy (at this time) to stand up from the bench.

Set 1

UTEP started with a decided advantage in cheering.  Not only did they have some fans there, their reserves outnumbered Pacific 13 to 5.  I was still listening to Aggie Football on my little radio while watching this match.  I couldn’t resist.  At the start of the match, the Aggies finally scored on Alabama.  I shouted out, “Touchdown Aggies!”  Nobody cared.  I think it was the third quarter.  The score was 45-7.

The Tigers showed no signs of fatigue from playing this morning.  They rushed out to a 5-1 lead.  Heavy hitter, Riley Patterson had a kill.  I didn’t see any of the Aggie girls watching the game at this time, except for Analyssa Acosta.  I think I saw her across the court in the boosters section.  She sat with her family.  I’m sure they were there to support her in the later game, but they might have been rooting for UTEP here, since they’re from El Paso.

The Tigers continued to pour it on.  11-5 Pacific, Lucy Carpenter had a great kill.  At 12-5, timeout Miners.  UTEP came back with a couple of points.  13-7, Riley hit another serve out.  The coach might consider subbing for her turn.  If she’d take a little off it, she’d be more accurate.  17-9, Tigers got a stuff block.  18-9, a bad Tiger dig popped up and dropped in on the Miner side.  That’s when you know you’re getting lucky.  Timeout Miners.  UTEP came out on a short run.  21-13, Riley took my above advice and got a kill.  (It’s not how hard you hit it; it’s where you hit it.)  24-24, there was an overrule on a touch to give Riley another kill.  The Tigers took Set 1, 25-24.  They were all jacked up for their first set win of the invitational.

Set 2: Tigers 1, Miners 0

Sweet Dreams played over the PA during the break.  One of the line officials chatted with Coach Rubio on the sidelines.  UTEP took the first point on an overpass, and the second on a double touch.  With the third point, the Miner reserves stepped up and cheered.  They increased it to 7-3, as the Tigers made consecutive out serves.  8-6, Pacific got back into it with a couple of good kills, but their run ended on a net serve.

9-9, the Tigers got a soft kill to tie it.  UTEP took the lead right back at 10-9, as they blocked Riley.  This got a big rise out of their bench.  UTEP took the next point on a long rally.  Pretty slim blonde Allison Dennemann, who I’d noticed yesterday, made a brave dive into the bench for a dig.  Riley came up with a kill to make it 11-10 UTEP, but gave it right back on another out-serve.  13-11, Allison got a kill here.  15-12, net violation called on UTEP.  Coach Wallis argued the call.  Overall, I’d say he’d been more even tempered here so far than when he was an Aggie assistant coach.

The Tigers took a timeout at 17-13 UTEP.  After a Miner run, the Tigers took a timeout at 18-16.  19-16, the Tigers were called for a roof (I think).  Coach Wallis nodded and agreed with the call.  20-16, timeout Tigers.  Beside me, Mike was looking up the PA song with the Shazam app on his phone.  (How did DC blow the trademark on that word, especially after they renamed Captain Marvel with it and then later released a movie with him?  Don’t tell me they actually licensed the name out for the app.  Don’t get me started on the whole “Captain Marvel” name thing.)  23-16, Syenna Masaki for UTEP poured in two aces.  The Hawaii native is the team’s serving specialist.  UTEP took Set 2, 25-17.  We were even on sets, so no sweep for this match.

Pacific Tiger Allison Dennemann

Set 3: Tigers 1, Miners 1

The “half” was only two minutes, just like a regular set break.  Organizers wanted to move this match along.  Shout from Animal House played on the video board.  A UTEP fan lady flossing also made it onscreen.  Both teams came out firing hard.  4-3 UTEP, Allison got her second kill of the set.  6-3, the Tigers were called for a lift.  7-5, Allison was on fire with an ace on serve. 

9-7 UTEP, Tiger net serve.  10-8, Miner net serve.  11-9, Miner net serve.  12-10, Miner out-serve.  A little tight, maybe?  13-12, Sedona Sherman for the Tigers pounded one.  13-13, the Tigers pounded it on an overpass kill.  They took the lead, 14-13, on a missed dump shot.  Timeout Miners.  UTEP came back and retook the lead, 15-14, on a Tiger DT.  16-14, a massive block for UTEP. 

