NM State Aggies vs Jax State Gamecocks Volleyball 11-9-24 Part 2

Part 1.

 

Set 4: Aggies 2, Gamecocks 1

The up official had a chat with the Softball girls between sets.  It seemed friendly.  JS took the first point of the fourth set after another insane rally.  The teams traded service errors.  Gamecock Kayla Williams blocked Starr Williams to give them a 1-3 lead. 

 

A JS service error and an Ashley Herman touch kill got it to 3-4 JS, but a service error by Rilen Garcia made it 3-5.  Mari Sharp and Yasso Amin made kills to tie it at 5.  The PA was in to it calling the kills.  A double touch gave the Aggies the lead, but a service error by Mari and a JS ace gave the Gamecocks back the lead.  There was some confusion on who was supposed to receive that ace.  Kacia Brown aced to tie it at 8 and then handed it right back on a service error.

 

Yasso tooled a block to tie it at 9.  An Aggie foul gave JS back the lead, but Yasso tied it at 10 with a kill.  Makayla Martinez then had a service error.  I think that was all of the Aggie starters making a service error this set.  A lift was then called on the Aggies to give JS a two-point lead.  Starr had kill and Mari hit the backline to tie it at 12.  A JS service error tied it at 13.  A four touches call gave the Aggies a 14-13 lead.  JS took a timeout.

 

In the break, Pistol Pete tossed out some mini-footballs with PA Ed.  He’d come by to watch some of the game before going over to call the football game.  He’s a fan.  Yasso went by and said, “Hi,” to him.  Out of the break, Rilen had a service error to put JS in the lead, and then JS returned the favor likewise, 15-14 Aggies.  Okay, after 9 service errors in this set, I think we can say both teams were playing tight, but they finally worked it out of their system by this point.

 

16-14 Aggies, Yasso had a kill.  Brooklyn Schiffli on Jax State went hard into the metal plate in front of the sideline table going after the ball.  She was okay.  The girls were going all out.  That lead wouldn’t last.  JS had a kill to make it 16-17.  Now, Coach Jordan looked mad.  Yasso came back and tied it at 17 with a kill.  Ash put the Aggies up on a kill, 18-17, off a set by Kacia.  Nicole Briggs dunked an overpass, but a JS setter dump brought the Gamecocks within 1.  After six JS challenges, Coach Jordan decided to do one and the call was overturned, 20-17 Aggies.  During the break, a couple of little girls were playing catch with a mini-football.  Neither could catch, but they were having a good time.

 

JS got within a point anyway on a block off Yasso, 20-19.  Timeout Aggies.  A little girl sitting behind the bench with her friends was put on camera and wished “Happy Birthday,” by the PA.  It was 22-19 Aggies after long swing by JS.  The team wanted their coach to challenge, but got a timeout instead.  (Was he finally out of timeouts by this point?)  Back to play, JS put one into the antenna, Nicole made a block, and Yasso had the finishing kill.  Aggies win 25-21 and 3-1.  What a workout and all I was doing was writing about it!

 

The Hitting percentage for the match was .112% to .250% for the Aggies, but JS was way up in blocks, 11-6.  Here’s your stat of the match, though.  The Aggies had 8 aces to 9 service errors.  The Gamecocks had 5 aces to 14 service errors.  As bad as the Aggies were serving in the last set, Jax State killed themselves at the service line.        

 

The Gamecocks were paced by Kayla Williams with 18 kills and our lovely Finnish player, Sanni Rantanen, had 14.  Yasso Amin led the Aggies with 15 kills.  Starr Williams had 12.  Libero Darian Markham finished her last home game with 20 digs and the all-time record.  I have to single out Nicole Briggs, who was dominating in Set 1.  She had 6 kills and 4 blocks and was hitting .556.  Today, you really saw that flash of potential.  I hope she’s got more of that for the rest of her final season. 

 

Lastly, we had 7 challenges with 4 reverses.  Six were by the JS Coach Derek Schroeder, who was doing whatever he could to get his team a victory today.  They’ve had a rough season at 1-15 in conference.  He did a good job getting them fired up to play, that’s for sure.  However, clearly the refs weren’t having a good day.  The pretty line judge wasn’t working today like she was yesterday.  Coincidence?   

      

Senior Day Ceremony

This is going to take a minute with seven graduates.  Broadcaster Adam Young recorded a voiceover listing the players’ accomplishments.  Sydney McIntosh always seemed to have potential, but was overshadowed by other hitters on the team.  She unfortunately spent this season on the shelf injured. 

 

On that matter, Ryleigh Whitekettle’s injury wrecked the team.  As much as other players stepped up, seeing your star player go down at the beginning of the season was crushing to morale and I don’t think they recovered.  Possibly worse, I don’t know if they’re beating WKU or UTEP or UNM this season even with her.  I don’t know if Ryleigh is going to play as a graduate here, or somewhere else, or not at all, but she finishes her career awesome in any case. 

