NM State Aggies vs Abilene Christian Wildcats Soccer 10-2-22

I’m putting up two promo pictures today because I got to meet both of these girls today for autographs.  That’s Landy Williams at the top and Megan Sheehan below.  Details later. 

 

After yesterday’s disappointing losses (Volleyball and Football), Ron and I were hopeful for a win today with Aggie Soccer.  They had won on Friday, 4-0, over Tarleton State.  Four different players scored: Megan Ormson, Brooke Schultz, Sofia Beerworth, and Blakley Edgar, who I don’t think I’ve seen play.  I had to work that night.  Ron was there and picked up a giveaway shirt for me.  It’s a kid’s design shirt.  I wasn’t sure about keeping it, but decided to wear it for the game.  Once there, I immediately got complimented on it by another fan, who was also wearing the shirt.

 

It was overcast for this afternoon game, which was good to keep the sun off us.  There was also a stiff, cool breeze blowing.  I’d nearly left for the game without a jacket.  I was glad I brought one because the sky started spitting and drizzling.  A decent crowd showed up, including some Abilene Christian parents, who were vocal throughout the game.  Sofia was one of the starters.  I hadn’t seen her in a while.  The AC goalie, Lily Foster, was wearing a good-looking powder blue and white top.  The rest of the team was wearing black.  The Aggies were in white.

 

First Half

I’d brought my cowbell to the game.  Ron was . . . thrilled.  I gave it a clang to start the match.  Apparently, I was the only fan with the bad taste to have brought one.  Ron had described the game against Tarleton State as being “friendly” and “less physical” than some of the other matches we’d seen this season.  This would not be the case today.

 

Landy was pushed into tenacious defense right off the bat.  She essentially had a running fight with an attacker rushing the Aggie box.  The attacker was stiff-arming like a running back and picked up a foul.  38’ left in the half, the first really dangerous moment happened as the Aggie goalie, Makenna Gottschalk, got tangled up with the attacker while she was trying to handle the ball.  The goal was wide open before the ball was kicked out. 

 

36’ Sofia got in on the defense and was dragged down by the attacker, who got whistled for a foul.  The Aggies came back on offense.  35’ Mya Hammack was in position for a point blank attack, but was then swarmed by defenders.  33’ AC corner kick.  Makenna slapped out the shot, blocked another shot out, and then fell on a follow up shot off another corner.  Whew!  31’ another AC attack with only one defender in front of her.  The shot went high. 

 

The Aggies were playing physical, too.  29’ Mya tripped an attacker.  The ref either missed it or thought it was a flop.  It was bruising game.  Makenna was yelling her head off.  The AC reserves were screaming.  The AC parents were shouting encouragement constantly. 

 

24’ Bianca Chacon got off the first shot with a weak left-footed kick that went wide.  18’ the Aggies made two more attacks without a shot.  17’ the Aggies had a corner.  Sofia took a close shot.  It was blocked, but Megan Ormson was there to take out the trash and stuff it in.  Gooooooooal!  1-0 Aggies.  I rang my cowbell.  (I was also ringing on saves.)

 

AC tried to regroup.  15’ an AC player whiffed on a kick and fell to the ground, which got a laugh out of the crowd.  It’s okay, honey.  We’ve all been there.  She was taken out right after.  Coach Baarts was screaming across the field telling his girls to keep it up.  12’ Brooke took a shot that went wide.  10’ off an AC free kick, Makenna stopped a roller. 

 

At this point, it began raining.  Some of the crowd left, not the AC parents, of course.  I was okay, but I’d brought my autograph poster (autograph day had been rescheduled to today after the disastrous two-day affair) with me and was worried about it getting wet, along with my little notebook.  I covered the poster with a towel.  The last attack was at 1’.  Mya made a great pass in the box, but just missed the connection. 

 

Halftime

The Aggies stayed on field.  The Wildcats went to the locker room.  Thankfully, the rain let up.  Ron walked around.  I just stood up at my seat.  An exhibition Aggie Softball game was scheduled for after the soccer match.  The Aggie team was on the unused Football practice field warming up.  That was it for the halftime entertainment.             

 

Second Half

The half started with a quick foul.  Megan Ormson was starting a kick as the whistle blew and accidentally hit the ref in the behind.  Oops.  Everyone got a bit of a chuckle as the ref waved his arms at her.  The rest of this got more serious.

 

41’ left in the half, Xitlaly took a hit a midfield.  She got the attention of the ref and trotted off field without waiting for a trainer to come out.  She was holding her head at an odd angle.  40’ Loma McNeese took a shot that went high and wide.  40’ Coach Baarts was going insane on the sidelines as a breakaway AC attack ran into the Aggie box.  The whistle blew for offsides just before the attacker was tackled in the box, which would have been a foul.  Lucky. 

 

Xitlaly was on her knees on the sideline being treated.  She was eventually moved out-of-sight behind the bench.  I think they had her lying down.  39’ the ref gave the AC coach a Yellow Card.  I didn’t hear what the coach said, but the ref did.  38’ Mya passed across the AC goal to Gia Valenti.  She was blocked on two shots.  35’ back the other way, a charging Wildcat knocked down Landy.  She’s usually one of the bigger players on the field, but Landy wasn’t able to impose her physicality on the other team today.  They were tough.

 

35’ off an Aggie corner, the ball rolled to an open Loma.  Lily fell on the ball.  32’ two AC players went down in the Aggie box during an attack.  No call.  The AC parents were not happy.  31’ the Wildcats got three consecutive corner kicks.  One shot went high and Makenna pushed one of shots out.  29’ Mya Gonzales was alone in front of the AC goal.  Lily made a spectacular one-handed dive save.  28’ Loma and Lily collided going for the ball at the top of the AC box.  They were both okay and stayed in.

