NM State Aggies vs Abilene Christian Wildcats Volleyball 9-13-24

The first match I went to today didn’t take 90 minutes.  I’m not sure if the second one even took that long.  I was going to be waiting for a while for the 7:00pm match between the Aggies and the Abilene Christian Wildcats.

 

I wasn’t hungry after lunch, but I was thirsty.  I made the mistake of going over to McDonald’s.  I think it took about 20 minutes to get a smoothie.  I should have gone to the concessions.  Thankfully, I didn’t have my heart set on ice cream.  They’ve taken the McFlurry off the menu and the machine has a permanent-looking out-of-order sign on it.  They’ve given up on ever getting it fixed.  Civilization has fallen.  I also went over to the Toucan Market and bought some fruit.  (They looked like they needed the business.)

 

I still had plenty of time.  I called dad.  He questioned me staying over at the Pan-Am Center all day.  I should have listened to him.  The crowd for the match still seemed a bit light.  Arizona players were up in the stands.  They were probably waiting for dinner.  Aggie Grad Assistant, Lia Mosher, had changed clothes and her hairstyle from this afternoon.  She had a talk with the team’s middle blockers and Aleka Darko.

 

Local player and new freshman, Tess Fuqua, was on the bench, injured.  Unfortunately, we haven’t gotten to see her play.  She still attracts attention on the sidelines with her long, silky, shiny, golden brown hair.  Tess turned around and smiled and waved to her family seated behind the bench.  Assistant Coach Whitis said something to her that made her laugh.  He seems to be tough, but keeps things loose. 

 

During serving practice, Coach Whitis stood in the middle of the court and made Lia join him there as the balls were flying around.  I don’t know if the goal was to hit them or not hit them.  During hitting practice, our other local player, Maggie Lightheart (our sweetheart), slapped the net hard on a swing.  She put her hand to her mouth in mortified embarrassment.      

 

The ballgirls, working their fourth game of the day, were still energetic.  They held hands and skipped over to their stations.  PA Ed Carnathan was working this game.  I think a student was working the other games.  A different Pistol Pete than this morning was here, along with the Cheerleaders.  The Aggie girls tossed autographed souvenir balls to the crowd during introductions.  Kacia Brown tossed one to a little girl in a dress, who jumped up and down in joy.  Yasso Amin tossed hers to one of the ballgirls.

 

Set 1

Both teams seemed a little tight and started off with some errors.  The Aggies did build up a 6-2 lead with kills by Starr Williams and Kacia.  Mari Sharp put in an ace.  On another play, she bloodied her elbow and there was a stoppage to bandage it up.  Coach Jordan was more animated in this match.  He called for a challenge after a long, insane rally.  It might have been mostly to give the girls a blow, but the call was overturned and the Aggies led, 8-3.

 

Nelle Reese was the starting setter.  Claudia Rossi, who was not in the previous game, rotated in for her.  (I’m still confusing the two at times because of their similar looks.)  Rilen Garcia might have been in the Coach’s doghouse for a misplay in the last game.  Nelle sat by the Coach for additional instruction after she came out.

 

Nicole Briggs and Ashley Herman combined on a block to make it, 12-6 Aggies.  Nicole was all fired up.  AC took a timeout.  There was a near drop of a Cheerleader in the break by the guy trying to hold her up left her up on his hands.  Scary.  As always, the Cheerleader got up, smiled, and finished the routine. 

 

13-9 Aggies was another long rally.  The Wildcats took that point.  Mari had a pancake save and AC made a save out-of-bounds.  Nicole had a stuff at 15-9, but AC came back with an overpass dunk.  Darian Markham aced at 17-10.  Both teams exchanged service errors a couple of points later.  Yasso had a kill at 20-12 Aggies.  She came up to serve and, with her high-toss, Brazilian jump serve, literally knocked down the receiver.  The girl did manage to return it.  It happened again on the next point, too.

 

AC was happy to side out Yasso and went on a four-point run.  Coach Jordan called a timeout and was pissed, though he didn’t actually talk to the team in the huddle.  Rilen did come in to set.  Claudia sat down beside the Coach for a talk.  Nelle finished the set with an ace, 25-17 Aggies.

 

Set 2: Aggies 1, Wildcats 0

Arizona left by this point.  The AC Coach challenged the first point of the set, after mixed calls by the officials, but it was upheld.  Nelle put in an ace to make it, 2-0 Aggies.  Yasso put a shot into the open court for a 5-3 lead, but then had a service error.  The Coach threw up his hands.  Yasso came back with a kill by tooling a block to make it 8-5. 