 

I always thought of Aleka Darko as our little blocking machine.  (She’s not little.  I’m just being endearing.)  She had the best smile on the team since Briana Ainsworth and that’s saying something.  I think my dad likes her, too.  A weeping Rilen brought flowers out to her.  I wouldn’t have picked her as sentimental.  Nicole Briggs . . . just one more year, please!  I’ll make the Coach focus the offense around you.  She’s a transfer portal heartbreaker.  

 

Yasso Amin is another one.  When she’s on, she’s been so good.  What a great transfer!  She’s also working on her second degree in Kinesiology.  (Individualized Studies was most of the other girls’ majors.)  Kacia Brown was definitely one of those players who stepped up this season.  Between hitting, blocking, and serving, she’s had big play after big play all year.  Ashley brought flowers out to her and gave her a big hug and was obviously holding back tears.

 

I’ve seen Mari Sharp as the captain.  She’s basically out there on every point, which means she can hit, block, dig, and serve at a high level.  Mari helps other players be great, because the other team can’t ignore her on any point.  She’s getting a degree in Public Health.  Mari came strutting out wearing cowboy boots, but her presumed sister stole the show in tight, shiny black leather pants and spiked heels.         

 

Legendary broadcaster Jack Nixon did the voiceover for Darian Markham’s career, which seemed appropriate.  This was a double dip was Darian.  She got her Senior Ceremony last year **(11-4-23)***, before she decided to come back.  Instead of a framed jersey, this time she got a pair of signed volleyballs.  I’ll repeat what I wrote about Darian last year.  The Coach praised her effort in doing so much on court.  He turned to the team, “She’s doing so many jobs that aren’t being done.”  Ouch!       

 

Perhaps because of the number of graduates, they didn’t do their usual ceremony, where the Coach says something about each girl and then they get an opportunity to give a farewell speech.  Usually, there’s lots of tears, “thank you’s,” and some gentle ribbing.  This time, an angry Coach Jordan took the microphone and said how proud he is that the program turns out exceptional young women, who will be successful in whatever they do after schooling.  He then delivered an ultimatum that this senior class needs to take the team to an NCAA birth.  Mic drop.  Well . . . that took everyone by surprise.  I’ll give updates on the team in later posts.       

Other College Sports

This post has gone on way too long, so why stop?  Dad mentioned the former Aggie star quarterback and Vanderbilt QB, Diego Pavia, was suing the NCAA.  It’s something about NIL eligibility.  Vanderbilt lost this weekend and only scored one touchdown.  Diego needs to concentrate on football, not lawsuits.

 

I watched some of a college football game back at dad’s apartment after we went out for pizza at Dominos.  That was just what I needed, to spend nearly $30 on an okay large pepperoni pizza and parmesan knots.  I’m not a Domino’s fan, but dad wanted pizza and it was on the way home.  Also, I was too hungry to lobby for a better pizza.  There was a ticker update on Aggie Football’s game against WKU.  They were down 14 points five minutes into the game. 

 

When I got back home, I noticed UTEP Football was leading late against Kennesaw State on the ticker.  (I was still watching football at home.)  I decided to listen to that game on the radio first, thinking it would be over quick.  They were not on KROD AM as usual.  They were doing a postgame show on a Miner Men’s Basketball game.  The hosts extremely salty over a 89-60 loss to Utah Valley.  Yeah guys, you’re going to do great in the Mountain West conference, especially the way you’re “handling” a “pathetic” WAC foe.

 

I remembered hearing something about the football game being on KLAQ FM.  For a game almost over, this game ended up taking over a half hour.  KS tied it.  UTEP had a chance to win it with a long field goal, missed it, but got a penalty and a closer re-kick that also missed.  The Miners finally won it, 43-35, but it took double overtime.     

 

I then turned over to Aggie Football, sort of reluctantly, but the Aggies had mounted a comeback to get within 3 points.  Unfortunately, they were unable to tie it and WKU pulled away, 41-28.  The Aggie defense was actually decent, but 20 points off of 5 offensive turnovers did them in.  It’s all coming down to that last game against UTEP for both programs.  At least the crowd got fireworks afterward.

 

The call-in postgame show featured a couple of angry fans, probably season ticket holders.  They cannot bear the thought of this team regressing back to sub-.500, after two straight years of going to bowl games.  I kept listening thinking they were going to hand it off to Aggie Men’s Basketball for their game against Utah Tech, but there was no coverage.  Volleyball had zero broadcast coverage this weekend and they had nobody available to broadcast basketball with Jack and Adam doing football.  This is a problem, but at least the important thing was that the Aggies won 75-63 on the road, which was a bug-a-boo for them last season.   

NM State Aggies vs Jax State Gamecocks Volleyball 11-9-24 Part 1

I started off today with some unnecessary drama.  I was supposed to go to today’s Volleyball game between the Aggies and the Jax State Gamecocks with dad and his neighbor, Lamae.  I called dad twice in morning and got no answer.  I hurried down to his apartment and found him there fine.  He just apparently didn’t feel like answering the phone. 