 

25’ Gia took a shot and Lily fell on it, but the ball got loose.  The Aggies weren’t able to follow up on the attack.  24’ Makenna stopped a bouncing shot.  20’ Xitlaly came back in.  She seemed okay.  I’d been worried about her.  Though 5’2”, she was not the shortest player on the field.  17’ 5’0” Wildcat Natalie Jones ran past a couple of defenders and took a shot.  Makenna made a one-handed save. 

 

15’ on an Aggie free kick, Lily was hit on the head during the scrum at the net.  She staggered a bit before the trainers got out to her, clearly dizzy.  Lily stayed in.  Ron was furious over the lax concussion protocols after Abe Romero’s death (local football player) and Tua Tagovailoa’s horrific NFL injury.  Immediately after the stoppage, Natalie took another shot on goal.  Makenna stopped it and gathered it.  11’ Landy got a Yellow Card.  On the incident, either player could have gotten carded.  Coach Baarts didn’t like the call as he yelled from sidelines.

 

Then it all got frantic.  8’ a ball got loose in the Aggie box.  It was kicked out.  The AC parents were going crazy.  7’ Makenna punched out a solo attack.  6’ Natalie took a chip shot that went just over the net.  5’ Xitlaly took a shot that did the same.  4’ she took a harder shot.  Lily saved it.  1’ AC got a free kick just outside the Aggie box.  The shot went high.  The last second, AC got another free kick in about the same spot.  This one was on target for the top shelf, but Makenna jumped and tipped it over the bar.  1-0 Aggies and we are all exhausted. 

 

Unlike the Football game yesterday, this non-scoring half of play was as exciting as heck.  For a game with the absolute minimum winning score, the rest of the stats are big.  Corner kicks were 10 to 7 Aggies.  Shots were AC 11 to 9 with 5 Shots on Goal each.  Megan Ormson is our hero.  Give gameballs to both goalies, Makenna Gottschalk and Lily Foster.  Xitlaly Hernandez and Lily also get recognition for having hard heads and lots of determination.  After the game, I was surprised as both teams formed a large prayer circle on field (or something like it).  It was a hard-fought, but no hard feelings.  

Megan Ormson, Gia Valenti, Xitlalty Hernandez

Bella Garcia, Bianca Chacon, Tati Jerman, Brooke Schultz, Megan Sheehan

Autographs

I was a bit tired going to down the field for autographs, but I wouldn’t be denied a chance to gush over the girls.  The PA announcer lined up behind me.  I congratulated her on her work.  I meant to do that after a previous event, but wasn’t able to.  She appreciated it.  Broadcaster Duke Keith came down to the field.  I thought he was going to get in line too, but he went over to talk to some people in a tent.  He seemed pleased with the game.  Coach Baarts was on field talking to people.  I didn’t get the opportunity to congratulate him on willing the team to victory.

 

Landy Williams was one of the first girls up at the table.  I saw her being nice to the kids in line in front of me.  (Yes, as usual, it was a bunch of children and me in line for autographs.)  I told her she was my favorite (I like her defense, even with a tough day today) and she was touched.  She also liked the kid’s designed shirt.  Okay, I’ll keep it.  She apparently knew the kid who drew it.

 

I wanted to greet backup goalie Valerie Guha by name, since I knew she was from Germany and a long way from home.  She was all smiles.  I got a good look at Xitlaly Hernandez.  She had blood on her jersey and a large stitched cut on her forehead.  Yeah, they’d stitched her up and put her back in.  I mentioned seeing her yesterday and told her she had the best hair on the team.  She actually appreciated the compliment. 

 

Makenna Gottschalk was smiling as I congratulated her.  I unfortunately mentioned wanting the other goalie’s autograph, too.  That was dumb, especially after she’d just saved the game.  I met Megan Sheehan, Ron’s favorite, and told her about it.  She seemed surprised.  (I just noticed another dumb thing I missed.  She’s from Ireland.  I would have said something.)  I also got to congratulate Megan Ormson on the winning shot.  She was a bit embarrassed.    

 

I told lovely Sofia Beerworth I’d missed her in the last couple of games.  She had been injured, but I didn’t get what it was.  Mya Hammack was radiant.  I told her she had the second best hair on the team.  Lastly, I’ll mention meeting Bella Garcia, my crush on the team.  Oh, wow.  She is even better looking in person.  She also seems like she doesn’t take a lot of nonsense from guys fawning over her.  She didn’t play today.  I asked about her wrist.  She said it was okay.

 

Though softball had just started, I was completely drained.  I don’t think Ron was really desiring to stay for another game either.  Sorry, Softball ladies.  We took off for What-a-burger and I felt better after a meal.  This was busy weekend (and week writing this).  

NM State Aggies vs FIU Panthers Football 10-1-22 Part 2

Continued from Part 1.

This was a cool-looking pic from the team Twitter.  I’m going to make little digression before continuing on with the football game.  Honestly, I’m not sure where to put this, since I’m not doing a pre-postseason MLB post.

 

Halftime Out-of-Town-Scores

The El Paso Chihuahuas played the Reno Aces for the PCL Championship on Friday.  I was really busy with Month End processing at work, but managed to listen to some of it.  The Aces won 6-2.  The Chihuahuas committed four errors in the game, though with only one unearned run.  They did have their chances with 11 runners left on base. 

 

As threatened, MiLB used this game to experiment with a challenge system for balls and strikes.  I’m experiencing physical pain just typing that sentence.  The challenge system in baseball has been a waste of time, except that it’s allowed broadcasters to jam in another commercial.  Doing this for balls and strikes is a nightmare in the making. 

 

How did it work in this game?  At least it worked quick, but of the three challenges I heard, two calls by the ump were overturned.  In other words, the automated strikezone that the PCL has been using all season was more accurate than the umps.  There’s no point to this challenge system, when the automated system is being used to check the ump’s calls.  Just use the automated system.