Elsewhere, Aggie Football lost to Alabama, 62-10.  Yes!  They covered the 55-point spread, and I just made a cool grand.  (Just kidding, although a friend of a co-worker did actually did make money taking that bet.)  I was disappointed that the Aggies made it to the Bama 2-yard line at the end of the game and didn’t score before time expired.  (Can you say there was a fix on this game?)  Josh Adkins had been taken out as the quarterback in the fourth, though he was in a receiver/decoy on the goal line.

Now, I was fully paying attention to the volleyball.  18-15 UTEP, the Miners got a block and Pacific took a timeout here and at 20-16.  UTEP Assistant Coach Beaty took the time to scream at one of the girls.  She’s attractive, but rather frightening.  The Tiger Coach Greg Gibbons only took about 10 seconds in the huddle with his team.  Two UTEP fouls got the Tigers right back into it.  Allison got a mishit kill off a bad set at 23-21 UTEP.  She could do no wrong here.  24-21, DT Tigers.  25-21, UTEP took Set 3 on another Tiger double touch. 

UTEP Miner Martine Kragholm

Set 4: Miners 2, Tigers 1

A Tigers player argued those DT calls with an official between sets.  Afterward, the up and down officials had a serious chat as well.  I found out where that Raising Canes coupon came from yesterday.  They were handing them out to everyone in a random specific section.  Try to sit with a crowd.  It might increase your chances. 

UTEP took the first point as their bench was very into it.  The Tigers went up 2-1 after a long rally.  UTEP tied it at 2, but the Tigers went up 4-2 on a DT.  UTEP stormed back to a 7-5 lead with Anamarija Mikovic on a serving run.  The Tigers came back.  Allison split the defenders for a kill at 7-6, and the Tigers tied it at 8-8 on a block.  They took the lead, 9-8, on an ace off the tape.  They went up 11-9 off of two kills by Riley.  12-9, another ace and a UTEP timeout.

The Pacific reserves danced to Jump in the Line.  Mike looked it up on Shazam.  He was showing me how the app worked and I missed a couple of points.  15-10 Tigers, a long rally went to the Miners.  16-11, Tiger Carissa Bradford absolutely bombed one to break up the UTEP run.  16-12, a Riley net serve.  17-13, another Tiger net serve.  18-13, Carissa again, as she banged one off a defender.  19-14, the crowd got into it with this long rally.  It finished with a Miner block going out.  This was a heck of a match here.

I noticed local photographer Gary Mook had taken over as one of the ballboys.  I’m sure he didn’t expect to be doing that today.  I’ll guess the Aggie assistant coaches had to go do some pregame coaching, though I think Coach Jordan was still watching.  19-16, Martine Kragholm for UTEP came up to serves.  Whoa!  What a gorgeous, well-built young woman.  How did I miss seeing her earlier?  Pacific had a foul on the play and took a timeout.

19-17 Tigers, the Miners got a rejection block here.  19-18, the Tigers fired one out.  20-18, the Tigers break, though the Miners got a brilliant save during the point.  The up ref tossed a towel down to Tiger Kaelyn Saler, who was cleaning the floor.  She tossed it back up to him.  He juggled it and managed to snatch it out of midair.  Kaelyn smiled up at him. 

20-20, we were in a dogfight here.  22-20 Tigers, off a bad set, a bad hit dropped in.  Timeout UTEP.  23-22, another net serve Riley!  Come on!  She’s great on the floor, but please stop letting her serve!  24-22, a Miner block went out.  25-22, Tigers take the set on an ace by Jadyn Tubbs. 

Set 5: Miners 2, Tigers 2

Let’s play five!  A coin flip determined the first serve on the sidelines (I think).  The Pacific girls were practicing ballroom dancing while Sweet Caroline was playing.  Obviously, the girls were feeling the pressure.  OMG!  Riley put two hard serves in to start the set.  I’m not sure what the coach was thinking, but it worked here, 1-1.  Jadyn served next and got an ace, 3-1 Tigers.  Carrissa got a kill, 4-1, and a Miner timeout. 

5-3 Tigers, Irbe slapped one on an overpass for UTEP.  She definitely has the frame for doing that.  6-3, net serve UTEP.  7-3, Martine shanked a receive for UTEP.  8-4, out-serve on UTEP.  The teams changed sides.  9-4, Allison served up an ace as Martine shanked another one.  9-5, Irbe dunked another overpass.  9-6, this time Allison shanked on a receive.  10-6, Riley came up with a kill.