 

Lamae unfortunately wasn’t feeling well and wasn’t going to be able to go.  She’d enjoyed the last game (10-26-24) so much that she’d bought a volleyball shirt.  Now she wouldn’t be able to wear it to a game this year, as this was the Aggies’ final home game.  Dad was still okay with going, though the weather was so nice, he lamented being inside.  Also unnecessary was the argument I had with dad about the route to take to the Pan-Am Center.  With part of the parking lot blocked for football, it can be tricky to get in.  (By the way, with the increased ticket prices, my $150 Aggie Country Pass has already paid for itself.) 

 

Inside, the Aggie Assistant Coaches were again dressed alike with crimson tops and black pants.  The injured Aggie players were all dressed in black.  Attendance was a bit light at 432.  One of the suites was full.  There was a guy in the Booster section with a Coach Jordan poster.  On one side, he looked happy.  On the other, he was face-palming.  (That side of the poster would be used several times today.)  Again, there was no media coverage of today’s game, nor any Cheerleaders.  However, Pistol Pete was present and there weren’t any technical glitches.  PA Ed would be working football, but a student replacement did a good job in his absence.  Three Softball girls were again working as ballgirls.

 

Once again, I didn’t see Morgan Stewart with the team, though she was still listed on the program and the website.  Maybe she’s out sick.  Her not being here today would probably prove unfortunate later.  I found out Ashley Herman was the one who started the clapping tradition during the player intro video.  (Who else?)  The player intro’s were way more enthusiastic than usual.  Makayla did a forward flip.  Kacia Brown broke out her best dance moves.  Nicole Briggs did a cartwheel.  Starr Williams danced!  Really!  Inexplicably, Mari Sharp was skipped.  Aleka Darko, who wasn’t starting was accidently announced in her place.  Undeterred, Mari executed the splits on the floor.

 

Set 1

I’d told dad that ***yesterday’s game*** was a complete walk-over.  We both thought this would be a quick match and that I was going to have to talk dad into staying for the Senior Day ceremony.  The first point of the match disabused that notion immediately.  It was an insane rally with JS making some great digs and Darian Markham making a pancake dig.  Starr finished it off with a kill.  This set the tone for the rest of the match.

 

Darian made another pancake dig on the next point, as JS tied it up.  Starr had a kill on the next point.  3-1 Aggies, JS challenged the call.  We didn’t realize at the time that this was more foreshadowing for the match.  It was upheld.  Also held up was a pair of golden balloons by the Reserves, which read, “2K.”  Darian had just gotten 2,000 digs.  She’s the only Aggie player to do so. 

 

Rilen Garcia aced to make it 4-1 Aggies.  Gamecock Katelyn Crofts had a block at 6-3 Aggies.  Yasso Amin scored the next two kills by hitting the backline and one with a touch.  Nicole decisively slapped one down at 9-5.  Yasso then had a tip kill.  A JS player tried to dig it while laid out on her back.  Nellie Reese aced.  12-5 Aggies and JS took a timeout.  The PA recognized Darian’s accomplishment.  The girls let off a big cheer in the huddle and Darian had an ear-to-ear smile. 

 

From there, Starr had another kill, Nellie had another ace, and Nicole had a dunk.  16-5 Aggies, Yasso had a block that was challenged.  This call was reversed.  That was a 7-point run on Nellie’s serve.  JS was playing very hard during that run with several good saves.  Nicole came right back with a kill.  17-7 was another long rally.  Mari made a dig at the net with her back to the net, but JS won it on a touch. 

 

Nicole had another kill.  She was on fire.  Kacia and Starr teamed up for a block.  The Reserves attempted a Cheerleader-like lift in celebration.  21-8 Aggies, the JS team wanted a touch on their swing.  Their Coach apologized to the ref and challenged again.  This call was reversed, 20-9.  Kacia came right back with a kill.  The Reserves shouted, “Boom!”  From there, Mari aced, Yasso tooled a block, and the Reserves went, “Woof!”  The Aggies took the set, 25-11, on a long serve by JS.  It looked in.  They should have challenged that one.

 

Set 2: Aggies 1, Gamecocks 0

Pistol Pete went to work tossing t-shirts to the crowd in the break.  So far, so good in the match, but troubling signs were there.  Starr started the second set with a touch kill.  I didn’t see a touch.  Maybe the JS Coach should have challenged it.  Sanni Rantanen tied it on a good kill for JS.  Jax State took their first lead of the weekend on a block at 3-4 JS. 

 

Kacia tied it with a kill and Mari aced to give the Aggies back the lead.  JS retook the lead with an overpass kill.  Kacia retied it at 6 with a kill.  JS retied it at 7 with a kill.  Ashley ducked under a serve to get the Aggies back in the lead, but an Aggie service error tied it back at 8.  JS had a service error gave the Aggies back the lead.  Mari made a quick reaction slap and put in a kill at 10-9 Aggies. 

 

JS tied it again, but Kacia and Mari had kills to put the Aggies back up.  13-10 Aggies, Rilen made a great backset to Ashley for a kill.  Yasso made a tip kill to put the Aggies up by 3.  Sanni made an impressive kill into triple blocking to start a JS comeback.  After an attack error by Ash and Nicole getting blocked, it was tied at 15.  Timeout Aggies.  Coach Jordan was not mad yet. 