 

The game was held in Las Vegas in front of over 6,000 fans.  Given Vegas wasn’t playing in the game that was a great crowd.  (Reno being reasonably close probably helped.)  Regardless of the outcome, it was a great season for the Chihuahuas.  Their late-season run to get to the championship was epic and fun to listen to.  It was a team record in wins and they led minor league baseball in runs.  Broadcaster Tim Hagerty got a bit choked up doing his end-of-season goodbyes.  I did, too. 

 

Third Quarter

To reset the game, the Aggies were down 21-7 to FIU.  I can sum up the second half of this game in two words: nobody scored.  I cannot remember the last time I saw or heard of a professional or college football game where nobody scored for a half.  It’s almost impossible in the modern game. 

 

The End.

 

One day, I’m gonna do it.  That’ll be the whole post about a game.  It’ll happen and I’ll post it.  (It’ll probably be after a soccer match.)  But today is not that day.  I’ll continue with the recap anyway, only because there’s a stinger at the end of this.   

 

The Aggies received to start the half.  Diego Pavia was in at quarterback.  Once again, we’re back to shuffling quarterbacks.  The Aggies got a first down.  During a break, the Cheerleaders performed in the north endzone.  About half the student section had left.  Even with another quarterback, the play call was still going with another long pass.  This almost resulted in an interception.  There was a punt and it was a bad one.  FIU started on their 35.

 

Pavia and Gavin Frakes chatted on the sidelines.  Pavia had on headphones to listen to the coach in the booth.  FIU picked up a first down.  On the next set of downs, Syrus Dumas got a sack on third down to force a punt.  FIU QB Grayson James was helped off, but was okay.  The Panthers false started on the first attempt at a punt, but on the second attempt, the receiver let it go and it was downed on the Aggie 2 yard line.

 

The Aggies gained a few yards, but went three-and-out.  Again, there was another fruitless deep ball thrown.  Another bad punt put the Panthers at midfield.  On the sidelines, some kids went down to pose for pictures with the Cheerleaders.  FIU went up tempo again and quickly moved downfield.  On third-and-goal, Chris Ojoh came up big with a sack.  FIU settled for a field goal, which went wide.  No good.  Though the crowd was bleeding out, they were loud.  Give them an assist on the sack and the miss.   

 

The Aggie offense came back out.  Justice Powers made a catch on third-and-four for 26 yards to continue the drive.  That’s what they needed, more mid-level passing.  The short passing game and a Personal Foul on FIU moved the ball downfield to the Panther 28.  A false start and a broken up deep ball stalled the drive.

 

Fourth Quarter

The quarter started with a 44-yard Aggie field goal attempt that missed.  FIU took over and almost immediately it was third down and they had to take a timeout.  Their up tempo style had gotten the better of them.  A pass was deflected on the down, but a Pass Interference call gave them a new set of downs.  FIU rushed the ball with some success, but were finally stuffed on a third down. 

 

The Aggies got the ball back.  Ron was complaining about the length of the media timeouts, but the game was actually clipping along and the game time was under three hours.  I saw Frakes with his helmet on.  He went around and slapped some encouragement on the offensive linemen, but Pavia came back out.  The Aggies started out with a pass for a first down, but it was waved off on an Ineligible Receiver penalty.  The Aggies got a first down anyway on a 23-yard pass to Kordell David.  Jamoni Jones rushed for another.  Unfortunately on a fourth-and-four in FIU territory, Pavia was nearly sacked and threw an incompletion. 

 

The Panthers started taking their time on their final drive with 7 minutes left in the game.  On a third-and-three, Dumas tipped a pass, but it popped right to the receiver for a first down.  FIU drove it down to 2 minutes before the Aggies took a timeout.  They took another timeout on a fourth-and-one.  James made it on a keeper.  The Panthers were in easy field goal range, but decided to just kneel on the ball twice to end the game.  That was sporting of them.  21-7 FIU final.

 

There was a small scuffle after the final play.  I have no idea why.  The Aggie defense stayed on field and shook hands with the Panthers.  Inexplicably, the rest of the Aggie team charged off the field into the tunnel right after the whistle blew.  This seemed like a breach of etiquette.  Other than that pushing and shoving at the end, I didn’t see a lot of animosity.  Moreover, you’d think they might have waved to fans before leaving. 

 

The combined band continued to play and sing as the crowd left.  A bunch of kids were out on the field playing.  I had my personal highlight, while I waited for Ron as he went to the bathroom.  Wave the Wonder Dog and his owner came by.  I finally got to pet him!  He’s a good dog.  Oh, the love.  Well, I suddenly felt a lot better about coming to the game. 

 

I’m going to pick Syrus Dumas as my Aggie player of the game, mostly because he made a couple of good plays. The defense played well, except for that one big play.  The offense . . .  well, at least they didn’t have any turnovers.

 

Leaving the stadium, we heard a PA’s voice at the baseball field.  Driving by, there was a game going on.  Ron wanted to stop, but I’d had enough for the day.  We did not figure out who was playing.  The Aggie Baseball had no notice of a game that night. 

 

Finally, the stinger.  I called dad when I got home with the score.  He said he was sure that he’d heard that the Aggies were two touchdown favorites in the game.  I doubted this, but checked right after I talked to him.  The Aggies were 14.5 point favorites.  I had to do a little digging on that unlikely spread.  I had heard about FIU’s last game briefly last week, because it was a very memorable 73-0 loss to Alabama . . .  oh no, wait. . . it was Western Kentucky?  The Hilltoppers?  That’s one of their conference opponents even.        

 

I hadn’t connected the dots to tonight’s game.  I didn’t realize it was the same team that had gotten blown out.  The Aggie Coaches Show and the pregame show (which I didn’t hear all of) didn’t talk about this, or if they did, they only glanced over it.  Needless to say, this makes the loss even worse.  It’s bad that FIU figured out how to box the Aggie offense (the rushing game) and that the Aggies had no answer.  It is encouraging that the defense was able to adapt and improve in-game. 

