NM State Volleyball Crimson and White Scrimmage 8-16-22

 

Taking one day off was too much to ask.  I was carpet-bombed with paperwork the day I left and had no chance of finishing it before I left.  That’s what I get for giving my co-workers a week’s notice I was going to be off; they had time to prepare a sendoff.  So I have plenty to look forward to when I get back.  The question is: Was it worth it?  Read on.

 

For my day off while waiting for the evening game, I missed connecting with Aunt Judy to wish her a Happy Birthday.  My dad once again turned me down for going to an Aggie game (of any sort).  I’d also crossed circuits with Ron.  I’d thought we were going to eat before the game and he’d already eaten before the game.  I had to wait until after the game to eat, which was a long time from my late breakfast.  And otherwise, I was overly busy rushing to be ready and then had to cool my heels, bored, waiting to leave. 

 

I was in a precious mood when Ron picked me up.  It had just down poured this afternoon.  The sky was still threatening with cool stiff breeze blowing as we pulled into the Pan Am Center parking lot.  Inside, we were immediately confronted with the massive north end construction of the new luxury boxes.  They don’t look like they’re going to be ready soon, but most of the structure is in place.  With the construction, the main Concessions was closed, but one of the others was open.  

Ron picked up a program by the door from a stack that I’d missed.  I didn’t see any schedule posters available.  There is a new permanent kiosk store front for merch up front.  AD Mario Moccia was pretty pleased with this development in a recent interview.  He’d been at the Soccer Exhibition Saturday and came in here later in game and sat with Coach Jordan, who was watching this scrimmage from a desk at one end of the court.  (In another interview after this game, Mario was floored by the attendance tonight.)              

 

In an interview during the summer, Coach Jordan talked about how he had a hard time turning away anyone trying out for the team, which accounts for the large roster.  He also said he was focusing on recruiting a taller team.  One look at the girls on court quickly confirmed both of those statements.  There are 24 girls on the roster.  Instead of the usual abundance of Liberos and Defensive Specialists, the team is now stocked with an arsenal of tall Outside Hitters.  Last year, the Aggies seemed to lack firepower and were thin in the offensive positions.  This should take care of that.

 

Distressingly, one of my favorites from last year, Setter Alana Embry, was not suited out to play.  Ron said he saw her with a finger bandaged.  Hometown girl, Kaitlyn Espiritu was also on the shelf.  I’ve been waiting to see her play for a couple of years.  Worse off was Lindsay Blakey.  She was in uniform, wearing kneepads, sitting on the bench, and not even on the roster.   I felt she was really underused last year, in spite of performing well at a position the Aggies were thin at.  Lindsay had one of the best plays of the year last season with her truly unexpected ace against Northwestern (9-3-21).  Last I’d seen her was at a Football game where she was apparently dating the punter (11-27-21).

 

Also on the sidelines was returning star player, Tatyana Battle, who is now the Team Operations Director.  I thought I saw her teammate, Cat Kelly, working with her, but I’m not sure.  I would have needed a closer look.  If that was Cat, I’ve never seen her so happy.  I hope she's over her playing injuries wherever she is. 

 

A great crowd showed up.  A bunch of students came.  I saw some guys that were probably Football players in attendance.  What looked like at least one high school Volleyball team was there.  (I think the Coach gave them a shout out after the game.)  We had two troops of Cheerleaders come in.  One was in white and the other was in crimson.  This was a dress rehearsal for them as well.  The White squad started out with the cheering.  The Crimson came in for the next set.  (It felt like there was some rivalry between the groups, but that may have just been me.)      

 

The other star of the game was the Pan Am’s shiny new court surface.  It looked magnificent.  It fit right in with the new scoreboard and sound system.  We had the full roster intro for the team.  Returners Sidney McIntosh and Mari Sharp seemed to have brought their own cheering sections.  New local girl, Cameron Rodriguez, got some extra cheer.  Star Lia Mosher got the biggest ovation.  Katie Birtcil, the other returning star, was the only one wearing pants to play in.   