 

Ashley came back with a kill, along with Starr, and Mari made a solo block.  19-17 Aggies, Starr finished a point that I think had three overpasses.  Mari tooled a block to put the Aggies up by 2, but they couldn't pull away.  An attack error by Mari tied it at 20.  JS took the lead by blocking a swing by Kacia.  They also made an impressive off-court save on the point.  Timeout Aggies.  Coach Jordan still didn't look mad.

 

Mari tied it back up with a kill and aced to give the Aggies the lead.  JS sided out.  They made a serve that was ruled long, but the team wanted it challenged.  It was overturned.  Yasso tied it on the next point, but the JS challenged that call.  The JS Coach turned to the Booster section held out his arms and said something that looked apologetic.  The crowd in front of him laughed.  The call was upheld.  Whew!  This actually got a big cheer.

 

Kacia aced to put the Aggies at set point, 24-23.  The crowd stood, but sat back down as JS called a timeout.  We got plenty more exercise before the end.  Ash put the Aggies at set point again at 25-24 with a kill.  She then went back to serve.  Have I seen her serve before?  A four touches call on the Aggies retied the score at 25. 

 

Yasso put the Aggies back up on set point with a kill.  She then went back to serve?  Okay, now I know that something is up, because the Coach stopped letting her serve.  We all love Yasso's high-toss Brazilian-style serve, but she nets it too often, which was what happened.  Was Coach Jordan out of subs for the set?  I don't know what was going on here.  Like I mentioned before, these are the kind of spots where the Coach usually puts in Morgan, who is a steady server.

 

JS handed it back on a net serve for another Aggie set point.  By the way, the crowd is going up and down on every set point.  The Gamecocks took the next point and . . . whoa, whoa, whoa!  Rilen was at the net blocking!  This happened at the end of yesterday’s game.  What's going on here? 

 

JS took the next point, but Rilen got a block!  The Reserves went crazy.  I was going crazy.  The Gamecocks took the set on a kill that Ash wasn't able to dig, 27-29 JS.  It was almost worth losing the set to see the 5'7” (that's generous) setter make a block.  At least we could all finally sit down.

         

Set 3: Aggies 1, Gamecocks 1

Except, I got up to go to the bathroom.  In the concourse, I ran right into the Football team headed off to Aggie Memorial Stadium.  I gave them a round of applause.  I saw Coach Sanchez and got a fist-bump from one of the players.  I also said, “Hi” and “Good luck,” to Shiyazh Pete as he went by.  He gave me a wave.

 

There was no let-up on court.  The first point was again an exhausting rally.  Starr finished it with a kill.  She's your best option for finishing.  Mari scored a kill, but JS got a pair of kills to tie it.  There was another long rally on that second kill.  I couldn't hear what he said, but I'm pretty sure the Coach said something sarcastic to the Reserves.

 

Starr tooled a block, but an unidentified Aggie foul kept it close.  6-3 Aggies, Aleka and Kacia made a big block.  Yasso was blocked and then Aleka and Kacia were tooled on a block twice to tie it at 6.  Kacia gave the Aggies back the lead with a kill and then Aleka served.  I'm pretty sure I haven't seen that this season either.  I'm not sure what the Coach's strategy is here.  (I hope the Coach doesn't have me serving by the end of this.) 

 

JS had a kill to take a 7-8 lead.  Mari made a heady dodge and avoided a JS swing to tie it at 8.  A miss-set for JS gave the Aggies back the lead.  Nellie put in a pair of aces that had the Reserves sliding on the floor in appreciation.  Nicole and Starr made a block and the Reserves were doing Cheerleader lifts again.  12-8 Aggies and a timeout by JS.

 

Starr brought the thunder out of the break with a kill.  She scored another kill, before a JS setter dump ended the run.  JS followed that with back-to-back aces.  Makayla was having a problem receiving suddenly.  Aleka broke the run with a block.  The Aggies were running around all over the court on the next point, but managed to win it.  JS took a timeout with the Aggies up, 19-15. 

 

Yasso had a touch kill out of the break.  She also added a no-look walk-away to the kill to look cool.  Mari fired out on the next point and hit the line judge.  (No damage.)  21-17 Aggies, Yasso tooled a block and Maggie Lightheart (our sweetheart) came in to serve.  She'd been used as a serving sub last year, but seemed to fall out of the Coach's favor since then. 

 

The Aggies took the next point, but the JS Coach challenged it.  With a long delay, I noticed some of the girls in the Reserves having a serious talk with Starr.  Were they asking her how she got to be so great?  The call was upheld.  No drama for the rest of the set.  Nicole and Starr finished it off with kills, 25-18 Aggies.

 

Part 2.

NM State Aggies vs Jax State Gamecocks Volleyball 11-8-24

In contrast to yesterday, today was beautiful.  The sky was completely clear with only a slight chill in the air.  I walked over to McAlister’s and could see the valley in sharp detail.  I got the Choose Two option for the first time.  My choices were the BLT+A (half a sandwich) and the Chicken Pot Pie soup.  It all tasted fine, but ended being a lot less food than just getting a normal sandwich, which would have cost less.  Live and learn.