By this point, the match had run long enough for the Lobos and the Aggies to have arrived at the Pan-Am Center.  Some of the Aggies watched from the top of the south grandstand.  10-7 Tigers, Pacific made an out-serve.  10-9, UTEP was making a comeback.  Their reserves were going crazy.  Timeout Tigers.  10-10, we’re tied.  11-10 Pacific, Kennedy Kaminsky put the Tigers up with a slap down.  12-10 Tigers, timeout UTEP.  13-10, Kennedy again with a tip kill.  Pacific would go on to win the set and match 15-11 and 3-2.  On the final point off a very hard hit, the Miners made a valiant effort to keep it in. 

Whew!  What a game!  I admit I was kind of rooting for Pacific.  I might have been cheering on UTEP this time, but after seeing Pacific get beat twice, including this morning, I felt bad for them.  The Tigers started stretching out on the floor right after.  The Miner players went into the crowd to mingle with family.  Coach Wallis recruited a whole bunch of El Paso players for the team.

The Tigers showed some physical and mental resilience after playing earlier and getting swept in their first two games.  The stats on the scoreboard were wrong, but I got the correct stats later online.  I question Riley Patterson’s serving (5 service errors), but she led everyone with 17 kills.  Carrissa Bradford and Kennedy Kaminsky were next with 10.  My crush, Allison Denemann, had 9. 

In spite of the loss here, Coach Wallis has obviously done a great job with the Miners.  Serena Patterson led UTEP with 11 kills.  The team showed some real fight.  A little more star talent and they’d be very hard to beat, and they’ve got some girls that at least physically look like that could be stars.   

Okay, on to the main event for the day, Aggies versus Lobos.

Borderland Invitational UNM vs Pacific Volleyball 9-7-19

Pacific Tiger Allison Dennemann

I had to wake up early for this game and had trouble sleeping.  There was some kind of domestic disturbance in my apartment building after I got up.  Four policemen showed up just as I was leaving.  I felt like I was fleeing the scene of a crime.  That was an inauspicious start.  At the Pan-Am Center, a gentleman in front of me at the courtesy table left a giveaway shirt from last night there.  (I was wearing mine.)  He said it was too big for him.  I took it and found Danny with the intention of making up for his stolen shirt, but it was too big for him.  Rats.  I took the shirt back to the table.  I think Danny knows who stole his shirt and is plotting something.

I had breakfast beforehand, so no expensive trips to the concessions today.  No Emerson either at the scorer’s table.  Darn it.  Adam Young was there in extreme casual wear (well, exercise clothes, not a bathrobe) to scout the Lobos before the match with the Aggies tonight.  Again, there was a light crowd.  The number of Pacific Tiger fans and Lobo fans may have been equal here.  I’m surprised the Lobos aren’t travelling better.  (They certainly do for their Women’s Basketball team.) 

Is that a Billie Eilish song on the PA?  She’s everywhere.  I liked this song.  Danny liked it too.  He also mentioned that UTEP had beaten Texas A&M Corpus Christi (UNM’s opponent here yesterday).  (I think he actually went down to El Paso to see that game.)  A&M-CC looked pretty good night, so that’s an impressive win for the Miners.  They even came back from two sets down to win in five sets.  I have to figure that A&M was probably exhausted from playing earlier in the day though.  They were blown out in the final set. 

The Aggie Volleyball team came in to watch along with Assistant Coach Chris Hertel.  They were mostly decked in black, including some in giveaway shirts.  Before the match, one of the referees came over and talked to the girls.  Danny thought they might be in some trouble, but, no.  With nobody from Aggie Softball present or any willing teen girls available in crowd, they needed ballgirls for the match.  Dutifully, some freshmen were volunteered, probably by the seniors.  (And I didn’t write down who the freshmen were to give them credit and I don’t remember.  Sorry.) 

UNM Lobo Alena Moldan

Set 1

The Lobos started with a five to seven advantage in reserves.  For the most part, the Lobo reserves were a bit more reserved than in their last match with A&M-CC, where it felt like the opposing benches were fighting each other.  Inauspiciously again, the match started on dead ball foul.  Roofing perhaps?  A Lobos player disputed it to no avail.  After that, the Lobos ran off four points on a couple of Tiger out swings.  They got it up to 5-2 on an untouched free ball by libero Alena Moldan.  You know things are going well for you when that happens.  Alena’s a distinctive-looking light brunette with a slight build out there.  She nearly looks too young for college.