 

I do maybe intend to go to at least one other game this season.  Hopefully, we can see another win.     

NM State Aggies vs FIU Panthers Football 10-1-22 Part 1

 So, we’re picking up where we left off.  Aggie Volleyball had suffered an embarrassing defeat this afternoon.  Ron and I were walking up from the Softball Complex where we didn’t watch the exhibition game.  I should mention that we were only going to this Aggie Football game because I’d noticed on Twitter there was a $10 deal on tickets.  They had to be purchased before game day.  Ron got them when he went to Friday’s Soccer match and wouldn’t let me pay him back today.  Thanks, Ron.  (I had to work that night and couldn’t take it off.)

 

We were passed on the quick hike by a short girl with big hair.  Oh, it’s Xitlaly Hernandez from the Soccer team.  She looked good in her little Daisy Duke cutoffs.  She was also on a mission, so I was reluctant to greet her.  When we passed by the concessions, I thought I saw former Volleyball player, Lindsay Blakey.  She still has some eligibility left.  Unfortunately, she’s not a setter.  I saw her again after the game.  I think she was waiting for her boyfriend on the team, punter Josh Carlson. 

 

We took our seats on the southwest end like in the previous two games (8-27-22 and 9-25-22).  Up on the videoboard, they were showing videos of all of the players introducing themselves.  The Cheerleaders were below us taking pictures of each other and playing with Wave the Wonder Dog.  Today was a band day.  There were 11 high school bands, some out-of-state, joining the Pride of New Mexico Band.  These bands filled in the east side of the stadium.  During the opening ceremony, Pistol Pete was still horseless coming out of the tunnel.  We’re going to have to fix this.  It was a decent crowd of over 10,400.  I don’t know how many came because of the ticket offer.  It wasn’t well advertised.  The Student Section looked about half full.

 

First Quarter

The Aggies won the toss and deferred.  (If I didn’t report on this, you’d wonder.)  Score one for the crowd and my new cowbell.  Florida International’s first play was a false start.  It’s hard to prepare for cowbells in practice.  The Aggie defense was stout with sacks on second and third down, which forced a punt.  Gavin Frakes started for the Aggies.  After getting a first down after a series of short gains, a dropped third down pass ended the drive.

 

Pistol Pete came up and worked the crowd.  He didn’t come by me.  I would have asked about the horse.  The Pride band mingled with the visiting bands to form one huge band in the stands.  They all played and cheered together.  FIU began their drive.  Aggie defender Lazarus Williams was knocked down on a play.  The trainers helped him back up.  Jack Nixon on the radio call reported, “Lazarus has risen.”  Ron and I both groaned.  The Panthers were moving at a very quick tempo that kept the Aggies off balance.  There was a big 32-yard run and then a short pass for a touchdown.  7-0 FIU.

 

It may not have been a full Student Section, but it looked like they were getting into it with FIU on the sidelines.  Given they’re located right behind them, I assume visiting teams are getting the business all game long, but I seldom see them giving it back.  Meanwhile, I was smelling pizza.  I’d seen the boxes being delivered from Papa John’s on our way in.  I’d already had a full meal beforehand, but this was inhumane.   

 

The Aggie offense sped up their tempo a bit.  Frakes found Bryce Childress on a 25-yard slant.  On a fourth-and-four on the FIU 33, Frakes connected with Eric Marsh to continue the drive. 

 

Second Quarter

There was this very tall beautiful girl on the sidelines in little mini-skirt with long brunette hair.  Her and her father (?) drifted around the team and she was a constant fan distraction.  I can only imagine what this was doing to the team.  I wonder if she has any eligibility.  Could she play volleyball?  Does she know how to set? 

 

Back to the Aggie drive, a Pass Interference by FIU in the endzone put the ball on the goal line.  From there, Star Thomas ran it in to tie the score 7-7.  The ROTC cannon fired once when the team rushed out on field, but didn’t fire here.  Ron said they were having more problems.  The cadets did pushups instead. 

 

There was an out-of-bounds kick that gave FIU the ball on their 35.  Again, the Panthers rushed and passed quickly and well.  On the last play of the drive, they completed a 25-yard swing pass with a broken tackle that resulted in a touchdown.  14-7 FIU.

 

The T-shirt Gatling cannon fired into the crowd in the break.  The Aggies came out in the Wildcat formation, which unfortunately led to a false start penalty.  They went three-and-out afterward.  The Sundancers performed in the north endzone. 

 

The Panther quarterback nearly fumbled on the first play of their drive.  The Aggie defense is still looking for a takeaway.  On third down, the cowbells came out and FIU called a timeout.  Syrus Dumas broke up a pass to bring up third down.  There was a late Aggie sub before the play, which went to the other side of the field.  There was a swing pass Lexington Joseph.  He turned on the jets and danced down the sideline for 60 yards into the endzone.  21-7 FIU.  That was the first real big play breakdown I’d seen by the Aggie defense.      

 

On the Aggie sideline, some IR players were dancing and singing to Wagon Wheel, the team’s unofficial theme song.  There’s a viral video of the team singing along with a lady on guitar.  The Aggies gained a first down on another Pass Interference penalty.  There was an open receiver downfield that was overthrown.  This was the second deep ball for nothing in the game.  The Aggies made a fourth-and-one on the 50.  Then there was another deep ball thrown into double coverage and broken up. 

 

The punt by Carlson was a bit of an adventure.  The snap was very low and he had to bend down to get it before punting.  FIU wanted a challenge that he’d touched his knee down before kicking.  Thankfully, he didn’t.  Nice job.  The Aggie defense held for a three-and-out.  Frakes was chased on first down trying to make a pass.  The player going after him ended up getting injured.  There was another dropped pass on third down and the Aggies had to punt.  FIU took a knee to end the half.