 

 

The first thing I saw on the Pan-Am Center court was Ryleigh Whitekettle running a sprint against a teammate.  Unfortunately from the way she was dressed, it was obvious that she wasn’t going to be playing.  (Such a tease.)  That was the other thing I noticed.  Ry, the other injured players, the assistant coaches, and the staff were all wearing sweater vests and khakis.  The girls looked darling.  Coach Jordan, dressed similarly as usual, seemed amused and everybody got their picture taken before the match.

 

Well, enough sugar-coating, Aggie Volleyball played WKU, who is unbeaten in conference, last week and was swept out in two matches with them.  All six sets were fairly close, but the Aggies lost all of them.  Starr Williams did play well there.  After getting swept by the Lobos and the Miners earlier, this season is a disaster by NMSU Volleyball standards.  The C-USA Tournament will be in El Paso in two weeks.  It’s looking like WKU and UTEP for the championship in front of a big Miner crowd, unless the Aggies can spoil the party.

 

More bad news, Aggie Soccer played this afternoon in their tournament.  They played Liberty in the semi-finals and lost, 1-0.  Shots were 13 to 1 with 5 shots on goal to 0 all in favor of Liberty.  Goalie Valerie Guha got peppered, but did well to keep the team in it.  From yesterday’s promo at Women’s Basketball, I found out Loma McNeese’s nickname is “The Queen of Las Cruces.”  I concur.  In any case, the girls had a great season with their tie of nationally-ranked USC and their win over Oregon.  Of course my personal highlight was meeting Mya Hammack (my favorite).  They should still be great next year. 

 

There were no TV cameras at today’s game and nobody was there to call the game either.  I guess AggieVision was setting up for Football tomorrow afternoon.  It’d be the same for tomorrow’s Volleyball game.  There were also problems with scoreboard operations tonight and the sound system was muted.  The odd side effect of no TV coverage was that there weren’t any Media timeouts, so the match went quick. 

 

Some Softball players were acting as ballgirls tonight.  I couldn’t identify them.  Coach Jordan had an involved chat on the bench with a teen girl from the stands.  I wonder if he’s recruiting her.  (I have no idea.  Can anybody just go down there and talk to the Coach?)  Morgan Stewart was not with the girls tonight, though she’s still on the program.  If she’s left, Ron would be devastated.  Maybe she’s out sick. 

 

It was a decent crowd (attendance 545).  Two of the suites were full.  We had a live Anthem performance.  The girls were having fun.  Some of the girls on the bench had paddles with the faces of senior girls on them that they’d put up over their own faces.  Kacia Brown was especially giddy.  In player introductions, she attempted to lift Makayla Martinez like a Cheerleader.  (Leave that to the pros, Kacia.)  Then she did a little dance for her intro.

 

Set 1

Now we come to some good news and some bad news.  I made the mistake of looking at the program and couldn’t help but notice that today’s opponent, the Jax State Gamecocks, is 1-13 in conference.  I try not look, but it happens.  Well, you can guess what happens next.  I could recap this match in one sentence: the Aggies walked over the Gamecocks.

 

But why waste my notes?  Mari Sharp started the match with a kill.  Makayla was hustling with a couple of dives two points later.  Yasso Amin rotated in and rattled off a couple of kills.  Mari hustled with an off-the-court save.  Kacia then got a kill and went on serve.  Yasso came up with a block and Kacia aced.  11-3 Aggies and JS took a timeout.  Tess Fuqua in the Reserves was super excited in the huddle. 

 

Back out of the break, Yasso had a block and Kacia aced . . . again!  A good kill by Gamecocker Katelyn Crofts broke the five-point run.  (Should I have used that word, “Gamecocker?”)  Yasso made a heady play and ducked under a long serve to get it back.  (It might have hit the line, but there wasn’t a challenge.)  16-5 Aggies, Starr thumped it for a kill.  Her and Nicole Briggs teamed up for a block on the next play.  Sanni Rantanen, tallest player on JS, broke the run with a good kill. 

 

20-6 Aggies, Mari fired a kill through two blockers.  The Aggies lost the next point, but they had some nice digs on the point to keep it going.  Mari had a touch kill.  Kacia added another kill and Ashley Herman got her first kill.  Bella Garcia came in to serve.  Yasso did her signature no-look kill move to finish the set, 25-11 Aggies.      

 

Set 2: Aggies 1, Gamecocks 0

The teams changed ends.  I got a good look at Sanni, from Finland.  She’s pretty glamorous.  Aleka Darko was in to start for the Aggies.  Mari began the set with a solo block on Sanni.  Makayla aced at 3-0 Aggies.  The JS player tried to duck under it, but the ball hit the backline.  The Aggies went to 4-0 on a JS foul and the Reserves went crazy.  Mia Fox lifted Rilen Garcia.  (Okay, you girls trying to be Cheerleaders better not hurt your backs doing this.  Ask Ryleigh Whitekettle about it, or me for that matter.)