7-4 Lobos, Allison Dennemann for the Tigers made a couple of kills to keep them in it.  Here was another slim pretty blonde I kept watching.  (Don’t tell me I’m developing a type because I’m missing an Aggie player I only got to see play once and feel cheated.)  8-5 UNM, oops, Alena shanked one into the scorer’s table.  10-7, the Lobo’s first double touch call.  There was a new up official this time, so it wasn’t just the ref. 

10-8 Lobos, the Tigers were keeping it close and got a block here.  Assistant AD Herb Taylor walked by and greeted the deputized Aggie ballgirls.  The Tigers were down by 17-16, after an overpass kill.  18-18, Tiger libero Jadyn Tubbs made a great save and helped win the point.  19-18 Tigers took the lead on a Lobo attack error.  Timeout Lobos.  The Lobos came right back and retook the lead, 20-19.  Timeout Tigers.  The Tigers tied it again at 20 on a block.  From there the Lobos reasserted themselves and took the lead again.  Their reserves danced in a circle.  The Lobos closed it out 25-21.

Set 2: Lobos 1, Tigers 0

Tainted Love played over the PA.  A family of Lobo fans changed sides to stay with their team as they changed sides of the court.  Aggie Volleyball left, but some freshmen stayed to keep working the game.  Redhead Kaleigh Thomas and blonde Autumn Gentry took over on the sidelines.  Kaleigh found herself chasing errant balls into the stands. 

Pacific went out to an early 5-2 lead, but it was short-lived as the Lobos tied it at 6-6.  9-8, the Lobos took the lead.  Okay, attention on the game was drifting here for the rest of the match.  I wasn’t exactly tired, but wasn’t very sharp.  The Tigers tied it at 10, but the Lobos ran off three points, forcing a Pacific timeout.  Kaleigh chatted with one of the line officials during the break, as How Soon Is Now (the Charmed theme) played. 

From here the Lobos added to their lead.  At 20-14, Riley Patterson for the Tigers pounded an out-shot into the courtside table.  She was easily the hardest hitter on court.  You could tell it was her just by the sound.  20-15, Alena made a couple of tremendous dives on the court to keep the point going, though the Lobos lost it.  25-20, Set 2 to the Lobos.  The reserves were trying to spell out “U-N-M” during the point, but their players won it before they could finish.

Set 3: Lobos 2, Tigers 0

Katie Birtcil came in as a ballgirl.  Tessa Fisk and Brie Mortensen were maybe working with her (I didn’t positively identify them).  4-3 Lobos, Jadyn for the Tigers went headfirst into the stands going for a ball.  She popped up okay.  “It’s all good,” she said.  The Lobos continued to add to their lead.  10-5, a Lobo fastball went right into the middle of the court.  The reserves did their, “Aussie!  Oi!  Oi!” chant.

The Tigers would play good for a couple of points, but not more than that, so the Lobos kept getting further ahead.  The Lobo reserves started doing a, “Go Lobos!” shout during Tiger serves.  19-13, the Tigers started to unravel here, even after a timeout.  Katie practiced dribbling on the sideline and then the Aggie girls were doing a salsa dance with the PA music.  23-14, Riley made a jump serve strong enough to knockdown Alena on the receive.  She did keep it in play though.  The Lobos took the set 25-16 and the match 3-0.       

I’d like to give some stats for scoring, but once again the scoreboard wasn’t keeping up with personnel changes and didn’t seem reliable.  I don’t have a volleyball scorecard to do it myself (and it’s not worth looking up later online).  So, I don’t know what to say about individual players for this game.  I’m sorry.  I may have been sleepwalking covering this match.  Pacific may be in trouble later this afternoon against UTEP, but I should be more awake for it. 

Borderland Invitational NMSU vs Pacific Volleyball 9-6-19

Passionate NMSU Aggie Savannah Davison

Ron had made plans to go to this evening’s game with me and the wife of a friend of his.  Unfortunately, after I got back from this morning’s game, he called in the afternoon to tell me that the remodeling project he was working on was taking longer than he anticipated.  So, I was solo again in the evening. 

I don’t know what I was thinking, but I got a hot dog meal at the concessions when I got there.  I think mentally I’d decided to buy something there again today if I got a giveaway shirt, which I did.  At least the meal was okay this time and I didn’t spill my drink.  (I actually refilled it with water so I could drink the ice too.)  This is a cool shirt, by the way.  The local iconography is excellent.   