 

Set 1

I took a bunch of play-by-play notes, but given that this wasn’t an actual game (though it was certainly competitive), I’m just going to point out some interesting plays and talk about the players. 

 

Mia Peterson was on the team last year, but didn’t play.  In her first action, she got the first dig and first kill of the match on the first play.  I already knew about her.  One of my co-workers ran into her at the gym and immediately started hitting on her.  (Another co-worker had a flirtation with Savannah Davison a couple of years ago.  These girls are irresistible.)  She got a lot of playing time in the match, so the Coach wanted to get a good look at her.  Mia’s got skills and hustle and seems like a leader-type.  As a red-shirt freshman, she needs some polish and experience.  Mia’s also quite fashionable.  I think she was the only one out there wearing earrings. 

 

A couple of other new hitters were Jayde Shelton, a rare lefty, and Kacia Brown.  Jayde seems to do well with her odd angle of hitting.  Kacia does it with muscle.  Rylee Fay doesn’t have the prototype volleyball bod, but seems to be tagged as the main Setter.  She took a lot of serves during the match and has a good one.  Freshman Bianca Perez worked a lot of the game as the other Setter. 

Anji

6’1” freshman Taylor Snow and 6’4” graduate Molly Johnson made for an intimidating blocking combo at the net.  They seemed to naturally pair up well together.  They were also swinging it with some kills.  Another new tall blonde, Ashley Herman, also had a couple of kills in this set.  The first ace of the set was served by Anji Vishwanathan.  When Ron and I were out in the parking lot, we saw a lady wearing traditional Indian clothing going into the building (along with a pretty girl riding by on a skateboard, it was a little surreal).  I’ll make a leap and say they’re related. 

 

Let’s finally talk about a few returning players.  Lia did not play in the first set.  I’m wondering if she’s okay, since she only saw limited action in the match.  Katie was in and firing in kills as usual.  Libero Darian Markham had the play of Set 1 with a great pancake save that got a rise out of the crowd.  Anji finished that point with a kill.  Darian also had a great serve receive on the final point, as Kacia won it for the White squad with a kill, 25-22.

 

Set 2: White 1, Crimson 0  

Lia started in this set, but whiffed on her first swing and was cycled out.  Defensively, Rylee made a dive save and Sidney saved one over the press table early.  Sidney also got the crowd going on a kill.  Lots of kills poured in from Jayde, Katie, and Kacia.  

Morgan

Freshman Morgan Stewart was the other Libero and was on court for most of the match.  She had several of good digs in this set.  Morgan’s very eye-catching on court and quickly turned into a favorite for me and Ron.  She looks like a good player on court and hustles.  I’m sure the Coach would like to be able to use Morgan as a serving sub.  She had a couple of aces in the first set, but she faulted on serve a couple of other times. 

 

There was some great defense in the middle of this set.  On one play, Katie dove for a one-handed dig and Morgan also had a great dig on the point.  Lia finished it with her first kill.  Darian went off-court for a save and got a big cheer from the crowd.  She was all smiles afterward, as usual.  Morgan took an off-court dive for a save after and had a pancake save on another.

 

The Crimson squad took a 20-12 lead.  Katie and Anji helped the White to make a comeback with several kills.  They actually tied it up at 20.  Cameron came in to serve and had a great dig on a point that Taylor won on a kill.  The Crimson squad did finally take the set 25-21 on a double touch call.

 

Set 3: White 1, Crimson 1

There were two officials working the net for the match.  A couple of players called the lines.  Alana, all smiles, who had been working one corner, chatted with the up official between sets.  (Work that charm, Alana.  Maybe the Aggies will get some calls down the line.)  I’m guessing she was telling him that another player was taking over.  (And I can recognize her, but can’t identify her as she was wearing a jacket.  Darn it.)  The teams also changed sides during the break.  I’m guessing the conference will go back to doing that this season. 

 

There was more good defense in this set.  Morgan and Bianca both made great emergency saves on the same play.  Mari made a dig at the bench.  There was an epic off-court pass to Mia for a kill.  Cameron had a great save.  The swing afterward on the point deflected hard into the crowd.  Taylor had an ace and Rylee had an ace off the tape.