 

Next point, Mari’s swing went out, but the team all called for a review on a touch.  The called was reversed.  Mari tooled a block on the next point and walked away smiling.  Gamecock Hana Alana broke the run with a kill, 8-3 Aggies.  (“Gamecock” sounds better.)  Kacia came back with a kill.  Ashley was double stuffed on the next point.  Her swing took a little too long to develop.  Yasso had a tip kill.  JS had two attack errors in a row and their coach took a timeout at 12-4 Aggies.

 

Out of the break, Kacia hit the corner with an ace.  Aleka had an overpass kill and Yasso had a touch kill.  JS challenged the touch on the next point and had it reversed, 16-7 Aggies.  Yasso and Aleka teamed up for a block next.  After a double touch call on the Aggies, Aleka had another block.  The Reserves woofed in approval.  Makayla made an overpass next that sailed over the net and dropped into the middle of the court untouched.  That’s when you know everything’s going your way.

 

Mia subbed in.  Rilen put in an ace at 22-9 Aggies.  Kaylee Peterson and Maggie Lightheart (our sweetheart) came in.  24-9 Aggies, Rilen stuck in another ace, this one was untouched.  Rilen would make a great one-handed dig on the next point.  Maggie was hustling and had a diving dig next.  Finally, Maggie finished the set, 25-11, with a touch kill.  JS had been aiming at her on serve.    

 

Set 3: Aggies 2, Gamecocks 0

The teams changed ends again.  Yasso was sitting on the bench by herself, while the rest of the team was huddled together chatting.  Jaqueline Corcoran, a freshman who’s been injured all season, came over and dragged her over to the rest of the girls.  (Jaq also had a friendly-looking conversation with one of the refs before the match.  I guess she’s a friendly person.)  Dance Cam was active in the break.  A row of fans were swaying together to Jump in the Line. 

 

Nicole and Starr teamed up for a block on the first point of the set.  The Reserves jumped and cheered.  However, Nicole was immediately taken out for Aleka.  After a DT call on JS, Mari had a pair of kills and Yasso and Aleka had a block, 8-2 Aggies.

 

A lift was called on Rilen, who was trying to save an overpass from going over the net.  9-4 Aggies, Mari had her first flying kill from the backcourt.  It’s not an Aggie game without one of those.  Kacia and Starr put in kills.  13-7 Aggies, was the longest rally of the match with lots of saves on both sides of the net.  Mari ended it with a touch kill.

 

Darian Markham put in back-to-back aces.  The Reserves shouted, “Ole!”  Bella slid out on the court and Maggie dragged her back to the rest of the girls.  I think Morgan sort of started that celebration.  Aleka had a kill and then teamed with Kacia for a huge crowd-pleasing block, 17-8 Aggies.  Mari added a touch kill. 

 

19-9 Aggies, possibly the biggest cheer from the crowd for the match, Yasso made a dig from her knees.  Darian then free balled it just over the net and it dropped in for a kill.  Kacia had a kill and Aleka had a block, leading to a JS timeout at 22-9 Aggies.  We had a near drop of a Cheerleader in the break.  Oops.

 

Mia and Bella subbed in, which caused some confusion.  I think this put 5’7” Rilen at the net, along with 6’+ Mia and Nicole as middle blockers beside her.  Oops.  JS took the next three points.  (I think have to put this one on the Coach.)  Aleka got a kill and Nicole finished it with a kill, 25-14 and 3-0 Aggies. 

 

We have several key stats.  Hitting was .013% to .460%, aces were 9 to 0, and blocks were 10 to 3, all in favor of the Aggies.  Kayla Williams led Gamecocks with 9 kills.  Mari Sharp paced the Aggies with 11.  Kacia Brown had 3 aces.  Yasso Amin and Nicole Briggs had 5 blocks each.  Rilen Garcia had 17 assists. 

 

After that final play, I think I found out I was sitting next to Nicole’s family.  They were cheering for her.  If that was her mom, I see where she gets her height from.  That all felt quick.  I checked the time and it was at an hour and 15 minutes.  Like I said at the beginning, it’s good this was a win, but it was a wipeout.  With seven seniors to be recognized for tomorrow’s Senior Day, let’s hope we get another quick match then.    

NM State Aggies vs Utah Tech Trailblazers Women’s Basketball 11-7-24

It was a cold and wet day here in Las Cruces, New Mexico.  (Am I about to write a hardboiled detective story here?)  I didn’t even go outside, which meant I didn’t go out to eat like I usually do on gameday.  By the time I left, there was a big black cloud overhead just as the sun was setting.  It was picturesque.  I admit that part of me just wanted to stay home, but I’d taken the day off to see today’s Aggie Women’s Basketball game against Utah Tech (and Volleyball tomorrow).  I felt obligated. 

 

The Pan-Am Center parking lot was already blocked off for football on Saturday.  Inside, (sigh) I bought another t-shirt.  But hey, isn’t it cool!  I blame AD Moccia for this.  He put a video of it on Twitter.  I appreciate the Led Zeppelin-inspired design, but you guys do know that the band was so named because they thought it would be a giant disaster? 

