NM State Aggies vs Abilene Christian Wildcats Women’s Basketball 11-20-18

I’d been looking forward to seeing the Aggie Basketball girls for awhile.  I was really curious to see how the team was going to be put together with returning players and new players.  Once again, I had the night off for the game.  Ron, in spite of caretaking and family concerns (or perhaps because of), was going to be coming this evening as well.

He wanted a close restaurant for dinner, so I picked next door McAlisters and walked over.  Through the picture window there, I immediately noticed that the Aggie Volleyball girls were there.  I was nervous, but after we placed our orders, I went over and wished them “Good luck” at the tournament this week and beat a hasty retreat.  I hope I didn’t disrupt the meal (like I think I did).  This is the second time this season that I’ve run into them at a restaurant.  I didn’t see them at the game later.  Maybe they were out practicing.

Ron ordered a sandwich so large, it was brought to the table on a forklift with trumpet fanfare.  After I finished my own sandwich (the seasonal turkey with cranberry sauce and apple slices, excellent), I still felt hungry, because it seemed like an insignificant amount of food by comparison.  A Todd Rundgren song played in the background, Hello, It’s Me.  After listening for a minute, I said, “Ron, stop me if start singing along,” because the song is kind of irresistible.  “Dude, I was about to say the same thing to you,” he answered.  We had frozen yogurt at Orange Leaf nearby.  Ron’s dessert was topped with a mound of bite-sized chocolate bar bits.  A couple hours later after the game, Ron said, “Ooh, my stomach’s upset.”  It’s a mystery. 

At the Pan-Am Center, paper airplanes were handed out along with the programs.  These were for the halftime contest.  I guess they assumed people couldn’t fold their own paper airplanes.  Probably correct in my case, and they did a good job.  These things really fly well.  The program listed zero attendance for their first game here, which was the double-header with the Men playing.  I’m guessing that means that you had to buy a Men’s ticket to get into that game.    

Abilene Christian (let’s go with AC from here out) brought a decent number of fans with them.  The crowd for the Aggies was a bit light, likely due to the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, though they were actually loud and passionate.  On court, a couple of the AC assistant male coaches in dress shirts and slacks took a few shots with the team at their insistence. 

On the Aggie side, a couple of the girls were on crutches.  One I couldn’t identify.  I think the other was Pam Wilmore.  She wasn’t listed on the scorecard.  Jeneva Toilolo wasn’t with the team at all.  I thought she was a good down low presence.  Sara Lopez also wasn’t on the team.  I always appreciated her pluck whenever she got into a game.  Brooke Salas was smiling and happy in the warm up, which was good to see.

The Wildcats came out of the tunnel for the game with an appropriate howl.  A couple of minutes later, PA Ed asked the crowd to get up for the Aggies.  We were still waiting a minute or so later.  “Did they get lost?” said Ron.  They came out eventually, but it was a bad sign.  They do have a great new video for introductions this year.  Nice job on that.  Both Mills sisters were starting for the Aggies.  Dominique had been playing in the previous games this season and was scoring, like her sister Monique last year.  Coach Atkinson was making a bold fashion statement tonight in tight, black leather pants, and a sleeveless blouse.    

First Quarter

Unsurprisingly, I completely butchered my first basketball scorecard of the season.  I thought I was paying close attention.  I might have been marking some baskets for the wrong players.  I got several of the player totals off the scoreboard, so those are mostly right, even if they’re not marked off right.  Frankly for a loss, I’m not going to sweat the details.  (Spoilers.)

Oh, my notes were an incomprehensible mess too.  Let’s perform the autopsy as best we can.  The Wildcats came out firing a couple of threes, 0-6 AC.  Ron had noticed that they were good at those in practice.  Their bench was good and loud.  The Aggie bench would match them in that though.  New transfer Rodrea Echols, who according to the announcements goes by Didi, got a couple of steals, but Aggie shooting was cold to start.  Brooke missed on three layup attempts.  Finally, Dominique hit a jumper to get the first Aggie points, 2-8.  But, AC followed that with a steal and a layup, 2-10.  Timeout Aggies at 5:30 left.

Aaliyah Prince came in.  She looks taller than last year somehow.  The Aggies had another turnover which was converted to an AC three.  It was becoming apparent by this point that the Aggies weren’t rebounding well and were giving the Wildcats too many second chances on shots.  Prince got a pass to Brooke under the basket.  Brooke made a pretty move and finally got a shot to fall in, 6-15.  Prince again drove to the basket from the sideline and scored, 9-15.  The crowd loved it.  Late, Kalei Atkinson stood her ground on a one-on-one breakaway in front of the basket and stopped the easy bucket.  The Aggie defense forced shot clock violation on the rest of the Wildcat possession.  It was 8-17 Wildcats after 10 minutes.

Second Quarter

I wasn’t actually too worried at this point.  Some guys from the Aggies Men’s Basketball team came by to watch at the start of this quarter.  The music was still playing when the Ref’s (all female crew tonight) started play.  There were several long breaks in the game for TV timeouts otherwise.  Gia Pack started off with a three.  Brooke got a steal, a layup, and a foul to close the score to 14-19.

The Aggies began a more pressure defense.  They got a turnover, but Gia traveled right after to give it back.  (That got called on several players this evening.)  The Aggies got a pretty play on a Kalei to Monique to Brooke layup, 16-21.  Aggie defense really locked it down at this point in the halfcourt.  They got two blocks on one possession.  Brooke came away with a fast break, but was called for a charge at the other end and had to come out with two fouls. 

Ron was becoming disgruntled.  Aggie defense forced another shot clock violation.  Mo hit a three to get it to 19-21.  Brooke high-fived everyone on the bench.  Prince got a rebound and went coast-to-coast for a layup.  The crowd was fully engaged by this point.  It was 23-22 Aggies at the half.    

Halftime

Fans crowded the sides of the court for the paper airplane toss.  There were several prizes on court.  The closest plane would win it.  Mine flew beautifully, but went nowhere near a prize.  Ron’s nosed-dived directly into the court, but he won a t-shirt anyway.  He gave it to me, since it was wasn’t close to his size.  It was bit big for me too, so I gave it away later.  Coming into the arena earlier, Ron talked to the souvenir vendor, who he’d apparently talked to before, and asked for a triple-XL shirt.  He told Ron to come by the store.  They should bring one with them, just in case Ron comes back by next time.    

[Edit: I took the shirt to work to give to a co-worker.  I had not unfolded it when I handed it to him.  He liked it.  He thought it might work for Aggie Fridays here, when you can wear jeans with an Aggie shirt.  But then he turned it around to the back.  The shirt giveaway was sponsored by a rival bank.  Oops.  So much for that.  I hope dad likes the shirt.]   