 

Halftime

Wave and his handler came up the stairs.  He was getting petted the whole way up.  I was blocked by the crowd.  The Cheerleaders came up and sold more cowbells.  The giant combined band performed and did well.  A giant moth attacked the crowd.  Then Godzilla showed up and ran her off.  Kids on the hill in front of the Fulton Center were having fun catching practice kicks.  As the team came back out, Pete was raised on an elevated platform to unveil the “More Cowbell” banner.  The crowd and myself responded.  Ron was annoyed.  Some people don’t like cowbells.     

On to Part Two.

NM State Aggies vs Utah Tech Trailblazers Volleyball 10-1-22

 

Utah Tech was formerly known as the Indians . . . err . . . the Redskins . . . err . . . Dixie State.  Ron and I were back after Thursday’s tough and controversial match.  To recap, one Aggie setter was injured and another (likely) quit.  Coach Jordan had been forced to use a really raw freshman in the match.  They’d gotten by, but today’s opponent was better on paper. 

 

When we got to our seats, former player and current team assistant, Cat Kelly was on the sidelines chatting with a TV production assistant.  She waved to us.  My life is complete.  Cat’s so cute, nice, and showed such perseverance in her playing career.  I did want to talk to her for a minute, but the opportunity wasn’t quite there.  Maybe fate will smile on another day.

Ooh, UT had a pretty redhead on their team, Emma Ricks.  I’m fascinated with seeing a redhead on court for some reason.  I’m still waiting to see ours, Kaleigh Thomas, play.  During warm ups, Taylor Snow was playing ball with a little girl from the stands.  The PA music was good today, though there was a weird instrumental version of Crazy Train. 

There were no Cheerleaders, since they’d be working the Football game.  Ron and I were planning on doing The Double again and seeing Aggie Volleyball and Football on the same day.  Aggie Softball was even on the agenda.  We were also planning on seeing Aggie Soccer on Sunday.  They were already came to watch volleyball on Thursday.  Pistol Pete was here with a Pete trainee?  (He had the mustache.) 

 

The crowd was listed as bigger the previous game (762), but it didn’t feel like it.  There weren’t any kid teams present.  Interestingly, the UT girls and their coach watched the Aggie player intro video.  Different teams have different attitudes about that.  Unfortunately, it contained video of girls no longer playing on the team.         

 

Set 1

The Aggies put out the same starters as the last game.  Freshman setter Rilen Garcia started off on sidelines.  She was showing off her dance steps to the reserves again.  In a change, her and Kacia Brown came in as the first subs.  Anji Vishwanathan also came in.  The Aggies went behind early.  Rilen missed a dig and the Coach started rubbing his head.  Kacia got blocked out at 4-9 UT and it was timeout Aggies.  The Coach talked to the setters, including injured Bianca Perez, separately. 

 

It didn’t help.  4-11 there was a collision on a dig.  Usually sure-handed Libero Darian Markham was having trouble digging for much of the match.  On the next point, Kacia got in a tip to finally break up the run and got a kill on the next point.  Katie Birtcil came up with a solo block and a kill, but the Aggies kept falling behind.  UT was first to 20 on a Setter dump shot.  Jayde Shelton came in for Kacia and got a kill.  Lia Mosher held off a set point with a hard kill, but UT closed it out, 15-25.

 

Set 2: Trailblazers 1, Aggie 0

I think some friends of Rilen were behind us cheering for her.  It was nice of them to be there for her.  Flex Cam zoomed in a hot chick in a tank top walking down the stairs.  She wasn’t interested.  Anji and Ryleigh Whitekettle started as Coach Jordan tried to find the right combination.

 

Ryleigh came out firing with a couple of early kills.  Molly Johnson came in with a kill, but it was challenged and overturned to tie it at 3 all.  Things started going downhill after that.  Katie was blocked on the next point, but came back with a tip kill on the next point.  Rilen and Jayde came in.  Rilen became a real setter and got her first Double Touch call.  (I’m not being sarcastic.  Even very good setters get DT’d.) 

 

Like the last match, the Aggies kept firing high and out with Rilen setting.  5-7 Jayde got a kill on a touch on another high shot.  Katie was blocked out again, but her and Jayde came back with kills off of blocks.  8-10 Lia slammed a kill that put a jolt into the crowd.  Ryleigh closed it to 9-10 by tooling the block.  UT pulled back out in front as Darian let a shot go that fell in.  On two previous points, she’d dug out balls that were going out.  Her head was just not in it.

 

Molly put in a couple of kills, including one that ricocheted into the stands.  However, Rilen had another service error in between the kills.  12-15 UT had a pancake dig on winning another point that went over Darian’s head.  The team was very good at those pancake saves.  That took us to the Media timeout.  The UT coach argued with the down official, though I have no idea why.  There was a t-shirt toss into the crowd, but Pete was not doing it, a staffer was.  

UT came back from the break with a block on Anji.  Their reserves went crazy.  Whittnee Nihipali, who had been getting most of the kills for UT, hit one off Rilen.  Mia Peterson came in as a sub.  Rilen made a nice dump attempt on another point, but Emma Ricks’ serving run continued until Molly ended it on a tip.  Morgan Stewart came in to serve (pictured above with Rilen). 

 

14-20 UT had a whiff off a bad set.  However, it was mostly Aggie errors that ended the set.  Rylee had another net serve.  Ryleigh had a mis-hit.  Sydney McIntosh came in for her and got a kill.  Darian had a net serve.  The set finished 17-25 UT with another kill off Rilen.

 

Set 3: Trailblazers 2, Aggies 0

Sydney started the set for the Aggies.  The Coach also switched to a 5-1 rotation.  I’m not a volleyball expert (obviously).  Basically, it meant the Aggies were just going to go with Rylee Fay setting (pictured at the top).  She served into the net on the first point.  I’m sure she’s been focusing on setting since Bianca got injured.  Being an ace serving specialist, Rylee may have lost some of her touch without enough practice. 