 

Makayla Martinez came in for the first time to serve.  She took a fearless dive into a sideline table going after a ball.  Makayla is a very plucky defender.  AC challenged a block successfully and adjusted the score to 8-8.  After they took the lead on the next point, the Aggies took a timeout.

 

The score remained knotted until Mari put the Aggies up 12-11.  The score remained close.  AC even got in a setter dump.  19-16 Aggies, Ashley made a kill that AC nearly saved way off the court.  AC timeout.  The Aggies made it to 20 on a busted confused play that Mari finished with an overpass.  After Kacia pounded another overpass, AC took another timeout. 

 

I think the Women’s Basketball team was in attendance.  I think I saw Ryleigh Whitekettle get a cup of water for Molly Kaiser, who’s coming back for another season.  The Aggies finished the set with a seven-point run.  Makayla was on serve for it and had an ace.  25-16 Aggies.

 

Set 3: Aggies 2, Wildcats 0

Nicole ran up the stairs with the trainer between sets.  Her teammates looked concerned, but Nicole came back fine.  (Can women not go to the bathroom alone?)  PA Ed shouted out, “Show us your boobs!”  Wait.  I misheard that.  He said, “Show us your moves!”  I was getting ready to flash the crowd.  Even better than that show would have been, it was Dance Cam, featuring Pedro the baby raccoon.  Cute beyond words.  A smiling Pistol Pete came by to rally the crowd.

 

The Aggies started off with the lead, but after a couple of attack errors and a block, it was tied at 6.  Mari fired a facial into Izabelle Larson to tie it at 7.  Izzy just smiled after that shot.  The score remained close.  Aleka Darko came in and missed a block.  The Coach started rubbing his eyes.  13-12 Aggies was a replayed point.  The up official accidently interfered. 

 

Izzy hit a kill to tie it at 13.  “Boom!” said PA Ed, as Yasso tied it at 14.  15-14 Aggies was the Media timeout.  The video board ran an ad for Aggie Soccer and then showed some of the players in the crowd.  They were embarrassed.  (No, they weren’t.  They love attention.) 

 

Ashley got a kill out of the break, but it was overturned on a challenge.  Two service errors in a row tied the score.  AC took the lead on an out call, but the Coach challenged and Mari got the touch on the kill to put the Aggies up, 18-17.  “Boom!  Starr Williams!” shouted PA Ed, after a big kill.  AC took a timeout.  Darian ran to the huddle, “Yes!  Let’s go!” 

 

Starr had another kill.  Yasso served up another facial.  The Coach got a call overturned for another point.  Still, AC hung tough.  The Aggies called a timeout at 22-20 Aggies.  23-21 Aggies, Aleka and Yasso teamed up for a big block after a long rally.  The Coach nearly jumped out on the court to help.  However, the play was overturned on a challenge, 22-22. 

 

Alright.  Yasso came back with a kill.  Ash had a kill that was upheld on another challenge.  (This is why we watch sports: to see the officiating.)  But after an Aggie service error and a shot wide, we were tied at 24.  The Coach took a timeout and gave the team an angry motivational speech.  (I have no idea what he said.  I was on the other side of the court.)  Whatever the Coach said, Mari was listening.  She finished off the match with a pair of kills to win it, 26-24 and 3-0.

 

Mari was all smiles afterward.  She’d earned it.  Her and Yasso Amin led the scoring with 12 kills and Starr Williams had 10.  Three Aggies were in double digits in digs.    Bryley Steinhiber led the Wildcats with 11.  The Aggies led in all the stats, except blocks (6 to 2).  That seems like a problem.

 

I was all smiles, too.  My very long day with Volleyball was over.  We still had another match tomorrow, but let’s get in some sleep first.

NM State Aggies vs Texas Southern Tigers Volleyball 9-13-24

Aggie Volleyball started off their season on the road with five matches. They won two and lost three.  They lost to Georgia Tech (#14 in the nation) and took a set off them. They also lost to Sacramento State, after being up 2-0 in sets, and lost to San Francisco, 3-2.  In other words, they were competitive.  Sigh.  We can only wonder how good this team would have been with Ryleigh Whitekettle playing. 