However, disappointments still abounded.  I sat next to Aggie fans Danny and Mike.  Mike told me that Danny’s shirt had been stolen when he got up and left it on his seat.  Neither me nor Mike offered up our shirts in consolation.  (I wanted a black Aggie shirt and I very seldom see Danny actually wearing Aggie giveaway shirts.)  Danny also mentioned that tickets prices were up for this game, but maybe it was because it was a tournament (with rival schools).  

Nicole the marketing lady came by and said, “Hi,” to everyone and hugged Mike.  Gasp!  Emerson was with her.  I’d wondered if I had only imagined seeing her hot self this morning.  I finally spotted her later in the game.  She’s working with PA Ed Carnathan at the scorer’s table, that lucky bastard.  It was a terrible distraction, but I somehow carried on with the game coverage. 

The easy first thing to notice on court was one of the Pacific Tigers’ assistant coaches, Katie Hoekman.  She’s a glamorous tall blonde in tall heels.  Also glamorous was Aggievision’s color commentator sitting below us, Kelsi Meredith, whose golden brown hair now reached her waist.  Broadcaster Adam Young sat beside her.  At one point, he turned around and we exchanged jaunty waves. 

As for the players, one of the Tigers called up to her parents in the stands and chatted with them.  For the Aggies, Cat Kelly and Savannah Davison were catching huge air practicing their swings.  Afterward, the team worked on their dance moves on the sidelines.  Both teams seemed pretty loose.  The Cheerleaders and Pistol Pete were there.  It was a new Pete with a large fake mustache.  (We won’t hold that against him.)  The Lobo volleyball team was in attendance.  I guess they didn’t have anything better to do while waiting for tomorrow’s game. 

There was a good crowd there for the game.  We can probably expect really good crowds for the next two rivalry games.  Before the player intros, there was a dramatic ceremony as the new WAC Champion and NCAA appearance banners were displayed, and Coach Jordan was introduced as the eight-time Coach of the Year.  Ed was in spectacular voice announcing (no doubt he wanted to impress Emerson). 

The Aggies had had of a pretty spectacular debut on the road before tonight’s game.  They went to Auburn and beat them, Butler, and Tennessee State all in straight sets.  On the Aggie Coaches Show this week, Coach Jordan kind of dismissed winning against Auburn on their home court.  He said that they weren’t ranked and it was early in the season, when everybody is a bit disorganized.  However, it made AD Mario Moccia happy.  I’d heard Mario on the football pregame show.  He couldn’t resist mentioning that Auburn has $147M athletics department budget, while NMSU has a $20M budget.  (Even more ridiculously, the coach of Aggie Football’s next opponent, Alabama, Nick Saban, has a larger salary than NMSU’s entire sports budget.)    

Set 1

Our Aggie starters were Cat Kelly, Savannah Davision, Julianna Salanoa, Natalie Mikels, Ashley Anselmo, and beautiful Megan Hart, who was immediately subbed for libero Halle Razo.  Pacific got an ace to go up 2-1.  4-2 Tigers, Jules got a save on a Pacific overpass kill.  A second overpass swing went out for an Aggie point.  Jules got in on a couple of blocks to tie it at 4.  But, Pacific surged out to an 8-4 lead as the Aggies seemed disorganized. 

9-6 Tigers, Megan came in and got a kill.  10-7 Tigers, Meg and Lia Mosher combined for a block.  It’s good to see Lia back.  These two are really impressive-looking at the net.  13-9 Tigers, Meg slapped one down for a kill.  14-10 Tigers, Sav made one of her trademark flying kills.  She’s majestic in flight.  Still, Pacific held the lead at 15-10.  Timeout Aggies.  The Aggies had cycled in a bunch of players to this point.  Was the coach trying to find the right combinations?  Not wanting to wear anyone out for a non-conference game?  Trying to wear down the opponent? 

The Aggies started a comeback.  Behind a Sav kill, a Lia block, and a Meg and Lia block, the Aggies tied it at 19.  Timeout Pacific.  The Aggies finally took the lead at 20-19 on a Jules kill to end a long point.  At 21-19 Aggies, the Tigers took their other timeout.  Halle had had a good run serving to get the Aggies the lead.  She net-served out of the timeout to make it 21-20.  22-20 Aggies, Sav painted the sideline for a kill.  23-21 Cat came up with a kill.  24-22 Aggies, after a swing that was called out that looked like it had been touched, Sav came right back with an overpass tap kill.  25-22, Aggies took the set on a touched Sav swing.