 

I also picked up a new Women’s Basketball poster and a Men’s Basketball poster, along with a couple of schedule cards.  (I may get to see a Men’s game next week.)  The Anthem started before I got to my seat.  We’re still doing the Anthem 10 minutes before the game for basketball with both teams off the court.  Virtually nobody was there in the stands.  Eventually, the crowd filled in a bit (attendance 762). 

 

I passed over the team’s first game, which was an exhibition.  (I wanted to watch NASCAR instead.  Sorry.)  They beat UC Irvine on the road after that.  This year’s squad is pretty international with three players from Spain, one from the Netherlands, one from Hungry, and one from Mali.  Most significant is who returned.  Captain Molly Kaiser came back for her graduate year.  Thank you. 

 

I almost didn’t recognize Coach Adams on the sideline.  She’s slimmed down a bit and dressed casually, rather than with her usual bling.  Generously, the whole team actually tossed out souvenir balls after player introductions.  One ball came my way.  I didn’t feel like hustling for it, since I was probably going to toss it to someone else anyway.  Another fan holding a kid caught it on the rebound.

 

First Quarter

The program was just a piece of paper with the roster.  Things have gone downhill a bit from when they were handing out slick color programs.  Anyway, I didn’t really have an easy way of keeping score at the game and didn’t try.

 

The newcomer from Hungry, Anna Csenyi, started off the game with a quick jumper.  No, I’m not entirely sure how to pronounce that.  I got Caity Szczesny’s name eventually; I’ll get hers.  Emily Isaacson on the Trailblazers came back with a 3.  Fanta Gassama was fouled and made her free throws and then Molly put in a 3.  However, the Aggies were fouling every time on defense.  Sylena Peterson picked up two fouls and had to sit out the rest of the first half, but would return in the second.

 

Fanta had two rebounds already and the Aggies briefly went to a full-court press.  They got a couple of turnovers from turning up the defense, though they got no points from it.  The Aggies picked up their fifth foul.  Trailblazer Chardonnay Hartley, who was the smallest player on the court at 5’3”, drove the lane and got the basket and the foul.  The score was tied at 11 with 5 minutes left in the quarter.

 

UTT missed their next two opportunities.  Molly got a rebound and an assist to Fanta for a basket.  Molly then forced a turnover.  Fanta collected the ball for a layup.  15-11 Aggies with 3 minutes left.  Timeout UTT.  The Trailblazers scored two quick baskets to tie it at 15.  That was a good talk by the UTT coach. 

 

Hartley got fouled again.  This time the crowd was angry and calling it a “flop.”  Molly unsuccessfully lobbied the ref.  Molly and Trailblazer Ellie Taylor traded 3’s and the score was tied at 20.  Timeout Aggies.  The team came back with Fanta making a layup and getting a rebound, Molly hitting a jumper, and Jaila Harding getting a 3.  That was another good talk by a coach in a timeout.  27-22 Aggies after 10 minutes. 

 

Second Quarter

That was quite the first quarter.  UTT began the second with three quick fouls.  The Roadrunner Revue Band, indefatigable in their cheering, yelled out, “Busted!”  The Aggies took advantage with Molly sinking two free throws and getting a jumper after a turnover.  Sianny Sanchez-Oliver sank a 3 to put the Aggies up 36-24.  Timeout UTT. 

 

There was a promo for Aggie Soccer in the break.  They’re at the C-USA tournament.  They convincingly won their first game, 4-1.  Their semi-final game is Friday afternoon.  I noticed a tall fellow below me that I recognized as co-worker.  I haven’t actually met him; I’ve just seen him around.  He had one of his kids up on his shoulders and got a t-shirt for him during a toss from the Cheerleaders.

 

UTT had to call another timeout after not being able to get the ball inbounded.  Credit the Aggie defense.  Freshman Madi Gewirtz came in for the first time for the Aggies.  Tall and pretty, she reminded me of Maggie Lightheart (our sweetheart) on the Volleyball team.  They could be sisters.  (They’re not.)  Meanwhile, there was some rough play under the basket.  Molly went down hard enough that you could hear the impact.  She got right back up and sank two free throws.  38-24 Aggies with 5 minutes left.

 

Hartley got a basket and drew another foul.  The crowd was shouting, “Flopper!”  Fanta got revenge by getting a steal off her the next time she came down the lane.  Some girls from the Volleyball team came in.  Three of them were wearing pajama bottoms.  I guess they just woke up and remembered the game.  PA Ed went up and said, “Hi” to them during halftime.  Molly hit jumper in the last few seconds to make it, 46-30 Aggies going into the half.  She had 20 for the half.

 

Third Quarter

There was no halftime entertainment.  That’s okay.  I ran into some guys from the Football team on the way to the bathroom.  I also noticed a camera operator was a son of a co-worker.  I chatted with him for a minute.  I asked how hard it was to take up the Teraflex floor from Volleyball.  He said it wasn’t that big a deal to turn around between sports. 