 

Midway through the set, this effort took a toll.  There was a cross-up collision on a dig, then an out serve, and a bad dig.  The girls seemed to be flagging.  They got their second wind (or were yelled at enough to play better).  Morgan and Kaylee Peterson, another freshman Libero, both combined to save what would have been an ace serve.  Mari and Kayleigh Thomas, our somewhat unhappy-looking player pic at the top of the post, combined on a block.  I’ve been wanting to see more of Kayleigh playing, if for no other reason than her redhead.  Katie won it for the Crimson with a kill after a long rally, 25-18.

 

Set 4: Crimson 2, White 1 

I wished they’d made an announcement beforehand about how many sets they were going to play.  After over an hour and a half, some of the crowd left, either thinking it was over or they’d seen enough.  The up official watched the Cheerleaders perform between sets, something I don’t think I’ve seen before. 

 

Lia came on to start the set.  She had a kill, was part of a block combo, and served an ace off the tape.  Bianca also served an ace that deflected into the PA.  Mari got a kill on the line in the corner.  I think this was the only call where there was some dissension among the refs and the girls calling the lines.  Assistant Coach Whitis, who was coaching one of the teams (Assistant Coach Hertel handled the other), immediately argued with the player in front of him who made the line call.  She (darn it, who is she?), a small Libero-type, started pointing at the floor and yelled back at him.  It was nice comedic interlude.

 

Molly and Taylor combined on another block.  Lia and Mia did the same on another point.  Rylee fired in two aces.  Kayleigh went into the press table going for dig.  She was going all out to impress.  The White squad won 25-16.  The match finished with the two squads tied in a draw.

 

Coach Jordan went over to the PA and made a slashing motion.  He took the mic and thanked everyone for coming out and said they were going to have a great season and to come out Saturday for the exhibition game.  I don’t think this game has really much to do with who the Coach puts in as his main starters and reserves.  It does give all the girls an opportunity to play in front of a crowd, which is nice given the size of the roster.  It’s also a way to introduce the team to the fans and get them excited for the season. 

 

I’d hate to have Coach Jordan’s job in trying to figure out who to play regularly.  A lot of the girls looked really good.  I took all these game notes and only summarized them (what I could read of them, they almost illegible), so I sold some of the players short.  All of the tall blonde hitters kind of blended together.  I plan on going to the exhibition.  After that, I might have more educated comments on the roster.    

 

Only slightly starving, I finally got my dinner after the game.  I felt like I inhaled my Ultimate Cheeseburger at Jack-in-the-Box.  We also got Blasts at Sonic for dessert.  I really enjoyed mine, “I’m glad this thing has a bottom, because otherwise, I’d just keep eating it.”  Back at my apartment, I wasn’t able to get my old TV to work to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Comet TV.  Instead, we watched the end of a ball game on the computer.  I’m looking forward to seeing more of this team for the season.  They look good.    

Postcards from the Edge: Blatant Commercialization 9

 Here's a postcard ad for gold replicas of stamps.  I admit the Bugs Bunny one is cool.

Here's an awesome, but probably economically impractical patio idea.  If they're offering $1,000 off, it's probably pretty pricey.

Obviously this post features miscellaneous postcards.  From 1963, Arkansas Tech invites you to take classes in their new Science Building.

NM State Aggies vs NM Highlands Cowgirls Soccer 8-13-22

It’s our first NM State Sports report of the season.  I’ll be honest; I’m not sure if I’m enthusiastic or not yet.  I still haven’t decided if I’m going to get a Country Pass (season ticket for Soccer, Volleyball, Softball, Baseball, and Women’s Basketball).  Ron, who was with me today, is also undecided.  He’s waiting to see about his next job.  If he gets it, we probably won’t be going to many games together, if at all.  I’m wondering how much I’m going to want to go to games by myself.  I’m also concerned there’s going to be another lockdown and other restrictions, but those fears are starting to recede.  I still haven’t forgotten Ron getting screwed on his mostly unused Pass in 2020.