 

For that matter, the team seems to have had a few more subtractions.  Setter Bianca Perez wasn’t suited up to play this weekend.  Setter Aspen Aldous was listed on the roster, but nowhere to be seen.  I wonder if she got tired of not playing.  Setter Peyton Castillo was also still inactive.  Good thing the team still has three other setters.  It’s like the coach saw this coming.  Also, legacy player, Mia Abalos, was off the roster.  I was looking forward to chatting with her about her big sister on Autograph Day.

 

There were six games scheduled for this Borderland Invite.  I took this Friday off intending to see three of the games today.  Abilene Christian would be playing Arizona at 10:00am.  I didn’t think I’d be able to get up in time for it.  (Arizona won 3-0.)

 

Also, my dad attempted to volunteer me to help one of his neighbors move in and said, “It’d only take an hour.”  (It took all day, of course.)  He’d forgotten about my back issues.  I declined.  The next day, he called to tell me that I needed to go through my old record albums, because he was going to sell them and mom’s collection on Saturday to a collector that was coming over to look at them (which didn’t actually happen).  I had to show up for that.  When I got there, I had to make some quick, painful decisions.  Given that I don’t have a record player (and dad doesn’t have a working one), I should have let all of them go, but I had to keep a few discs for the covers or included booklets.

 

For a 1:00pm Friday afternoon, it was light crowd.  Some Abilene Christian coaches were here to scout the game.  Pistol Pete was in attendance, but not the Cheerleaders.  Our coaching staff, Tatyana Battle and Lia Mosher, was seated on the bench chatting and laughing, probably about the good old days when they playing.  Coach Jordan had lamented in an interview that he kept wishing he could have put them into some of the games.

 

I did not know who Texas Southern was.  Apparently, it’s an HBCU.  Their team was all black (except for maybe the setter).  They all stood right up for the Anthem, thus making USC’s display last month look even worse.  Their coach all smiles and seemed very friendly with Coach Jordan.  Somewhat confusingly, the team was wearing white, crimson, and black for the match just like the Aggies.

 

Set 1

Given that I have four matches to recap for this weekend, I’m going to cut out a lot of the fat on my play-by-play for this match (and the next).  The first set started off 11-1 for the Aggies and finished 25-10 Aggies.  It was evident from early-on that this match wasn’t going to be competitive.  At one point, a cushion fell off one of the side tables.  Pete rushed over to take care of it.

 

Set 2: Aggies 1, Tigers 0

It seemed like some of the starters were rested in this set and it was more competitive.  Maggie Lightheart (our sweetheart) and Mia Fox were in.  Bella Castro was in at libero.  Mia scored a couple of kills early.  At the Media timeout, it was 15-13 Aggies, so it was close.  A bunch of Aggie fans in a group left at this point.  (Lunch hour was over for them?)  Pete was working his way around the Pan-Am Center individually greeting fans.  (It was that sparse.) 

 

A few points later, Mia was hurt and had to come out.  The Aggies did start to pull away.  19-15 Aggies, the Aggies won the point on a long rally.  Makayla Martinez had come in after a timeout and played all-out.  She had a great save on this point and there were great plays on both sides before the Tigers got into the net.  Yasso Amin hammered a kill to finish the set, 25-19.

 

Set 3: Aggies 2, Tigers 0

The ball girls were dancing up a storm trying to get on Dance Cam during the break.  Mia was up and walking, but didn’t come back in.  Morgan Stewart was in at libero.  From a group of girls across the court, some girl screamed, “I love you, Rilen!” at setter, Rilen Garcia.  We love you, too.  She’d need that love later.

 

The Tigers were playing tough to start.  They went up 2-6 early after a couple of double touch calls on the Aggies.  Maggie made a huge block and got a big cheer from the crowd to make it, 6-8 Tigers.  A couple of Aggie service errors gave the Tigers back a four-point lead.  Kills by Maggie and Yasso brought it to 11-13 Tigers, and they took a timeout.

 

After the break, Yasso tied it at 13 on a set by Morgan.  Yasso tied it again at 15 on an overpass.  The Aggies were up 18-17, but lost this point to the Tigers.  Coach Jordan had been fairly passive during this match, but finally exploded when Rilen had touched a ball going out and yelled at her from across the court.  He didn’t take her out, but she was in his doghouse. 

 

This did seem to fire up the team.  Kills by Yasso and Maggie and a block by Maggie and Aleka Darko put the Aggies up, 21-18.  Rilen put in a setter dump to make it, 22-18, but the Tigers returned the favor with a dump to make it 23-21.  Kills by Kacia Brown and Starr Williams ended the set, 25-22, and the match, 3-0 Aggies.  