Katie reeled off three kills early.  A UT player nearly slid face-first into the stands trying to dig one of her balls.  UT called a timeout at 5-2 Aggies.  Selena’s Bidi Bidi Bom Bom played on the PA.  It was a nice, happy tune.  Katie came back with another kill.  She also had a kill overruled on a challenge.  8-5 was the first long rally of the set.  Sydney won it on a kill.  Sydney racked up a couple more kills and the Aggie reserves went wild.  13-8 Rylee put in an ace and the crowd exploded.  Timeout UT.

 

Out of the break, Molly was whistled on a hit.  The Coach argued, but the ref ignored him.  Sydney cycled out on the next point to a hero’s welcome with the reserves.  The Aggies kept drilling kills, but also added a couple more service errors.  Ron was counting.  19-13 this was an exhausting rally.  Molly and Mari Sharp took each other out on a dig.  Katie won the point by tooling a block.  Syd added a couple more kills.  The set ended with two UT out swings.  25-16 Aggies.  Rilen met Sydney on the sidelines to congratulate her.

 

Set 4: Trailblazers 2, Aggies 1

Freshman reserve Ashley Herman high-fives everyone before each set begins.  This time, she even slapped a group of fans sitting courtside.  I really hope she gets to play sometime and focus her hyperactive energy on court.  Rylee nearly out-served early, but the Coach got the call overturned to an ace.  The Aggies went up 3-1 on a long rally where UT whiffed on another swing.  Rylee net served on the next point.  The scored tied at 3 on a long rally where Syd fired out.  UT had a DT to tie it at 4. 

 

From here, UT went ahead.  Lia was blocked.  They had her game planned.  5-7 Morgan, standing with the reserves, caught a ball that flew out into them.  The girls had a laugh.  Save the platoon!  5-10 UT got another block.  The Aggies were starting to play sloppy.  In a break, the Coach spoke more to Rylee.  The PA played the rather mellow Dreams by Fleetwood Mac. 

 

5-12 the point didn’t matter, but Katie came out for Mia here.  Katie was having her usual great day, but Coach Jordan was likely conceding here and wanted to rest her and give Mia some playing time.  I looked over later and noticed Katie wasn’t standing with the reserves, but was sitting on the bench.  Player Ops Director Tatyana Battle had her arm around her.  Katie looked like she was wiping away tears.  (If I’m wrong here, I apologize.)  It’s not a good look when your star player is crying on the bench. 

 

Rilen also came back in to set.  The Coach may have gone back to a 6-2 rotation.  The up official called over Mia.  There seemed to be some confusion after all the subs.  She did okay in play with a couple of kills on touches.  Sydney added a couple of more kills, including one that rolled across the top of the net.  Lia buried a kill into a defender.  She was blocked on the next point and slapped the floor afterward. 

 

UT kept adding to their lead.  Rilen and Keke Holloway worked on some dance steps during a challenge break.  The Coach meant to get Ryleigh back into the game, but had to wait to sub her.  He had her sit next to him while waiting.  She looked amusingly uncomfortable.  Mia added a couple more kills before the end.  (My co-worker Taylor, who likes her, should have come to this game.)  The Aggies also had their 13-th and final service error.  UT wins 18-25 and 3-1. 

 

A happy Sydney waved to her friends in the stands and went over to talk to them.  The rest of the team exited immediately.  UT did as well.  They let off a cheer when they got into the tunnel.  The crowd stayed until the end of the match, perhaps in shock.  The Aggie Volleyball team doesn’t lose home games in conference generally. 

 

Perhaps more than UTRGV, Utah Tech definitely played a good game.  They went 9 to 2 in blocks.  Whittnee Nihipali led everyone with 18 kills.  Teammate Chayse Daugherty had 10.  Katie Birtcil led the Aggies with 16 kills.  Sydney McIntosh had 10.  She hasn’t been used much this season, but will probably be seeing some more action now.  The service errors were a killer.  Darian and Rylee had four a piece.  The Aggies might have won even with the iffy setting, but had no chance with bad serving and bad digging on top of it.

 

Ron and I knew that Softball was playing an exhibition double header at the same time, but we went for lunch at Long John Silvers and dessert at Tastee Freeze.  We got back to the university and went to the Softball Complex.  They were playing, but Ron was reluctant to go in and watch, since he’d have to put on sunblock for maybe a half hour of game.  Instead, he parked by the fence where we could see a bit through the gap.  Basically, I could just see the pitcher.  This kind of sucked. 

 

I did retrieve a foul ball in the parking lot and handed it to player, who came out looking for it.  She confirmed they’d only be playing until 5:00, when the gates opened for football.  We ended up parking there and walking up to the stadium.  Tomorrow’s opposing soccer team, Abilene Christian came in to warm up on the soccer field as we went by.            

NM State Aggies vs Southern Utah Thunderbirds Volleyball 9-29-22

Let me tell you, Southern Utah is the toughest two and nine team ever.  And NM State Volleyball’s Setter drama took a dramatic new turn.  I almost lost my dinner.  Watching this match was more stressful than work.  The only good news is that I’m reporting on a win.  Okay, the usual drill.  I had the night off.  Me and Ron went to dinner and then went to the game.  Actually, I almost lost my dinner without the aid of a scary volleyball match.  KFC’s chicken sandwich was a bit subpar.  I apologized to Ron, but he liked it. 

 

At the Pan-Am Center, we ran into everybody.  AD Mario Moccia walked by and I said, “Hi.”  We ran into Assistant Coach Hertel.  He waved at us.  Ron asked him if we were going to win tonight and he gave us a thumbs up.  (Five minutes later, he met with Coach Jordan, who updated him on the Setter situation.  His attitude suddenly changed for the worse.)  I greeted Aggievision producer Rito.  Finally at my seat, I waved to Marketing Director Nicole Sack.  She was probably glad Ron wasn’t with me at the time to bother her with more of his marketing ideas.