Third Quarter

The Aggies went with a full court press to start.  Brooke picked up her third foul with nine minutes left in the quarter and had to come back out.  AC pressed as well and got a turnover and took the lead 25-26.  The Aggies took an accidental timeout after some confusion with the TV break.  #10 Breanna Wright, who’d hit two three’s in the first half for the Wildcats, put a nice move on Didi for a bucket.  Mo and #3 Dominique Golightly traded three’s right after.  (I like it, but I assumed Golightly was a made up name from Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and not a real name.)

The Aggies’ Dominique got a steal and passed to Didi for a layup, but #11 Sara Williamson took the charge for a turnover.  AC got another steal and converted on it for a 30-33 lead.  Brooke came back in after a timeout with about five minutes left in the quarter.  I have “Brooke back in” and “Brooke out” written in my notes about ten times after this.  She was being used basically for offensive possessions and taken out for defense to limit her foul opportunities.  Unfortunately, Brooke is one of the better defenders on the team, and she’s a streaky shooter, who needs to be on the court a bunch to get her touch right.  In other words, this subbing didn’t work out well.      

With about two minutes left, Didi hit Gia for a layup to tie it at 33.  Kalei had a layup attempt, but missed and fell into the stands, thankfully unharmed.  Brooke got fouled and got a free throw, but she picked up her fourth foul right after.  I loved her “Who me?” look right after the call.  36-37 Wildcats with 10 minutes to go.  

Fourth Quarter

During the last quarter, some regular fans were discussing other Aggie sports including volleyball.  One of them mentioned Coach Jordan telling the fans that they’d been spoiled by the great players on the team.  I hope they agreed with him. 

On court was the best fan competition I’ve seen yet.  It was the Dino Dash.  Two guys were in large inflatable T-Rex costumes.  They waved their stubby arms at the crowd as they were introduced.  They had to run across the court, grab a ball, and dunk it in a kid’s goal.  They performed well, but it was completely hysterical watching the two dinosaurs running across the court.  Do this every game in every sport!  The Cheerleaders would not be outdone.  The girls did the Macarena while being held overhead by the guys.  It was impressive.

Brooke was not in to start.  (Yes, I’m playing favorites here.  I do this in every sport.  No apologies.  It’s my blog.)  I’ve said before that leadership was the only thing lacking in her game.  There she was on the sidelines, standing, yelling, and pointing at her teammates, full-on coaching them.  Wow!  This was the quiet girl a couple of years ago.  Brooke has hit the leadership checkbox. 

The Wildcat defense turned up and got a full court trap and a turnover for points, 38-42.  Gia drew a foul after, but missed both free throws.  Up to this point, I was still reasonably confident that the Aggies were going to pull it out, but not after this.  That hurt.  Brooke found Gia inside for a bucket to make it 40-43, but that was as close as it got. 

From here, it was just frustration.  Brooke got two rebounds on a possession, but still couldn’t get it in.  Didi fouled Sara Williamson on a layup.  The ref’s checked the video to see if it was flagrant.  Thankfully, it wasn’t called.  Some of the crowd and the Men’s team left early at 40-49.  Brooke attempted and made her first three with a minute left.  There were a bunch of fouls for both teams at the end, but the Aggies missed most of their foul shots.  Kalei fouled out.  A mass exodus started with under a minute and the score 46-55.  The last Aggie highlight was a kid gymnast doing a contortionist act on camera during a break.  Your disappointing final was Abilene Christian winning 46-58.  

The Wildcats had three players in double figures, Dominique Golightly, Breanna Wright, and Sara Williamson.  (I thought Sara was kind of cute.  #13 Jazz Taylor, in addition to a great name, had some nice highlights in her hair.)  For the Aggies, Gia Pack did have very good game with 22 points.  In spite of a lot of bench time and having trouble shooting, Brooke Salas still had 11 points.

Whew, that sucked.  I think this was scheduled as a walkover game for the Aggies, which makes it worse.  Two immediate concerns for the team are rebounding and free throws.  AC out-hustled the Aggies in rebounding.  That’s an effort thing.  Free throws are a practice issue.  Aggie defense was actually pretty good, but their shooting was atrocious.  It was telling that in the Aggies’ best defense in the second quarter, they only managed to come away with a one-point lead as they’d dug themselves in such a hole in the first.  Obviously, Brooke needs to stay out of foul trouble in order to help the team.  Someone also needs to step up as the third main scorer.

Danny came by and him and Ron chatted while I was writing stats down off the scoreboard.  They were blaming some specific players for the loss and general sloppiness.  They probably did better analysis than I just did, but I wasn’t entirely listening.  I’d likely feel worse if this were a conference game.  I was actually pleased with seeing the game just for seeing Brooke coaching.  I’m still looking forward to Monday’s game, which I plan on attending.  This team was good in their first three games.  Hopefully, they’ll show up better prepared.       

Artifacts: The First Aggie Pan-Am Center Program

Without question, this is one of the cooler giveaways I've gotten at an Aggie sporting event.  This is a reproduction of the first program from the first event at the Pan-American Center.  Thanks to AD Mario Moccia for doing this for the Pan-Am's fiftieth anniversary.

Check out the university map here.  The blank spot in the south-east is the future location of Aggie Memorial Stadium.  This doesn't even show where the original football stadium on campus was.  I went there as a kid once.  It was like a large high school stadium.

Here's where you learn the origin of the name of the facility.

The original court was modeled after the parquet at the Boston Garden.  Hopefully they did a better job of it here.  That court in Boston was famous, but infamous for how poor it was to play on.  Before each game, the players would bounce a ball up and down the entire court to find the dead spots.  The current Lou Henson Court at the Pan-Am Center is a new surface installed in 2013.  The original was retired in 1988. 

I can vouch that the sound system at the Pan-Am is still quite potent.  I was vibrating from the bass of a rap song just last week.

President Corbett would have a building named after him on campus: the Corbett Center.  How about that young man there who's the Aggies' coach, Lou Henson?  779 wins must have seemed a distant goal at the time.

There's Barbara Hubbard, "Mother Hubbard," herself.  She would book many of the acts that would appear at the Pan-Am.  She's currently working on getting a new entertainment venue built.  Joe Muench there would go on to be the dean of El Paso sports.  He retired recently.

You have to love these pics of the team.  Sam Lacey was the star and an all-time Aggie great.

Check it out, they even had a freshman team.  I love this pic.

Here's all five members of the cheer squad.  They've added some members in the current iteration.  