 

The scoreboard was sort of useless for stats, which had to get later.  Yasso Amin led with 10 kills, Ashley Herman and Starr Williams each had 8.  Maggie Lightheart actually led in digs (7).  The stat of the match was hitting percentage.  The Aggies were hitting .396.  The Tigers were hitting .113.

 

At this point, I left to go across the street for lunch at Dominos.  I glanced at the promotional video board outside of the Pan-Am Center and saw that the game hadn’t even taken 90 minutes.  Today’s schedule had allotted three hours for each match, so I had plenty of time until the next match. 

 

I got a Chicken Bacon Ranch sandwich and it was delicious.  I thanked the cook.  I still had plenty of time.  Oh, boy.  I was starting to regret not skipping the next match and going home and then coming back for the Aggie match in the evening.  I called three people.  One of them answered and I chatted with my co-worker for 20 minutes until I went back in.

 

Arizona Wildcats vs Texas Southern Tigers

The Tigers drew the short straw having to play back-to-back matches.  The arena was nearly deserted for this one.  Imagine my surprise that another co-worker came in with her family and sat down below me.  She might have been there to root for Arizona.  Some of the Aggie players were up in one of the suites and were eating their lunches.  AZ has three fairly handsome young men on their staff.  I’m not implying anything, but I haven’t seen this on most volleyball teams (probably for a good reason, given the good-looking girls on the teams).      

 

Set 1

I made a bunch of notes for the previous match and didn’t use them.  Here, I barely bothered with any play-by-play.  This match started with three service errors and a lengthy delay because the scoreboard was wrong.  (I was now really regretting not going home.)  The Tigers kept it close in the beginning.  At 8-6 AZ, the Wildcats took a timeout.  13-10 AZ, a Wildcat player made a one-handed save that became a set for a kill.  Arizona eventually pulled away and took the set, 25-16. 

 

Set 2: Wildcats 1, Tigers 0

Arizona’s reserves were very spirited throughout the match, choreographed at times even.  At one point after a block, they shouted, “She said, ‘No!’”  At another point, the referee did warn them to stay off the court in their celebrations.  Abilene Christian’s staff was present.  It didn’t seem like they were scouting.  Taty and Lia came in late to watch.  They didn’t seem to be scouting much, either.  AZ’s setter, Ana Heath, scored two kills, including the set-winner, 25-16.

      

Set 3: Wildcats 2, Tigers 0

Lia and Taty chatted with the ball girls before leaving.  These were the hardest-working girls at the Pan-Am Center today and were here all day.  AZ wasn’t screwing around at this point and the Tigers were probably gassed by this point.  AZ went up 8-1 and the reserves were all smiles and getting louder.  I think a few reserves got in a bit later.  Heath put in a power dump at 23-5 AZ.  (Wait.  That didn’t sound right.  Meh.  Leave it.)  Arizona took the set, 25-7, and the match, 3-0. 

 

The reserves rushed the court in celebration?  Was this a grudge match?  Did the coach promise everyone ice cream if they won in the three sets?  Not to leak any spoilers here, but Arizona didn’t act like this after playing NMSU on Saturday.  Should I feel insulted? 

 

Wildcat, Jordan Wilson, led with 13 kills.  The hitting percentage was even more dominating than the Aggies’ game: Wildcats .402, Tigers .015.  (God bless Texas Southern.  They’re 0-9 to start the season.)

  

We’ve got ***one more match** to go today. 

NM State Aggies vs UC Davis Aggies Soccer 9-8-24

This is confusing: two Aggie teams playing each other.  I thought I heard their fans ringing a cowbell at one point.  I’ve heard of UC Davis before, but I didn’t know they were the “Aggies.”  Well, I know who they are now.

 

Last night, Aggie Football played conference-favorite, Liberty.  The Aggies had led for most of the game, but gave it up late and lost, 30-24.  It was terribly disappointing.  However, Liberty was a 22-point favorite, so the loss was kind of encouraging.  I was concerned that this loss was going to carry over to today’s soccer somehow, if for no other reason than the game went really late into the night and some of the girls might have been there for the end.

 

[Pre-Post edit: On the Coaches Radio, Coach Baarts confirmed that they were there for the end and he wasn’t pleased.  Him and whole team were there and were honored on field, but probably in the first half.  The game lasted until after midnight.  He did appreciate that the girls were supporting the Football team.]             