YMCA played on the PA.  Though they play it all of the time, given that it was Trump’s theme song, I was concerned some fans might become angry or start crying.  (I saw a Twitch streamer last night cry for 15 minutes at the start of her stream.  I don’t think she even talks politics.)  Watching the crowd trying to do the Macarena afterward was actually fairly entertaining.  Cute moment during warm-ups, a little boy with the team did some sprints with them out on the court. 

 

Anna began the quarter with a 3 and Fanta took a foul and sank both of her throws.  Brie Crittendon on UTT went down hard under the basket.  She came out in obvious pain.  She was able to walk later, but couldn’t put any weight on her knee.  Back to play, Hartley went coast-to-coast for a layup.  (Again, she’s 5’3”.)  UTT got a steal, but Sylena managed to steal it back.

 

Anna splashed another 3 to make it, 54-32.  Hartley answered with a 3, but Molly dropped in a 3 right after, 57-35 Aggies with 5 minutes left.  Meanwhile in the aisle, the little boy of the co-worker was wearing the shirt his dad had caught.  It fit him like a full-length dress, which he tripped on on the stairs.  (No damage.  No tears.) 

 

Lucia Yenes, whom I’m desperate to see play well, got called for a foul on Hartley.  Lucia didn’t touch her.  I mean really; they didn’t’ come into contact with one another.  Okay, now I’m calling it a “flop.”  The frat boys behind the Aggie bench started chanting something that sounded obscene.  We went to a timeout.  The little boy was featured on Bongo Cam. 

 

Molly got a layup out of the break.  PA Ed called it, “MK7!”  60-38 Aggies.  Lucia was pulled out of the game.  Coach Adams had her stand there next to her for a couple of minutes before giving her a lecture.  I think the Coach wants to see her play well, too.  Molly hit another 3 to make it 62-42.  I’d say, “Call the Fire Department,” but it’s too late.  She’s already burned them to the ground.

 

Fanta came up with another steal.  You don’t expect this from your big players.  Molly would get an assist to Fanta for a basket.  Molly was knocked down and still made the basket.  She’d finish the quarter with 31 points.  66-43 Aggies.                

 

Fourth Quarter 

The co-worker’s boy got a mini football tossed by the Cheerleaders.  The kid was cleaning up.  It pays to be young and cute and on that note.  Madi was back in and immediately got a steal and a layup.  Molly had the trifecta with a steal, a layup, and the foul.  She was knocked down again on the play, but came up all smiles.  The Coach took her out at that point to a nice hand from the crowd.

 

Fanta fed Madi for a layup.  Next time down, Madi was knocked down by Nicole Willardson, but Nicole helped her back up.  Madi would take a 3 and miss, but took the inbounds pass under the basket for an easy two.  78-57 Aggies with 5 minutes left in the game.

 

Imani Warren came in and got a layup and got her first points.  PA Ed came on in a break and announced that Molly Kaiser was the first Aggie basketball player since 2014 to score 35 points.  On court, we had some nice teamwork with Lucia passing to Madi, who found Diarrah Sissoko under the basket.

 

82-55 Aggies with 2 minutes left in the game, the crowd really got mad at the ref for a turnover call.  Guys, I appreciate the passion, but look at the scoreboard.  Madi scored a long jumper.  I think we got another star in the making here.  Other members of the bench started working their way on court, as Marta Guilera and Noah Garcia came in.  (“Noah” is a girl’s name in Spain?)  Sianny had another steal and Hartley got in one final flop for a foul.  We’re done here.  85-63 Aggies!   

 

        

Our star of the game was, unquestionably, the little boy of the co-worker.  He was on camera constantly and stole the show.  Oh, and then there’s Molly Kaiser.  She had 35 points, 4 steals, and 5 rebounds.  Broadcaster Jack Nixon was at the game as a fan.  He went over and congratulated her after the game.  If that’s not an endorsement, I don’t know what is. 

 

Fanta Gassama scored 14 points and had 14 rebounds and at least a couple of steals.  I think this team has a pair of stars.  Overall, the Aggies shot a blistering 50% and were 31% on 3-pointers.  Chardonnay Hartley led the Trailblazers with 23 points, Emily Isaacson had 16, and Calyn Dallas had 10.  Utah Tech’s main problem was that they only shot 37% and couldn’t stop Molly.

 

 

There were autographs afterward.  I would have waited to schedule this for a game with a bunch of kids there, but there was still a decent crowd for signing.  Lucia Yenes was the first one up.  I told her to listen to the coaches, because I wanted to see her play more.  Hopefully she took that the right way.  Fanta Gassama was next to her and I congratulated her on having a great game. 

 

I wanted to tell Madi Gewirtz about her “sister” on the Volleyball team, but wasn’t able to, which was probably a good thing.  Coach Adams was signing.  This was unexpected.  I told her about a co-worker (not the one with the kid), who’d been impressed with a talk by her at a seminar.  She said it was a blessing to be able to address and inspire people.  (There’s a coach for you.)  Lastly was Molly Kaiser.  She looked a bit gassed and the aches and pains from hitting the floor were probably catching up with her.  I thanked her for coming back here to play for another year.

 

It was cold outside, but thankfully not raining.  I went home for some hot chocolate.  We’ll be doing this again tomorrow for Volleyball.