Set 2: Aggies 1, Tigers 0

Assistant AD Herb Taylor made an appearance on the court.  The refs wanted some tape on the floor repaired, and I guess that just became part of his job description.  Back in play, the Aggies took a 2-0 lead.  Megan and Ashley made such an impressive wall at the net that a Pacific player fired a swing right into the net.  The Aggies kept going to make it 4-1 on a Sav and Lia block and 5-1 on a Lia block.  Krysten Garrison had a good run on serve, but had a double touch on a set to sideout. 

No problem.  6-2 Aggies, Sav split the defenders for a kill.  At 9-3 Aggies, timeout Tigers.  Pete came by and shook mine everyone else’s hand in our section.  He went around the arena introducing himself to everyone.  I finally noticed Halle had been on serve during this run as she put in an ace at 12-3.  13-3, Jules had an overpass kill. 

14-3 Aggies, now this was new, the Tigers committed some kind of foul before the serve and lost a point.  15-3, Jules got a tip kill off a good set by Krysten.  Timeout Tigers again.  16-3 Aggies, Cat got a kill on long rally, and then another kill, and another.  Finally at 18-4, Halle net-served.  Wow, that was like a 10-point run.  Even two timeouts didn’t break it up.  All this happened with MVP Megan Hart on the bench. 

From here, the Aggies completed the rout.  20-5 Aggies, Ash got a kill.  21-5, Cat got another kill.  Brigette Lowe subbed in.  Hi Brig!  22-5, Nat served up an awesome ace right on the sideline.  Afterward, she was smiling.  Freshman Katie Birtcil subbed in.  She got a kill after a great save by Halle, 23-7.  Analyssa Acosta cycled in to serve.  Yay!  It was good to see her.  She served out the set.  25-7, Aggies took Set 2 on a no-set Sav kill.

Set 3: Aggies 2, Tigers 0

Boom.  1-0 Aggies as Nat hummed in an ace.  2-0, Nat was in on a block.  4-2 Aggies, Jules got a great dig after a Tiger block.  Sav finished the point with a kill.  7-2, Jules and Lia on a block.  8-2, oops, Cat and Sav collided with each other going for a swing.  The Aggies got the point anyway on a block, but Sav and the coach weren’t happy.  9-2 Aggies, the Tigers weren’t happy either and took a timeout.  Jump in the Line played over the PA.  There was a row of people seat-dancing.  A guy got on camera also working it.  (It wasn’t me.)

Megan came at 10-3.  11-3, Ash got a block.  12-3, Meg got a block.  14-4, Cat made a great dig on a Pacific serve.  Megan finished the point off with a kill.  14-6, Sav had an out-swing that bounced high into the stands.  Stay alert at these games.  16-7, Lia and Meg on a block.  It’s officially a block party.  18-8, Jules muscled one through.  19-8, Ash on a block.

In spite of the score, Coach Jordan was getting more vocal and unhappy on the sidelines.  Sav also seemed really serious.  21-11 Aggies, Cat hit the back line on a kill.  Jordan George came in defensively.  22-12, Ash made a kill down the line.  Jordan Pleasants came in to serve.  23-14, freshman Autumn Gentry came in to serve.  23-17, the Tigers made a comeback with some Aggie reserves in.  Sav banged out two more wild shots.  Maybe she was angry or trying too hard.  Timeout Aggies.  NMSU did finish the set and match out 25-18 and 3-0.  It ended on a Pacific out-serve with the whole arena clapping for match point #2.  I could see where that might be intimidating.

The scoreboard kill stats didn’t quite keep up with personnel changes and I’m not sure if they kept up with the kills either.  I got some stats later from the radio the next day and the Internet.  Savannah Davison led with 10 kills.  Cat Kelly had 7, Julianna Salanoa had 5, and Megan Hart with 4 in limited playing time.  (I think the coach may have been holding her back to preserve her knee for the next two rivalry games.)  Krysten Garrison led in assists.  The team block totals were impressive at 16.  I counted 16 players used in the game.  Some of those were garbage time, but even apart from those, Coach Jordan used his whole arsenal of good weapons to keep them sharp. 

I’m sorry to Pacific.  Even with my inherent bias, nothing really stood out for me about them tonight, so I don’t know what say about them.  I have no stats for them.  They caught the Aggies a bit rusty in Set 1, but were overpowered by the end of that set and for the rest of the match.  The team began stretching out on court immediately after the match.  