Here are the schedules for the basketball teams.

This might be my favorite page.  There's a young Don Haskins and Nate "Tiny" Archibald as a player.  But, you have to read the text.  Trust me.  Read it.  It's classic.

This was a nice trip down Memory Lane.  Thank you, Aggie /Sports Marketing!

NM State Aggies vs Chicago State Cougars Volleyball 11-17-18

I made it!  I got to go to all of the home Aggie Volleyball games this year.  How about that?  If that’s not love, I don’t know what is.  I only saw one loss this year as well.  (Umm . . . Spoilers.  Oops.)  Ron called me an hour before the match and canceled for family business.  I arrived alone in the parking lot and was greeted by a large dust devil.  It wasn’t windy today, but this was hard to miss.  A bunch of fall leaves were caught up in the whirlwind as it twisted past the Pan-Am Center.  Was this some kind of sign?  Not that I could see, but it was interesting.

Inside, I picked up a program and noticed a button with our two seniors, Briana Ainsworth and Tatyana Battle, on it.  There was just one there.  I guess it was a giveaway, so I snatched it and put it on.  It was an unexpected treat.  I didn’t see anyone else wearing one though.  There probably weren’t very many of them handed out.  I hadn’t properly hydrated at home and ended up picking up a raspberry tea.  You don’t want to get dehydrated watching a sport after all, especially on Senior Day when you can expect tears. 

I decided to sit behind the booster section behind the bench where I usually sit when I’m by myself.  A couple rows below me, I noticed Kaylee Neal, a senior from last year, and her husband.  Yep, I had seen her a couple of days ago (11-15-18) working as an official on the sidelines.  I finally made the connection that that was her husband, Jared Neal, working the other side of the court as a ref.  I bit later I figured out that he was the guy playing with the team at the Crimson and White Scrimmage (8-18-18).  I’d seen him at last years’ senior day ceremony (11-4-17), but hadn’t recognized him.  The guy loves volleyball to point that he married into it.  (Sounds like a great idea to me.)

Later, I noticed that red-headed girl that I’d been hypnotized by before in the booster section.  She gave Coach Rubio a hug after the match, so she’s a friend or relative of somebody on the team.  Before the match, I saw Coach Jordan talking to a striking brunette in the student section.  PA Ed would single her out as former Aggie Volleyball great, Gwen Murphy.  (I think she was blonde when she was playing?  [Edit: She was.])  She got a big round of applause.  I never saw her play, but I’ve heard the coach keenly miss not having her still on his team.  He clearly holds up Gwen as a standard of excellence.  I guess she was there for Taty and Bri’s last game since they had all played together. 

It was a bit of a smaller crowd at 777, but it seemed a lot more passionate.  The booster section was stuffed.  PA Ed was roaring to start the match.  The game wasn’t being covered on radio or Aggievision today (with Men’s Basketball and Football going on out-of-town), but there was WAC video coverage.  I saw a woman with a headset on at the TV media table, who might have been calling the match. 

On court, Lindsay Blakey was still just tipping the ball in practice.  (Why?)  Lia Mosher looked ready to go, but wasn’t going to be playing for the rest of the year.  Jordan George was out of her boot and looked to be walking around okay.  The Chicago State girls looked pretty impressive size and height-wise, even if their record didn’t reflect that.  They changed into their uniform tops in their locker room.  I’ve seen less bashful teams change by the side of the court.  (I averted my eyes.  Yes, really.)  During introductions, the Cougar girls scattered and squealed.  Some kind of bug dropped on them.  One of the girls stepped on it and tossed it aside.  Now there’s a sign. 

Set 1

Cat Kelly started for the Aggies.  It was good to see her in.  She was a bit rusty and fired her first couple of swings into the net.  She looked better on her next couple of swings before cycling out.  Cat sat next to the coach for a minute and they had a short talk.  She didn’t come back in for the rest of the match, so she must still not be feeling well.  Poor thing.  I know Cat wants to play more than her body will let her.

3-0 Aggies, beautiful Megan Hart got her first good-looking kill with a flourish and style points.  7-0 Aggies, timeout Cougars.  I admit I was kind of expecting a win here, but this was more of a wipeout.  Several Aggie points came off of Cougar fouls.  7-1 Chicago State (let’s go with CS from here out) got their first point on a block.  8-4 Briana got hit on the head on an overpass swat by the Cougars.  In spite of the embarrassment, the Aggies recovered and won the point. 

The Cougars started a comeback.  14-9 Julianna Salanoa got stuffed on a solo block.  14-10 Ashley Anselmo shanked a dig.  Timeout Aggies.  14-11 right out of the timeout, Jules was stuffed again.  I think it was #12 Karen Asprilla on the block both times.  16-11 Sav used her running jump serve and boomed one over the net.  That got a rise out of the crowd.  She used her usual jump serve after that one though.  19-11 Jules made a great decoy on a set, and Tatyana got a wide-open shot for a kill.               

22-15 Another bug delay.  The CS girls ran away from the net between points.  Brave #11 Ludmila Bomfim (from Brazil) got the ref’s towel and tried to kill whatever it was flying around the net.  It got away, but didn’t bother girls for the rest of the match.  The girl got a round of applause for her efforts.  Security really should have intervened to escort the bug from the facility for disrupting the game.  Alternately, the Pan-Am Center needs a visit from an exterminator. 

“Block party!” shouted PA Ed at 24-16 as Megan and Taty combined on a block.  Krysten Garrison came in to serve after the point.  24-18 CS sided out, but before they could serve on this point, the Aggies were called for something and the Cougars were given the point.  The girls stood on court in confusion.  Coach Jordan argued briefly, but didn’t get angry.  The official scoring called it an ace and was no help in explaining the actual foul.  The Aggies would win the set anyway 25-18. 

Set 2: Aggies 1, Cougars 1

I wasn’t expecting a great match going into this, much less after the first set, but this turned out to be one of the best sets I’ve seen this year.  The coach and the girls probably didn’t want this much drama today, but maybe this will help their mental toughness in the tournament next week. 

CS went up 0-3 right off the bat.  Megan slapped a dump kill for the first Aggie point at 1-3.  2-5 Cougars, they got two big blocks on this point.  If nothing else, these girls can block.  3-6 Meg got another kill.  4-7 Brigette Lowe came in and got a kill.  6-8 Julianna was not going to be denied all match.  She hit a kill hard enough that it was deflected six rows up in the stands.  9-10 Megan slapped another kill.