 

It was pleasantly overcast in the morning, but from experience I expected it would clear off before the game, which it did.  The sun would be fairly merciless on the field and in the stands.  The parking lot at the complex was taped off.  Half of it was allocated for the fans.  This was a change.  Today’s game against the NM Highlands Cowgirls was an exhibition, so there was no admission charged.  I skipped the concessions trailer, as Ron brought in a couple of water bottles.  

The souvenir table had some new posters and a single printed program, which I snatched.  (I needed it for this report.)  There was a merch tent set up just inside the field.  They were selling those black and white Aggie Baseball hats.  I wanted one, but I already own a crate full of hats!

 

The playing field itself was in lousy shape with a lot of yellowed worn patches.  This was unexpected given all the rain we’ve received here in Las Cruces over the last couple of weeks, including last night.  The crowd for the match was really good, especially considering the heat.  The Cowgirls brought quite a few of those fans all the way from Las Vegas, New Mexico up north.  They’re in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, which is a Division II conference.  I’m sure that I remember their basketball teams playing the Aggies (Men and Women), but I can’t find any evidence.

 

There were a bunch of hot girls in the stands.  It felt like it had been a while since they’d come out.  Also present was Volleyball Assistant Coach Hertel.  I said, “Hi,” to him and told him I was looking forward to seeing the girls next week.  (I hope I didn’t run him off.  He left like five minutes later.)

 

First Half

As both teams came out on field, the Aggies seemed to have a definite height advantage over the Cowgirls.  The notable exception was, Xitlaly Hernandez, but even then, the diminutive Aggie midfielder was named to the WAC Preseason All-Conference team.  (I don’t understand these preseason awards.)  The umbrella came out as the match started to shade from the sun.  I wasn’t the only one.  I was really jealous of a Six Flags umbrella that had DC characters on it with the classic 70’s designs. 

 

It was hard not to notice Monique Nevarez on the Cowgirls with her dark hair, but bright red ponytail and . . .  And its 1-0 Aggies.  That was quick, right in the first few seconds.  It was so sudden, there was no call as to who scored it.  The Aggies just all rushed the opposing net and the ball high-bounced in.   

 

Anyway, I also noticed Jenny Mueller for the Cowgirls, since she was playing on the near side of the field.  She was really cute (no picture available, sorry) and . . . And its 2-0 Aggies.  42’ left in the half, after Cowgirl goalie, Isabella Ortiz, deflected a shot, Xitlaly came in for an easy shot.  The game seemed a little rough as a couple of girls went down to the grass.  There was . . . And its 3-0.  41’ Mya Hammack attacked on a breakaway and beat the goalie.

 

There was a dad and young son sitting behind us.  They were doing some expert scouting.  I appreciated the commentary.  (I hope they didn’t leave because of the embarrassingly large umbrella I was using that I’d borrowed from Ron.)  And its 4-0.  39’ there was an easy pass in the box to an open Bianca Chacon for the goal. 

 

Okay, now we have a game.  38’ the Cowboys mount a one-girl attack.  She’s harassed all the way into the Aggie box and goalie, Makenna Gottschalk, kicked the ball away.  34’ Ortiz made a good save in the Cowgirl goal.  37’ we have a #2 player breaking up an attack by another #2, as Aggie Thalia Chaverria thwarted a strike by Nitza Rodriguez.  32’ the Aggies countered, but made too many passes in the box and didn’t score. 

 

Back to the massacre.  32’ the Aggies attacked again and Loma McNeese got the goal this time to make it 5-0.  Ortiz took the initial attack off her head, and Loma tapped in the loose ball.  Ortiz seemed hurt, but none of the trainers came out and she stayed in.  27’ 6-0, Sofia Beerworth (pictured at the top) stole the ball, ran it into the Highlands’ box, and beat Ortiz for the goal.  Sofia, freshman from Montreal, is pretty tall.  She had her hair piled up in a big top bun, which made her look towering. 