I went straight home and made a couple of calls to my parents and my co-worker, Mike, who was filling in for me.  (I worried I might interrupt Ron doing his remodeling.)  While I was talking to Mike, I realized that watching and writing about volleyball had taken up my whole day.  With three matches on tap tomorrow and another on Sunday, it’s going to be a lot more of the same.  Good thing I like volleyball.

Borderland Invitational UNM vs TX A&M CC Volleyball 9-6-19

TA&M-CC Islander Kylie Flipiak
I'm trying to put more pictures in with my posts.

Tragedy struck immediately in this opening invitational game between the New Mexico Lobos and the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders.  I spilled my drink right after I sat down.  Hey, I’d just spent $9 on a pretzel and a raspberry tea basically to be nice.  I wasn’t hungry or thirsty, but the concessions were open for this lightly attended event.  I’d found fellow Aggie fan Danny sitting in his usual place and had just sat down next to him.  I put down the drink and it somehow fell over.  I only saved about a quarter of it.  I think only Danny’s presence kept me from crying or becoming violently angry.  (I really like that tea.)  Eating that very chewy, doughy pretzel, I could have definitely used the whole drink.  It tasted okay at least, so I felt a little better.

Why was I writing again?  Oh yeah, volleyball.  I’d taken the day off to see tonight’s game with the Aggies actually.  This morning game was kind of a bonus, since I like watching volleyball in general.  Ron had waved off this game, but was planning on coming tonight.  Like I said, there was a very light crowd.  I might have at least thought that the Lobos would have brought some fans. 

PA Ed was there working the microphone.  The malfunctioning video board from the Scrimmage was working again.  Aggie Softball was represented with Keala Brown, Analise De La Roca, and later on Jeanelle Medina shagging balls on the sidelines.  I guess they’re all working on a Sports Marketing degrees.  Danny had said he’d seen the team climbing the football berm this morning.  I never saw Aggie Volleyball or their coaches come by to scout this game.

As for the opposing teams, the Lobos looked bigger and taller in general than the Islanders, but they were still all pretty tall.  (When am I going to stop being surprised by the height of volleyball players?)  Kaitlynn Biassou for the Lobos looked like an impressive specimen.  I seemed to remember Lauren Twitty from previous meetings being good. 

Yikes!  Kylie Filipiak on the Islanders was an eye-catching blonde with a slight frame.  She reminded me of departed Brittany Welch from last year’s Aggies.  It was like watching her play, like things had worked out for her here.  Their assistant coach, Sasha Karelov, was pretty striking with her long blonde hair and her wardrobe wearing a dress shirt with a sweater.  (It’s cool inside the Pan-Am Center, but 95+ degrees outside.)  The Islanders did have an edge in overall looks, but that doesn’t have anything to do with playing ability.

Set 1

Or does it?  While the Lobos came out really fired up to play, the Islanders started dominating immediately.  Their bench reserves were doing a square dance after A&M (I’m just calling them this as a shorthand for the rest of the review) won the first two points.  The reserves for both teams were quite entertaining or annoying, depending on if you were watching or playing.  At 5-1 A&M, the bench was making fun of Twitty’s last name when she came up to serve.  9-3 A&M, the Lobos picked up their second double touch call.  This would be a running issue for UNM.         

At 12-4, Sasha was actually yawning from the bench while watching.  Madison Green had just made an extremely sneaky tip shot off a short set.  The ball had no heat on it, as it found a spot where nobody was.  The Lobos started make a comeback at 15-9, but the Islanders pulled away again to make it 20-11 off of another Lobo DT.  A belated timeout was called for UNM.

Lobo Morgan Schreckler came up to serve and had a very dramatic pause in her delivery.  It worked.  She aced the first serve and ran off three points, while the A&M bench heckled her.  I’m sure this goes on in every game, it’s just that there was virtually no crowd noise to drown it out.  22-18 A&M, some Islander errors allowed the Lobos to get back into it.  24-18 A&M, the first long rally of match.  The Lobos lost it on an out shot.  The Islanders finished it off 25-18 for the set.  Faith Panhans won it with a little dumper shot.

Set 2: Islanders 1, Lobos 0

Madison had a chat with the up official after the teams changed sides.  I wonder what that was about.  Certainly, they seemed to be doing better than the Lobos with the calls.  A&M went up 1-0 on a free ball that none of Lobos covered.  It just dropped right in.  They went up 2-1 on a kill into two blockers.  The reserves chanted out, “She wasn’t ready!”  Ouch.  Kaitlynn for Lobos came back to hammer an overpass kill to tie it.  The Lobo reserves started an “Aussie!  Oi!  Oi!” chant.  One of their girls was from Australia.  One of the Islanders was from New Zealand. 