Still, the Aggies were not thriving.  10-14 Savannah shanked a dig.  10-15 Coach Jordan finally called a timeout.  The crowd was grumbling at this point.  They wanted their three-set sweep Raising Canes promotional coupon.  The Cheerleaders came out on court and PA Ed asked the crowd to give them a hand for their work this season.  They are very hard-working performers.

10-16 CS won a long rally point.  The Aggies almost won it twice, but the Cougars did not give up on it.  10-17 Sav let a ball drop right in front of her.  Savannah is one of the hardest workers on court.  I think she might have gotten winded.  I’ve said before, as she plays nearly point, she may need some more conditioning work in the offseason.  10-18 CS now had an eight-point lead, which was their largest in the set. 

11-18 Taty got a kill to finally break up the run.  13-19 Lindsay Blakey had come in a couple of points before.  Here, she took a full swing and got a kill.  That’s the way to do it.  14-19 Sav got a beautiful tip.  15-19 Sav killed it hard enough to get the crowd back into it.  16-20 and another kill for Sav.  I think she’d got her second wind.  18-20 Jules got a kill on a mishit.  Timeout Cougars. 

19-20 Natalie Mikels dropped in an ace.  20-21 another block party, this time with Jules and Sav.  20-23 timeout Aggies after CS got in a couple of good shots.  21-23 Nat set Jules from her knees for a kill.  23-24 Briana dropped in an ace on a CS set point.  Timeout Cougars.  On a Tatyana kill down the line, the Aggies finally tied it at 24.  The comeback had taken all set and come at the last possible moment.  25-24 the Aggies took the lead and got a set point with another Taty kill and a great dig by Halle Razo. 

But this one wasn’t over yet.  25-26 the Cougars got back in the lead after stuffing Megan on a swing.  26-26 Sav got a kill that seemed to roll down the length of the net after a long thrilling rally.  27-26 Aggies up with a Megan kill.  28-27 Kiley Tonge came to serve.  28-28 CS evened it again.  Kiley got a great dig on the point.  I could see Gwen yelling from the student section.  The crowd had gotten up and sat down for several Aggie set points, but weren’t tired yet and were being brought to a fever pitch. 

29-28 Sav powered a kill through the CS blockers.  30-29 Ashley hit an amazing kill.  Jordan Pleasants came in to serve for the set.  Finally, a Cougar swing went into the net and the Aggies won Set 2, 31-29.  There were like 7 or 8 set points in this set.  It almost seemed unfair that somebody was going to have to lose it.  The Cougars did a good job of dominating most of the set and fighting off several set points.  The Aggies did a great job of coming back and not giving up.

Set 3: Aggies 2, Cougars 1

Adding to the tension of the previous set, I’d finished my raspberry tea and needed to relieve myself of it by the end.  Bad.  I wasn’t the only one.  There was a line to the urinals going out the bathroom entrance.  Some people ran to the other bathrooms.  While in line, I heard PA Ed announce that the Women’s Basketball team had just beaten UTEP in El Paso.  Alright.

I almost managed to fall down the steps going back to my seat, but no harm done.  I noticed the CS team went to the locker room.  The Aggies stayed on court.  Another fan asked me during the break why I was taking notes and if I was with the paper.  I’m just writing to post this on my little blog, so I can remember in later years peeing out that raspberry tea for a minute straight.  (That wasn’t what I told him.  I should make up a little sign saying I’m not with the newspaper and I don’t know why I’m doing this.)

Back to play, the Cougars won the first point on a very long rally.  It was like both teams were still playing the end of the last set.  It was almost deafeningly quiet in the arena with the start of the set in spite of that great first point.  Was everyone still at the concessions or was it really that loud at the end of the last set?  1-1 I think an out-of-rotation call was called on CS.  It was another unexplained call.  3-2 Aggies, Natalie put in another ace.  This girl is just deadly from the backline.  4-3 Julianna got a kill hitting the ball into the back court while falling backward.  Nice.  She got another at 7-5.

CS was still blocking well and would take the lead.  8-11 Cougars, they served an ace.  The CS bench was starting to get on my nerves.  During Aggie serves, they’d start a countdown.  While Briana getting ready to serve, they’d do a “Bounce, bounce, bounce” chant when she was bouncing the ball.  9-11 the Aggies showed some hustle on this point.  Savannah fell down and managed a fist save from her knees.  Bri took it from there and knocked it over.

11-11 Sav got a dive save on this point.  Like I said before elsewhere, if her defense is solid, she won’t have to worry about being taken out after a couple of bad swings.  12-11 Aggies, here’s Megan getting another kill at a crucial moment.  13-11 timeout Cougars.  13-13 CS tied it.  The net took a beating on this point as several balls hit the tape.  14-13 Aggies, Brigette powered a kill through two blockers.  Alright, Brig!  16-15 Nat fired another ace serve that hit the defender in the face after a mishit.  Take that, bench hecklers!

18-15 Jules and Sav combined on a block.  19-15 Jules and Ashley combined on a block.  20-16 Jules and JDH417 combined on a block.  Just kidding.  Actually, Jules buried a kill into the court.  21-17 Jules put a soft tip right on the line.  She’s everywhere!  21-18 the Cougars took the point, but Halle made a great jump fist save.  She’s really earning that libero shirt. 

22-18 Tatyana slammed one.  Timeout Cougars.  23-19 Brigette and Meg combined for a block.  24-20 Brig hit a kill on the backline.  I hope Cat is 100% for the tournament, but Brigette is good to go if she isn’t.  Kiley came in to serve for the match.  Savannah got a kill on the line to win it for the Aggies, 25-20 and 3-0.

Not to sound patronizing, but congratulations to Chicago State for really showing some fight in this match.  I seem to remember that they’ve given other good teams in the conference a hard time.  Their blocking was really good.  #8 Lauryn Dela Cruz led them with 12 kills.  The Aggies simultaneously took care of business and showed a lot of grit today.  Savannah Davison led with 13 kills and a bunch of hustle.  Tatyana Battle had 11 and was a rock.  Julianna Salanoa had 9 kills and was a force at the net.  The Aggies secured second place in conference and will get a first round bye. 

Senior Day Ceremony

Raising Canes coupons for everyone!  They were being handed out at the north entrance.  I briefly wondered if I should run up there and come back, but the Cheerleaders worked the crowd and handed them out to the people staying for the ceremony.  Thanks.  Ron suddenly showed up behind me.  His home obligations had cleared up and he was able to go late.  He arrived halfway through the second set, so at least he got to see the best of it.  Since I wasn’t sitting where we usually sit and I wasn’t wearing what I wore last time, he wasn’t able to find me in the crowd until some people left. 