 

24’ there was a shot deflected by a Cowgirl that almost went in.  Oritz fell on it.  A guy carrying an adorable little dog came in.  It was listed as a service animal.  I’ve seen this before at games.  I think some students are claiming their pets as emotional support animals.  (I wonder if I could get away with that at work.  I’d actually have to get a pet first.)  Over on the far sideline, you could hear Coach Baarts was yelling his head off at the Aggies.  He was taking this seriously for now. 

 

18’ the Cowgirls got a corner kick.  Makenna caught a soft liner.  That was Highlands’ first shot on goal.  17’ 7-0 Xitlaly beat Ortiz and scored again.  The PA for the match had lots of work to do announcing these goals, but was enthusiastic each time.  15’ Ortiz blocked a point blank shot.

 

13’ there are mass subs on both sides.  Jenny was still in, but moved to play on the other side of the field.  Sigh.  11’ one of new Aggies subs straight whiffed on a kick in the Cowgirl box.  Ouch!  (I’ll leave her unnamed.)  9’ 8-0, Mya Gonzales (the other Mya on the team) made a great harassed kick in the box just over the goalie.  This was probably the best goal of the match (and there’s still a lot more still coming).

 

Ron was very pleased with the team’s performance.  Not the goals, but that he said they were passing the ball and matriculating it downfield, instead of just booting it downfield and hoping for the best.  (I know that I didn’t use the word, “matriculate,” correctly here.  That’s not what the word means.  This being the case, why do I keep hearing it used in football coverage?  Athletic “scholarship” graduates perhaps?  Did I use the word here just to do that rant?  Yes.)  In any case, the Aggies showed they are moving the ball better on offense in this match. 

 

8’ Megan Sheehan goaled for the Aggies, 9-0.  Ortiz fell down on the shot, possibly from exhaustion.  Megan had her own personal cheering section behind us screaming for her.  7’ Ortiz took one in the face to stop a shot.  She still stayed in.  There was a comment from somewhere behind us that the refs hadn’t allowed a hydration break for the match.  That was a good point.  It was plenty hot enough to merit one. 

5’ Bella Garcia, one of the subs, beat Ortiz in the box, but missed the shot.  All of the players looked like they were flagging a bit.  Bella stood out last year, as she’d been playing with a cast on her arm (also, she’s pretty good looking).  I noticed she was playing with one of her thighs wrapped this time. 

 

In the final minute, Makenna caught a free kick from the Cowgirls.  While the PA was giving the 10-second countdown, the Aggies scored for a final time in the half.  Again, it happened so quickly, there was no announcement on the scorer.  I didn’t see who did it either.  We’re 10-0 Aggies at the half.

   

Second Half

During halftime, tall, blonde German, #0 Valerie Ghua warmed up in the Aggie goal.  Good thing I had a program, because she’s not on the Aggies’ online roster.  I think one of the girls warming her up was the other goalie, who would come in later.

 

The second half started with the reserves still in for both teams.  41’ 11-0, and the onslaught continued, as Bella got an easy tap in.  Meanwhile, another player had their own fans.  A guy down front whisper/shouted, “We love you, Hailey!” to Hailey Denman on the near side of the field.  35’ Highlands makes an attack.  The shot rolled across the goal.  Valerie let it go out.  Back to the other end, 34’ Ortiz tackled a solo attack.  29’ she snatched the ball on another solo attack. 

 

28’ both teams brought in mass subs, which brought back in most of the starters.  27’ 12-0, an unidentified Aggie, standing in front of the goal with her back to the net, back-tapped the ball in.  It was a confusing goal.  An injured Highlands girl was helped off the field.  Before play resumed at midfield, a guy down front shouted to Mya Hammack and she blew him a kiss.  The girls were playing loose with a 12-goal lead.  Even the coach had stopped yelling.

 

23’ 13-0, as Xitlaly received a great pass and chipped it in.  On one end of the stands, a drum was being beaten, though not rhythmically.  Most of the athletes (seemed like mostly Football guys), were over there.  The PA had repeatedly warned people not to hang out in front of the stands.  Other Aggie athletes were the only ones who ever lounged there.  On the other end, some fans were relaxing under the trees.