Honestly, I’d never heard of Southern Utah.  I had no idea what their nickname was.  They must have been one of the teams that suddenly joined the WAC right before the start of the season.  Coach Jordan wasn’t on this week’s Aggie Coaches Show, so there was no scouting report.  Their record didn’t look good on tonight’s program.  They were a happy, pleasant-looking group on court warming up.  Their jerseys had their names on the back, a college rarity.  Their Coach, Kacey Nady (pictured), and Assistant Coach, Berkley Oblad, were both very attractive blondes.  Both women were accomplished players (from Oregon and Utah respectively).  Berkley, while very stylishly dressed, still looked intimidating on court with her height.       

 

Then the Aggies came out on court.  The first warning sign was seeing Setter Bianca Perez (pictured at the top, kind of like a cover jinx) wearing a heavy wrap on one of her wrists.  Maybe it’s not as bad as it looks, I thought hopefully.  Setting only requires the use of two good hands.  Warning sign number two, I frantically looked for Alana Embry on the floor.  She wasn’t there.  Uh, oh. 

 

There was radio call for tonight.  Broadcaster Adam Young confirmed Bianca’s thumb injury and that it was probably season-ending.  That hurt, because even as a freshman, she’d won the starting job setting and was also doing well serving.  Bianca didn’t seem like a freshman and she was starting off with a good physical build for the position.     

 

Rylee Fay is also doing a good job setting and serving, but with the 6-2 system Coach Jordan uses, the team has to have two setters.  (As if I understand technical volleyball.  You might use other system, 5-1, if you have a really good setter.  In 6-2, you get more attack options.)  With Alana not there, I’m frantically searching the roster.  On the pregame, Adam and the Coach tagged local (-ish) freshman, Rilen Garca as the alternate.  She’d be making her collegiate debut.  I have to think she didn’t really think she’d be playing this year as the fourth setter on the depth chart.  The Coach often takes in walk-ons to be nice (or to have more girls to yell at).  

The disturbing thing was that neither Adam nor the Coach mentioned Alana.  That’s a real bad sign.  Alana’s reintroduction as setter did not go well for the team against UTRGV last week.  She was not used in the next game against CBU, a win, but she seemed happy enough on the sidelines.  Certainly after Bianca’s injury, the team needed Alana.

 

Given the lack of comments and necessity, the split was acrimonious and sudden, like right before game time.  (She was still listed on the roster until the next day.)  I kind of hate to speculate, but maybe Alana didn’t like whatever position she was offered.  If Alana wanted to quit and hurt the team, she really picked the right moment.  Whatever happened, good luck to Alana in her future endeavors.  Sorry we didn’t get to see you play more.

 

Oh, well.  What’s one player?  It’s not like the Setter handles the ball on just about every play and directs the offense.  What’s the worst that could happen?  (See that UTRGV game recap.)  The team captains and the refs gathered for the coin flip to determine first serve.  I picked up a couple of loose balls in the stands from practice and returned them.  Usually there are fans closer to the court that retrieve them.                       

 

A pretty good crowd came in with attendance of 750.  A big group of teen girls came in wearing the same t-shirt.  They seemed too big to be a team.  On court, an itty bitty little girl was brought over to meet Pistol Pete and get a picture.  It was too cute.

 

Set 1

Our starters were Rylee, Lia Mosher, Katie Birtcil, Mari Sharp, Molly Johnson, Taylor Snow, and Darian Markham.  It all started so well.  The Aggies went up 12-1 to start the set.  Kills were being distributed around.  Fay, who’s leading the conference in aces, put in another.  Thunderbird Rylee Achtzehn (pictured above) had a nice off-court save.  (Yes, I put up her picture because she’s pretty.)  On that point, 11-1, the up official’s ladder got bumped and knocked off its spot. 

 

At 16-2, Rilen came in for the first time.  (Two Rylee’s, one Ryleigh, pronounced the same, who also came in with Rilen.  You think I’m not getting confused?)  Rilen had her first service error, but also her first assist on a bump set to Ryleigh.  20-7 she also made good set to Taylor and then came off.  The Coach immediately started talking to her on the sidelines.  22-9 Fay (easier to type) made a one-handed save on a dump shot by Thunderbird setter Macy Short that went over for a kill.  That’s when you know things are going well.  Fay also had pancake save.  Katie finished the set with a kill, 25-12 Aggies.       

 

Set 2: Aggies 1, Thunderbirds 0

At this point, I was feeling sorry for SUU.  (Can’t use “SU,” since that’s Seattle U.)  That was about to change.  Dramatically.  The teen girls were posing for Flex Cam in the break, along with one of the Cheerleaders.  The main distraction in the crowd was a beautiful, stylish young woman on crutches.  It was an odd sight.

 

The Aggies started off well again, going up 5-1, including an ace by Mari.  On the next point, Macy put in a dump shot.  That was her fourth attempt.  She’s apparently known for being an offensive setter.  Katie was called for a Backcourt Attack to tie the score at 8.  At 8-9 SUU, the Coach called a timeout.  I noticed with Rilen setting, the Aggie hitters were missing high consistently.  Teammates and coaches looked angry as they were talking to each other.

 

The score stayed close with the Aggies generally staying in front.  The Aggies were getting aces.  Lia had a kill off a great feed by Rilen, but she later had her second service error.  Jayde Shelton, who’d had an overpass kill earlier, got a kill that was described on the radio as, “Wasn’t pretty.”  Lia got a kill on an awkward left hand tip kill.  Points were even until 23-24.  SUU had a great off-court save and got a free ball kill as the Aggies watched in shock.  The Aggies took a timeout.  The teen girls did the Chicken Dance as a group.  The set ended 23-25 SUU on an Aggie Net Violation.