Tear stains ruined my notes here.  First up, Kaylee Neal got to present her eponymous award for the best teammate this season.  It went to Lia Mosher.  In spite of her near season-long injury, she had still been contributing to the team.  PA Ed boomed out her name with the announcement.  He loves saying her name.  Ed really gets in some bass with it.  “I haven’t been able to say it all season!” he exclaimed.

Briana Ainsworth came out with her family.  She was smiling, of course, and kind of giggled during her speech.  She had been working hard on a nursing degree this semester and hadn’t been able to practice with the team all the time.  She said her parents had worked out with her last night at midnight to prepare for today’s match.  Coach Jordan got choked up talking about her.  This must be the worst part of the job.  During his praise, he did mention she is the worst singer on the team.  I wonder how he found that out.  I think a lot of future patients are going to be comforted by Bri’s smile and her tender attitude.

Captain Tatyana Battle was also all smiles and giggles coming out with her family.  What a change from last years’ waterworks.  She thanked the fans first.  She liked how well they’d treated her and been involved with the team.  We love you too.  Her and Bri had a great relationship on court.  Taty specifically thanked her for her sets.  The coach added a very technical note on how often she’d set Taty up.  Taty also said she’d miss Bri’s “beautiful smiles.”  Now, I’m getting choked up again writing this.  Tatyana forgot to mention her future plans after graduation, but I’m sure she’ll be a success in whatever she chooses.  Coach Jordan had the last word and told the fans the truth, with girls like this who are such fine players and people, “You guys are spoiled.” 

(Sniff, sniff)

I’m okay.  I can finish this. 

Raising Canes got my dinner business for the second time this week as Ron and I went there again.  We ended up staying late.  I was not dressed warm enough for being out after the sun went down, but then I suggested going next door to Sonic for ice cream anyway.  They have something like a Blizzard there, which was okay.  Ron was starving and had the six-piece meal at Canes and a medium cup of ice cream.  I remembered that Aggie Men’s Basketball was playing.  We listened to them on his car radio as they beat the Lobos (I’ll detail that a bit more later).  Ron nursed some severe indigestion from overeating. 

I’m going to wait until after the tournament (and hopefully an NCAA appearance) to try and sum up the season.  (I’m already groaning thinking about how much work that will be.)  For now, it was another good win, but a hard-to-take Senior Day, and a couple more unwanted final farewells to some wonderful players.        

NM State Aggies vs UMKC Roos Volleyball 11-15-18

Ah, isn’t this nice?  Thanks to the Veteran’s Day holiday on Monday and me taking a day off to see Aggie Volleyball, I get three-day work week.  Even better, thanks to Thanksgiving and another day off to see Aggie Women’s Basketball, I get another one next week.  I’ll probably be paying for it in work not done in my absence, but for now, I’m savoring this. 

Okay, I can’t account for my day until Ron picked me up late in the afternoon to go get dinner.  What the hell did I do with my precious day off?  I woke up early.  I didn’t take a nap.  What happened?  This is embarrassing.  We went to Raising Canes because Ron always asks me to pick, and I didn’t know where to go this time, and that was the first thing I blurted out.  It was a good choice, though I did have some indigestion later which I have to blame on them.  At least it tasted good going down.

At the Pan-Am, they still had replica 1968 programs there to giveaway.  (I’ve made scans.  I’ll do a post in the near future.)  I picked up a couple for co-workers who wanted one after I showed them mine.  On court, I could see Cat Kelly warming up, so she was well enough to play.  I didn’t see anyone new injured, so that was a good sign too.  Ron asked for a scouting report on the UMKC Roos.  I would have liked one too.  All I could mention was that I’d seen the Aggies beat them in straight sets in Kansas City (10-4-18), but they may have been missing one of their best players at the time.  Currently, the Roos have a better conference record than the Aggies, so they are a good team.

PA Ed was not there, but there was a capable familiar replacement doing the duties tonight.  (I don’t know his name.)  Adam Young and lovely Kelsi Meredith were doing the TV duties below us.  There was a decent crowd, though not as many kids as I’ve seen before on week nights.  The Rolling Stones got back-to-back songs played during the pregame, which was surprising.  The bass was turned up on the Pan-Am sound system tonight.  On some rap songs, it set the metal rails in the stands vibrating.  During the player intros, the starters tossed out small balls to the crowd as usual, then the reserves suddenly bombarded the crowd with balls as well. 

One of the officials was hard to miss.  She was an attractive young woman and rather short, especially compared to that one tall young man that seems to work every other WAC game.  Wait-a-minute.  Is that Kaylee Neal, graduated senior from last year’s team?  I’ll have to look this up later.  [Edit: It was her.]  I can’t believe they’d let her work an Aggie game.  In any case, she only worked the first set and was then replaced by another ref.  She wasn’t involved in any controversial plays, so I’ll assume she did a good job.  Was she filling in temporarily?  Is she in training?

Set 1

This match did not start off well for the Aggies.  They looked completely disorganized, like this was their first practice session of the season.  They looked rusty receiving, passing, digging, and attacking, basically all facets of the game.  There had to be an actual reason for this, because the Roos were not playing that well.  (Actually, it was hard to tell since the Aggies were sabotaging themselves mostly.)  This was a bit shocking for such a big game.

At 0-2 Roos, libero Halle Razo took a spill by the bench trying to save a ball, so there was some hustle.  Coach Jordan finally called a timeout at 1-6 Roos.  The Roo reserves had an interesting ritual during every timeout.  They ran a sprint across the court.  I’ve seen softball girls do something like that, but not volleyball players.  Freshman Lindsay Blakey came in at 1-9.  She got a swing in, but was still only tipping the ball.  I saw her doing that in practice too.  I can’t understand why she’s not taking full swings.

6-12 the Aggies finally got some momentum.  Savannah Davison was using her running jump serve to good effect.  Julianna Salanoa got an overpass kill on this point.  7-13 Sav got in two good serves, but foot faulted on this one.  At 9-13, the Roos took a timeout.  12-13 Halle went on a run on serve.  The Roos were having trouble with her serve as well. 

12-15 on this point, both teams looked disorganized.  The Roos took this point, by making fewer mistakes.  15-19 seniors Tatyana Battle and Briana Ainsworth collided on a dig.  The team follies kind of apexed here.  Timeout Aggies.  16-19 Kiley Tonge came in to serve for beautiful Megan Hart.  (Kiley’s pretty nice too.)  I can’t figure this move out, since Megan is a really good server.  16-22 Halle dove and slid off court trying for a save.  She was going all out.  Cat Kelly came in for a point late.  18-24 Natalie Mikels served up an ace that just dropped over the net.  However, the Roos eventually took the set 18-25.