Kylie came up to serve for the Islanders and put in an ace at 5-4 A&M.  She served lefty with some deception and the ball came over like a curveball.  9-7 A&M, Madison put in another little dumper.  The reserves came right in with the “She wasn’t ready!” chant.  13-9 A&M, the reserves chanted “O-U-T!  Out!” on a wide Lobo swing.  14-9 A&M, “She (still) wasn’t ready!”  Timeout Lobos.     

No help there.  15-9 A&M, the Islanders got a block kill and the reserves went crazy.  15-10 A&M, here was the second long rally of the match.  Lobo libero Alena Moldan made a good save as part of winning the point.  16-11 A&M, Alena came up with an ace that hit the tape.  Unfortunately, the next one went into the net.  The Islanders took Set 2, 25-18.  A Lobo DT ended it.

Set 3: Islanders 2, Lobos 0

We had a little salsa dancing with the unofficial Pan-Am Center theme song this season Jump in the Line by Harry Belafonte, an oldie from the 50’s, over the PA.  Even I was briefly dancing in the stands, while one of the Islander girls danced in the huddle.  All of the reserves were then bouncing to House of Pain’s Jump Around.  The Lobos meanwhile came out with a 1-0 lead on a hard kill.  The Lobo reserves howled.  (I don’t know why all Lobo teams don’t do that.  It would fit their name.)  3-1 Lobos, the reserves danced around in a circle.

Unfortunately soon enough it was 4-4 after another DT by the Lobos.  Kylie for the Islanders had kind of a rough third set.  She had a blocked tip, a missed dig, and an attack error already.  Still, she kept her game-face on and kept swinging through the slump.  I like that attitude.  The Lobos surged back to an 8-5 lead.  But soon enough, there was Madison with another dump kill to tie it at 8.  9-8 Lobos, I credit their reserves’ chanting with causing an A&M out serve. 

Chloe Simon for the Islanders came up with a cross-court kill to tie it again at 9.  She got a couple of those.  11-9 A&M, Chloe buried one right into a Lobo defender, who was called for a double touch.  (I suspect I know what their coach is going to be working on in practice.)  13-10 A&M, super pretty set for an Islander kill here.  14-10 A&M, Sam Dumity for the Islanders with another dump set kill.  Timeout Lobos.  19-16 A&M, both teams traded out-serves.  They’re contagious.  21-16 A&M, Lobo DT.  22-19 A&M, the Lobos won this point after two good blocks.  Appropriately, the Islanders took the set and match on a dump shot by Faith, 25-19 and 3-0. 

The Lobos showed some fight, but the Islanders were pretty much in control for all of this one.  The amount of deception A&M-CC used was shocking and very effective.  Their other fundamentals were good.  They did all this damage with their 6’5” hitter, Julia Carter, not playing.  They’d really be scary if she was playing and good.  I don’t know what to say about the Lobos other than their reserves didn’t get out-cheered at least.  (The reserves’ battle was at least as entertaining as the actual match.)

Without actual stats (they weren’t up on the scoreboard for this match), it’s hard to hand out gameballs.  I was impressed by Chloe Simon’s hitting.  [Edit: Chloe and Lauren Twitty on the Lobos both had 13 kills.]  Madison Green showed off some really tricky shots.  I don’t know if all the team’s dumps and tips would have worked against anybody, but they definitely worked here today.  I’m sort of glad the Aggies aren’t playing them.  (It’s a strange invitational with NMSU and UTEP both running it.  Not everybody’s playing each other.  Another team is only playing in El Paso and not playing the Aggies at all.)  Lastly, I liked Kylie Filipiak.  As I said, she was reminding me of somebody else’s play in a good way.  I hope she does well this season.

Danny and I congratulated a couple of nearby Islander parents.  They were in a happy mood.  That blonde marketing lady that I see around all time everywhere walked past and said, “Hi,” to Danny.  He told me were name was Nicole, so I finally found that out.  Gasp!  Right behind her was . . . Emerson.  Yes, the hot baseball marketing intern was working at the Pan-Am Center now.  I kind of assumed with her baseball player boyfriend, Logan Ehnes, graduating, she’d be gone too.  Well, there’s something else to look forward to at this fall’s games.  Okay, in the meantime, I’m going back home to wait for the Aggies’ game in the evening.