 

22’ a header shot into the Highlands net was wave off by the ref.  Nobody seemed upset about it.  Another injured Highlands girl had to come off as a result of the play.  21’ Ortiz was still there between the pipes and had good stop.  I noticed some of the lights on the scoreboard were out.  Some of those digits aren’t usually used, as games seldom hit double digits in certain categories. 

 

18’ 14-0, Sydnee Johnson fired one at point blank through the goalie for the score.  16’ there’s a scrum and save in the Highlands box.  One girl from each team went down briefly, but both continued to play.  10’ Macey Henderson came into goal for the Aggies.  8’ 15-0, Bianca scored again by beating the goalie in front of the box.  Jenny was back in and tried to run after the ball to stop the shot.  A fan shouted, “Offsides!” on the goal.  I can’t tell you when it’s offsides.  It’s whatever the ref says. 

 

7’ the ref intervened here and issued a Green card to an offending player.  A Green card?  No, I’m not making an immigration joke.  It looked green.  There was a Hand ball call earlier in the game, but otherwise the refs weren’t too involved in inserting themselves into the game.  3’ 16-0, Loma chipped in another goal.  2’ 17-0, off a corner kick, Loma completed the hat trick and is our Player of Game.  1’ another Cowgirl came off limping.  This one might have been a cramp.  The last shot of the match was by Highlands.  Macey caught it in front of the net. 

 

Our final was 17-0 Aggies.  Ron had a great time talking about how close the game was.  The scoreboard had it at 21 Shots on Goal to 1, which is a pretty remarkable conversion rate by the Aggies.  Unless that last shot was after the buzzer, I’m pretty sure that should have counted as another SOG for the Cowgirls.  Thank goodness that didn’t go in.  I’ll bet Coach Baarts told the team that he’d have them running laps until they all puked if this wasn’t a shutout.  And no ice cream! 

 

I don’t know if this game was especially good for either team.  The Aggies had an inter-squad scrimmage on Friday that was probably more competitive.  (I don’t think it was open to the public, but there were pictures of some football players there.)  Highlands doesn’t have to worry about getting thrashed worse this season at least.  I didn’t see any animosity on field, even with a few injuries.  The good news was that I didn’t see the Aggies play unfocused, lazy, or nonchalant regardless of the score.  Any errors were likely a little preseason rust or jitters.  The Cowgirls also played hard throughout.  At worse, the heat might have dulled both teams a bit in places.  (There probably should have been hydration breaks.)        

 

The Aggie girls came out to midfield and waved to crowd.  They almost seemed a little reluctant or embarrassed.  They’ll be more enthusiastic after beating UTEP in their first official home in a couple of weeks.  (I’m calling it here.)  In the meantime, they’re probably going to be getting the same treatment out on the road that they handed out here today, as they face Oregon, Cal State Fullerton, and Texas A&M.   

 

Ron and I were reasonably pleased with the start of Aggie Athletics this school year.  For dinner, Ron requested, “Somewhere with fountain drinks and free refills.”  I picked Jimmie Johns, because a cold sub sounded better than something hot and greasy.  Blasts at Sonic provided the desserts.  We plan on going to the Volleyball Scrimmage next week and who knows what after that.

Postcards from the Edge: Blatant Commercialization 8

Here's one more New Mexico land offer postcard, which should have gone on the previous post.

The next three postcards are about Colorado mountain vacation getaways.  

Postcards from the Edge: Blatant Commercialization 7

Here are some invitations to own forest land in the mountains to build a cabin on.  These people were barking up the tree (pardon the pun) trying to get money out of my parents.  

   

Postcards from the Edge: Blatant Commercialization 6

I think these first two postcards involving England were from Grandma.  The first here is about a Billy Graham Crusade. 

This one must have been from a while back.  The winner of the contest would be flown to the London Chelsea Flower Show on the Concorde.

I'm really not sure how this Taos Southwest fashion company found my parents while they were living in El Paso.

Postcards from the Edge: Blatant Commercialization 5

These are more recent postcards, so I blacked out the address.  I'm not sure how my parents got on the Gila River Festival mailing list, maybe from ordering some state tourism guides.