Set 2: Roos 1, Aggies 0

Things got really quiet in the arena.  These are the times that having a good crowd sort of works against the team.  1-0 Aggies, Megan won a joust at the net for a block and the first point.  2-0 Taty hit the net on her serve.  The ball sat on top of the net for a moment before falling over on the Roo’s side.  2-2 Ashley Anselmo hit a ball out.  I could see Coach Jordan burying his head in his hands on the bench.  3-3 the Roos made a great dump shot here.  6-6 the Aggies had two bad digs on this point.  It was like they had lead hands out there sometimes tonight.

8-6 the Aggies started to get rolling here.  Megan slapped a popup that went over the defenders and touched down in the undefended backcourt.  This got the crowd into it.  12-9 Meg and Sav combined on a block.  15-11 media timeout.  They played some new song in Spanish during the break.  It was really catchy, whatever it was.  (I need Shazam . . . and a smart phone.)  16-12 Jordan Pleasants came in to serve for Sav.  Still not sure about some of these subs, since Savannah is serving pretty well, but it is getting some more girls some work.

17-12 Nat scored on a dump shot.  Timeout Roos.  21-17 the Aggies won the point, but two Roo girls ran into their bench trying to save it.  I think the crowd gave them a share of the applause.  21-19 while as usual I’ve been highlighting Megan’s good plays, she wasn’t actually having that great a game tonight.  Here she fired one out again, which prompted another Aggie timeout. 

A senior lady sitting behind us tapped me on the shoulder and apologetically asked if I was writing for the paper or something.  I had to tell her I was just a fan.  She was impressed, but probably thought I was a little nuts.  I’m glad I can’t see myself at these games.  I must be an odd bird.  When I’m at baseball or softball keeping a scorecard, there are usually a couple other people there doing it too, so it’s not so weird.  Nobody takes notes during volleyball.

22-19 Kiley was in again to serve for Megan.  23-21 Ash got a power kill here.  The ball ricocheted deep into the stands.  24-22 Sav buried one into the court.  25-22 Taty ended it with some heat to take the set for the Aggies.

Set 3: Aggies 1, Roos 1

Ashley went over to talk to the cameraman on a rolling stool by the side of the court before the set started.  I think she was warning him that he was in a dangerous spot at that particular place.  I’m not entirely sure, but he did move.  3-0 the Aggies came out immediately digging and hitting better.  What did the coach say during that five-minute halftime?  6-3 Bri made a dump shot.  The Roos did make two acrobatic saves on the point.  6-4 the Roos did their own dump shot.  Dump shots seem like a petty insult that always prompt the other team to return the offense.

7-5 Jules pounded one on the Roos.  9-7 Sav hit a thunderous ace here.  The ball deflected way off court.  10-7 another ace for Sav.  This one hit the net and fell over.  13-11 there was a long rally on this point that went to the Roos.  Coach Jordan was furious about something.  He sent Taty over to talk to the up official.  The coach didn’t like the answer and yelled out at the ref, “Do your job!”

15-15 Ashley was blocked.  The Roos were pumped.  15-16 Roos, timeout Aggies.  16-16 out of the break, Sav killed it.  17-16 Brigette Lowe and Julianna combed on a block.  18-16 Nat put in an ace.  That was a good timeout.  18-17 the Roos eventually took this point, though Taty and Halle both made off court saves and Brigette made a full court, back-to-the-net, free ball to get the ball back over.  20-17 Aggies, timeout Roos.

21-17 Taty and Jules combined on a block.  The Roos started a late comeback.  22-21 Aggies timeout.  24-22 Bri dropped in an ace.  The Aggies would finish it 25-22.  On the last point, the Roos made an off court save, but Taty buried a kill in a corner to end it.

Set 4: Aggies 2, Roos 1

2-2 Kelsi Meredith got a dig off of a Savannah mishit as the ball flew into the media table.  She’s still got it.  5-3 Aggies, the Roos got this point.  Briana got a tremendous fist dig off the floor on the point and knocked it over the net.  Everyone heard the Coach afterward though, “Get your head in the game!”  Sheesh.  7-4 Nat put in another ace.  9-8 Taty slammed a kill.  10-8 she painted the corner with a kill.  10-9 Nat dove head-first into the media table trying for a save.  She thankfully avoided hitting the table and wasn’t hurt.  I wish they’d pad the sidelines. 

11-9 Taty buried another one.  12-10 Taty with kill #21.  But, the Roos came back.  13-14 Roos, timeout Aggies.  13-15 the Roos got two overpass swings on this point.  They were really deadly on those overpasses.  Eventually, the Aggies would make a concentrated effort to keep their passes on their side of the net.  14-15 Cat made another appearance for one point. 

16-18 there were two off court digs by the Aggies, trying to keep it alive.  Sav dove into the Aggie bench on the final hit.  18-18 Meg tied it up on a kill.  Timeout Roos.  The camera caught a little boy dancing the aisle to the music.  He got a cheer from the crowd.  19-22 the Roos went back on a run.  Timeout Aggies.  A group of ladies across the court did the Macarena while it was playing during the break.  The Cheerleaders couldn’t quite figure it out.  The Roo bench did it right before play restarted.

Cat came back in.  She got a kill at 20-23 on a touch that went out.  Kiley came back in to serve for Megan.  Cat came right back out.  The coach was obviously being careful with her.  22-23 Kiley put in an ace.  23-23 Jules got a kill after multiple fire drills on the point.  Unfortunately, the Roos went on a two-point run to win it 23-25.

Set 5: Aggies 2, Roos 2

Me and Ron didn’t want a fifth set.  This was getting too intense.  The Roo players huddled up together and did a cheer.  The Aggies were huddled up with the coaches.  A guy down below was really working it Gangnam Style to the music.  Actually, he had some pretty good moves on some other songs too.  He didn’t look like a dancer, but you can’t tell by that. 

1-0 Taty killed it to bring the crowd into it.  But, the Roos went up 1-3.  Taty got blocked on three swings on one point.  Timeout Aggies.  1-4 Roos, Cat came in.  2-4 the Roos hit a block out on her swing.  Cat looked okay playing, but she must have been kind of weak for the coach to keep taking her out so quick.  3-5 Kiley was again in to serve.  4-6 Sav got a kill on a quick set. 