 

Set 3: Aggies 1, Thunderbirds 1

The teen girls were now doing the Macarena.  They were having a great time.  A very stylish-looking little tweener girl was doing it in the aisle.  (She seemed to be with her grandparents.  I wanted to tell them to tell her parents that they’re letting her grow up way too fast.)  On court, the Aggies looked serious.  The Thunderbirds looks loose.

 

The Aggies got off to another fast start thanks to three aces by Fay (which also activated the Raising Cane’s Challenge).  5-1 SUU got their first point off of Darian and Katie’s confusion on court coverage.  Kaitlyn Espiritu and Cat Kelly seated on the Aggie bench both covered their eyes after the play.  A couple of out-serves got the Thunderbirds back into it.  The kill of the match was 12-7 where Mari got an overpass slam. 

 

SUU kept hanging around.  They got to within 13-12.  Lia and Katie combined on a block, 15-13.  17-15 Katie had another of her steady stream of kills in the match.  That was her 15-th.  Adam on the radio exclaimed, “She’s putting the team on her back.”  The Coach started to work in some more players.  Mia Peterson and Anji Vishwanathan came in.  18-15 Anji had a beautiful swing for a kill. 

 

It started to get weird, though.  18 all, Katie was called for another Illegal Attack.  Also, both setters were on the court at the same time.  18-19 SUU and the Aggies took a timeout.  The Coach talked to Fay separately.  21-20 Lia got an overpass kill off a great serve by Fay.  Timeout SUU.  22-20 Lia got a tip kill on a low set.  23-20 Lia got the kill hitting the sideline.  24-20 Fay with an ace.  The Aggies finished the set with a 6-0 run, 25-20.

 

Set 4: Aggies 2, Thunderbirds 1

The hot chick on crutches hopped her way up the stairs.  It was painful to watch.  I briefly considered running over and offering to carry her up the stairs.  Physical reality barred me.  Over the threshold, sure.  Up a long flight of stairs, probably not. 

 

Finally, the Thunderbirds did not allow the Aggies to run up the lead to start a set.  We had our first long rally at 1 all.  SUU took it when Mari went into the net.  Lia ended another long rally with a kill at 3-1 Aggies.  3-2 an exhausted Mari served a floater into the net.  SUU won the next long rally in an ugly fashion and served an ace to tie the score at 6.  At 6-9 SUU the Aggies took a timeout.  I’m starting to think that the Aggies have trouble playing on the south end of the court.  They always begin matches on the north end.  I’ve seen enough struggles to wonder if I’m actually on to something.

 

My co-worker, Taylor, who has met Mia (well, hit on her) was at this match.  I’d been telling him when the matches were this whole season.  He said he was going to be here tonight with his little girls.  (Taylor is still young himself.)  I looked for him and he looked for me, but we never saw each other.  He did arrive late and leave early.  Even with that, him and his girls really enjoyed the match and wanted to come back.  Taylor plays in a beach volleyball league, so he is interested in the sport.

 

I bring this up because Mia came in for a few points here.  SUU extended their lead on an overpass kill off of Mia.  I also noticed a couple times players on court were having to position her before the serve.  Eventually, she was pulled out.  Taylor was pissed the Coach didn’t leave her in more, but I told him that she was kind of lost out there.    

 

The Aggies were behind until Katie tied it at 14 by tooling a block.  Another dump shot nearly won that point for SUU.  On the next point, Macy was called for an illegal attack to give the Aggies the lead.  From here it was a dogfight with the Aggies just staying ahead.  The Coach challenged a block out and got the call overturned to make it 21-18.  22-19 was another long rally with incredible saves on both sides.  Katie finished it with a kill and the crowd erupted.

 

SUU called a timeout.  Their girls were still all smiles.  22-20 Macy got in her best dump shot with her back to the net.  A couple of SUU errors got the Aggies to match point, which was completely insane with the Aggies scrambling on their side of the net.  Lia whiffed on a swing and it was saved and hit back over.  SUU shot out to give the Aggies the win!

 

Wait a second, Coach Nady challenged the point as the fans were moving towards the exits.  To their credit, the exiting fans waited at the top of the stairs.  Rilen was with the reserves showing them her dance steps during the review.  The call was overturned and play continued.  SUU won the next two points.  Timeout Aggies.  The crowd was still there and they were loud.  I noticed Lia on court.  She’s often smiling, but here, she was grinning like she knew something.  There was a reason for that.  She’d seen the future.  Lia put a hard tap into the corner for the win, 25-23 and 3-1.            

 

Rilen got hugs from her friends and family.  Bianca got pictures with Pistol Pete.  Taylor Snow and then the rest of the team signed autographs for the teen girls in the crowd.  Everyone was pretty happy, even if long-term questions lingered.  Southern Utah was scrappy as heck and the Aggies were having problems and talented their way out of them.  If the Thunderbirds hadn’t dug themselves in a hole to start three of these sets, this might have turned out differently.       

 

Great as ever, Katie Birtcil led with 21 kills had 14 digs.  Lia Mosher had 16 kills and some of them were big time.  Mari Sharp had 9 with 13 digs.  It was an awesome game for her.  Makenzie Templeton paced the Thunderbirds with 10 kills.  Kills were 61 to 47 for the Aggies.  Rylee Fay had 7 aces and 36 assists.  She was on fire.  Aces went 10 to 3.  There were 9 service errors.  Rilen Garcia had 3 of them, but also 15 assists.  In the postgame interview, Coach Jordan said he wanted to have a talk with her Santa Teresa coach about her serving. 

 

Ron delivered me straight back home without going for ice cream.  On TV, I caught the final set of UNLV beating Fresno State on Stadium.  I was pleased to see some extra volleyball.  From here, I waited to see what would happen at Saturday’s match.