6-6 Jules and Ash tied it on a block to start the Aggie comeback.  Timeout Roos.  I finally noticed AD Mario Moccia was there across the court with his two daughters.  It was a cute scene.  8-7 Taty fired a kill through two blockers.  The teams changed sides, but the Aggies kept rolling.  9-7 Jules and Taty got the block.  10-8 Julianna threaded a needle for a kill.  11-8 Halle put in an ace.  The Roo defender nearly ran into the sideline table trying to get it.  I was covering my eyes.  After this many near misses, I was afraid I was going to see somebody come off on a stretcher.  Timeout Roos. 

12-8 the match may have been decided on this huge rally.  I nearly jumped out of my seat going for a dig during this one.  Taty, of course, won it on a kill.  The crowd roared.  Mario was standing and pumping his fist.  14-10 Taty got another crucial kill to end the final Roo run.  The Aggies would close it out, 15-10 and 3-2. 

Three Roos were in double digits in kills.  Tatyana Battle led everyone with 27 kills.  She came up big.  Savannah Davison was a steady force with 17 kills.  The rest of the Aggies were relatively quiet.  Julianna Salanoa had had a career game against the Roos last time.  Megan Hart seemed a bit off tonight.  But, they did get some big kills.  There were no long point runs for either team.  They were very closely matched in skills and abilities.  The Aggies won a tough one tonight, thanks a lot to Tatyana just willing it. 

As much as I would have liked to have heard the pregame, I really wish I could have heard the postgame.  I wonder what Coach Jordan said about that first set.  The girls seemed so unprepared.  Or was it some nerves?  In any case, they did a good job of getting it together after that.  I don’t know if could have gone down and sat near enough to Adam to hear his interview with the coach, but Ron had to leave to get to his job anyway.  I couldn’t even talk him into getting ice cream afterward because (everybody together), “Ice cream is for winners!”    Only one more live in-person volleyball game Saturday.  No, it’s too soon to end!  I want more!        

NM State Aggies vs CBU Lancers Volleyball 11-10-18

11:00am Saturday is a little early for a volleyball game.  During the pregame, at least I found out the reason for some of the inconvenient timing for some Aggie sports.  Coach Jordan related that they will accommodate visiting teams’ desires, in return for the same when the Aggies visit.  Mystery solved.  I also learned in the pregame that Cat Kelly was not injured; she had a viral infection.  It’s kept her out of four games, so it must be pretty bad.  I question why she was sitting on the bench today.  Maybe that means she’s not contagious. 

Ron picked me up for the game, which was a good thing, because I wasn’t entirely awake.  At the Pan-Am Center, we were greeted by AD Mario Moccia.  I asked him about his trip to Phoenix to watch the volleyball girls, but didn’t ask if he played a round of golf at the GCU resort.  He was there on Thursday, back on Friday for Men’s Basketball, here for volleyball this morning, and would be going to his daughter’s softball game today.  Mario’s a busy man.

On the courtesy table, I was able to pickup the replica program from 1968 from last night’s basketball.  It was a reproduction of the program for the first game played at the Pan-Am Center.  I was hoping there would be leftovers this morning because I wanted one.

From the pregame, I also got the scouting report on the Cal-Baptist Lancers.  I saw them lose in five sets to UTRGV on Thursday.  While they’d started off well in conference, they were now on a four-game losing streak.  Their star player, whose name I didn’t get, was injured.  She was still playing, but not at 100%.  CBU also isn’t eligible for the postseason as they’ve just transferred to Division I.  This was their final conference match. 

The Lancers were a generally good-looking team.  (Of course that’s important.)  #18 Hana Okuhara caught my eye as a cute Asian girl.  (Yes, that matters, too.)  I liked the red hair on #12 Elizabeth Gilley.  However, probably the best-looking woman in the arena today was one of their assistant coaches.  From the program, I’ll take a guess that her name is Michelle Wright [which is correct].  Me and Ron both noticed her immediately out on court as she was warming up the team.  Wow, she’s a tall, glamorous blonde, certainly a former player.  I want a copy of one of her schedule posters from her playing days.      

During player introductions, CBU’s fans piped up.  There weren’t a lot, but they were loud.  The total crowd looked about usual for a Saturday match, even with the early start.  Brigette Lowe was starting again for the Aggies.  She looked like the happiest person to be on court.  Beautiful Megan Hart got the biggest cheer from the crowd, probably more for her playing than her looks though. 

Set 1

I was expecting a tough match as the Aggies had lost to the Lancers earlier this season (9-20-18).  Point #1 of the match was an epic rally.  It was like the whole match depended on it.  Briana Ainsworth had a great save.  Libero Halle Razo made an off-the-court save to keep the point going.  The Aggies finally took the point on a kill.  3-2 Aggies, Julianna Salanoa, who’d had such a great game on Thursday, got a soft kill here.  5-3 another epic point.  CBU would take this point, which included getting a save off the net.  7-3 Natalie Mikels made an off-court save by the courtside tables, and Savannah Davison got the kill for the point.

8-4 Jules got a crushing kill that deflected off a player and into the hands of CBU’s coach on the sidelines.  8-6 CBU won the point, but Tatyana Battle got an impossible save off the floor for a dig.  To this point, I noticed Coach Jordan was cycling in lots of players, mixing and matching about 9 girls.  11-8 Bri came in to serve and put in an ace.  12-8 she did it again.  12-9 CBU sided out, but Bri made a tremendous dive for a save during the point.  13-9 yet another long rally.  CBU took this one.  It was like the girls were playing for their lives.  15-11 Brigette got a kill, which took us to a media timeout.

Whew.  That was intense and we were just halfway through Set 1.  I wasn’t sure we’d all make it to the end with this much pressure.  The Aggie Cheerleaders came out on court.  I think a different group of cheerleaders were working this match than I’d seen before this season.  Just to flat out say it, this was a better-looking group.  (More talented, meh, but who cares?) 

Back to the action, 16-11 Sav got the kill.  One of the Lancers nearly took a header into the stands trying to save the ball.  I think some of the applause for the point may have been for that effort.  19-11 Nat dropped in an untouched ace on serve.  20-13 CBU’s setter got in a sneaky dump shot for a kill. 

23-14 freshman treetop Lindsay Blakey came in with the set basically in-hand.  Most of the swings she took were tips.  Maybe she was getting awkward sets or was just a bit tentative.  24-16 freshman Krysten Garrison came in for some experience.  This was another epic point with lots of tip shots.  Sav won it on a tip.  She’d have six kills for the set.  The Aggies took Set 1, 25-16.              

Set 2: Aggies 1, Lancers 0

This was Veteran’s Day weekend.  PA Ed asked all of the active duty military members in the crowd to stand and be recognized.  Several stood and received a round of applause.  It was a nice moment. 

1-1 Savannah put down an overpass kill.  2-3 Lancers, Briana got called for her third double touch error.  2-4 then she was called for getting into the net.  3-5 Sav crushed a kill to break up the CBU run.  5-6 Bri cycled out and talked to Coach Jordan and Coach Rubio.  I didn’t see any yelling at her though.  Who could yell at such a sweetheart?  

7-11 Lancers took yet another epic rally point.  Timeout Aggies, so everyone could catch their breath.  9-16 the Lancers started to pull away.  On this point, the down official reversed an out call with a touch.  The crowd let the ref have it.  10-18 I’m almost getting tired of saying “epic point,” but I don’t get tired of watching them.  This one ended on a net violation that gave the point to CBU.  Coach Jordan sent Bri over to argue the point with the up official.  (I thought that was Tatyana’s job.  Perhaps the coach changed to Briana, hoping she’d be more charming.) 

10-19 Taty made a heroic save on the point and another quick dig right after, but the point went to CBU anyway.  It was that kind of set.  She came out and Lindsay and Jordan Pleasants came in.  The Coach kind of emptied the bench again since the set was seemingly out-of-reach.  The Lancers took it 11-25.         

Set 3: Aggies 1, Lancers 1

The Shout party scene from Animal House played on the video screens during the break.  2-0 Aggies Savannah served for herself for most of the match.  Here she was using her running jump serve.  3-0 Taty got a monster kill.  4-0 another Taty kill.  Here Sav used her pooch serve that just cleared the net.  5-0 Sav used her standing jump serve.  In other words, she’s got a bag of tricks to unpack at the service line.  Timeout Lancers.

The Junior Aggie Club joined the Cheerleaders for a t-shirt toss into the crowd.  It was cute.  Out of the break, 6-0 and another Tatyana kill.  On the point, the CBU libero almost got punched in the mouth by a teammate trying to dig the ball.  She was laughing afterward though.  8-1 Taty painted the line on a kill.  9-1 she did it again.  That’s 10 kills for Tatyana!  Timeout Lancers.   

One of the Cheerleaders fell on a group lift.  Like I said, they look good, but might be a bit shaky.  Like a real Cheerleader, the girl got up, smiled, and finished the routine.  That’s the way to do it.  12-2 CBU finally sides out.  18-4 Kiley Tonge came in to serve.  Good to see her getting some action.  20-5 Natalie got an ace hitting the sideline.  21-5 she did it again. 

22-5 Lancer Megan Sester was the receiver on the last two serves.  On this point, she seemingly wasn’t paying attention and got hit by a pass.  And I thought Bri was having a hard match.  Sester was leading the Lancers in scoring through the first two sets.  (She’s also another very attractive player on the team.)  23-5 Nat got another ace.  Sweet Analyssa Acosta subbed for Tatyana, who got a roar from the crowd as she came out.  Analyssa would get a couple of digs on the next few points to finally have something on her stat line (which was all zeros on the program).  I’m happy for her.  The Aggies took Set 3, 25-8.  Well, that was dominating.

Set 4: Aggies 2, Lancers 1

Okay, I had no predictions for this set.  “What’s going to happen next?” I said.  Okay, what happened was CBU went up 0-4 to start the set.  Coach Jordan was furious, yelling at the officials, taking a timeout, and then starting in on his girls.  I would not have wanted to have been in that huddle.  At this point, I’m mentally developing the theory that the team holding the north end of the court had some sort of advantage, as the teams had been changing sides.  I’m not seeing this from the court-level angle, but I don’t think any real difference between either end.  Maybe it’s magic?

3-7 Megan was back in and pounded a kill to start a comeback.  The Lancers did get a save on the point off the net.  4-7 Halle served up an ace.  6-9 Meg slapped a kill.  8-9 Taty ace.  9-9 another Taty ace.  Timeout CBU.  10-9 Taty put in a third ace in-a-row; the timeout didn’t help.  11-10 Aggies, Megan slapped in another kill.

11-12 Lancers, another DT on Bri.  The Coach was upset and insinuated that she was being singled out by the up official.  Maybe the ref didn’t like how she passed the ball, but past officials weren’t calling double touches on just Bri.  13-13 Julianna pounded a kill.  The deflection almost hit Adam Young doing the radio commentary on press row.  That could have been tragic to my listening. 

14-14 Taty got an overpass kill.  Her swing seemed to come out of anywhere with blinding speed.  17-14 Aggies, CBU made three straight errors.  Timeout Lancers.  19-16 Taty put a tip into the campfire among four defenders.  20-16 Brigette was back in and got a huge solo block.  21-18 Kiley was back in to serve.  The Aggies had all the momentum at this point and rolled to a 25-20 set win and 3-1 match victory.

Savannah Davison was the top Aggies scorer with 14 kills and got 12 digs.  She was a steady force in the match.  Tatyana Battle got 13 kills with 20 digs and absolutely owned that third set.  Megan Hart got 10 kills and broke the Lancers’ back in the final set.  Your stat of the match: the Aggies had 10 aces with only 3 service errors.  Remarkable.  (And the Lancers might want to work on their return of service digging.)

This was a strange match.  Set 1 wasn’t close in score for the Aggies, but it was fought like it was.  Set 2 was a Lancers’ wipeout with the Aggies putting in their reserves at the end.  Set 3 was an Aggies’ wipeout with Aggies again putting in their reserves at the end.  It’s good that those bench bunnies were getting some work.  Who knows when you might need them?  Set 4 looked like another Lancers’ blowout, but ended with the Aggies crushing them at the end. 

This season’s injuries have at least had the benefit of getting several girls lots of play time.  When Cat Kelly gets back in, the Aggies are going to have a team full of players who are very capable of getting kills and blocks.  Coach Jordan will be able to cycle players in and out to keep them fresh without losing team effectiveness.  I wouldn’t expect another 10-ace match, but the Aggies have several servers who are capable of getting aces and going on long runs.  The Vaqueros are going to have to stumble for the Aggies to have a chance at a share of the regular season title.  Several teams will be able to make a good case for winning the conference tournament.  For most teams, it’s their star play.  For the Aggies, it may be their depth.  

Ron and I left the arena in good spirits.  We saw a ROTC cadet pulling the football field cannon behind a truck.  We both had the same thoughts about how cool it would be to “borrow” it.  Lunch was down the street at Zefferio’s Pizza.  They were out of ice for their drinks, but thankfully not out of pizza dough for a great meal.  For dessert, we had pumpkin pie flavored custard at Caliches, which you might want to avoid (probably needed whipped cream on it).  Okay, two games left for in-person viewing this season next week.  I can’t wait.