 

(In spite of the heavy points spread, Liberty was only a 60-something% favorite to win.  The odds-makers suspected something.  Against an FCS school last week, the Aggies had only been like a two-point favorite over SE Missouri, which they did beat.  Meanwhile that same week, former Aggie quarterback, Diego Pavia, led Vanderbilt to victory over two-touchdown favorite, Virginia Tech.  Vandy owes us a Christmas card.)

 

Aggie Soccer was coming off a long road trip.  They’d beaten Pacific, 3-1, but then lost to Washington (2-0) and Arizona (1-0).  Loma McNeese won the C-USA Offensive Player of the Week award for scoring two goals in the Pacific game.

 

It was a brilliant day regardless.  It was cloudless and warm out with a stiff, cool breeze.  I’d hoped road construction in front of the football stadium by the soccer field had been finished by now, but no chance.  There are now huge piles of dirt there where they’re digging something up. 

 

The crowd to start the game was bad, even with a knot of UCD fans there.  There had been a free ticket offer for fans who had attended last night’s football game.  However, it was the opening weekend for the NFL.  Eventually, some late-arriving fans came in to make the crowd decent.  I didn’t see any other Aggie teams in attendance, but those teams might not have been available in the afternoon.      

 

I was a bit subdued.  Yesterday, I’d had a pizza with dad to watch the Arkansas/Oklahoma State game.  (I’d never seen dad so nervous about a football game.  I didn’t know he was such an Arkansas fan.  He’d leave the room during pivotal plays and even left early when the game went into a second overtime.)  We went to the Farm & Ranch Museum with one of his neighbors, but then I was Shanghaied into a trip to the mountains and then to a Mexican food restaurant, where I had half-pound hamburger.  I didn’t get a stomachache, but I was still feeling the effects of overeating. 

 

The Aggies had a couple of players starting, Janae Shaklee and Ariana Ellison, that I wasn’t expecting.  I wondered if there had been injuries on the road, but more familiar players did cycle in.  Oddly, it seemed that the officials were late to the game.  The usual coin toss for who gets the ball first and the inspection of the goals happened very quickly after player introductions, instead of well before as usual.  

  

First Half

This game didn’t go well for the Aggies . . . err . . . New Mexico State.  UCD dominated on offense early.  They made several attacks and Valerie Guha, the Aggie goalie, was kept busy.  Before the late-arriving fans came in, you could clearly hear all of the chatter out on the field.  36’ left in the half, Milana Eyrich made the first Aggie attack.  It was a solo charge that was stopped and immediately went the other way for a UCD attack that went over the Aggie net.

 

There was a near miss on the Aggie net a couple of minutes later with only Marlee Cavitt back defending the net from an attacker.  33’ Other Aggie Jayde Holley found Sam Tristan with a crossing pass and an easy tap in.  1-0 UCD.  It looked too easy.  Val was waving her arms at her teammates afterward.  The team held a quick huddle.  The onslaught continued though, as Val stopped a point-blank shot from Sarah Canavan a couple of minutes later. 

 

The momentum finally swung.  28’ a long Aggie shot was punched out by UCD goalie, Caeley Goldstein.  Then Milana made a curving ground shot that was caught.  A gust of wind knocked my floppy hat off my head.  Another fan handed it back to me.  This wasn’t the best choice of hats on a windy day. 

 

23’ after some good dribbling and a pass, Canavan was open at the top of the Aggie box and buried it.  2-0 UCD.  Right after a turnover on the Aggies’ midfield kick, the Other Aggies nearly put in another one.  This was turning into a possible rout. 

 

Xitlaly Hernandez and some mass Aggie subs came in with 19 minutes left.  15’ X took a long shot that went wide.  She tossed her magnificent mane of curly hair back in disgust.  More Aggie subs came in with 12 minutes left.  These players seemed to be coming from deep on the bench.  The Aggies made a couple more attacks, before X bizarrely slipped on a ball she had just stopped.  She went down and the trainers had to help her off.  During the stoppage, Mya Hammack and Val were both out haranguing the ref.  I don’t know why, but I know Mya just loves chatting with the refs.  (I’m jealous.)

 

More Aggie subs came in.  Mya even came out.  4’ Tati Jerman made a good long shot.  Goldstein made a nice diving save on it.  3’ the disaster becomes official.  A UCD shot was blocked, but Val couldn’t hold on to it.  Other Aggie Teresa Garcia tapped in the loose ball to make it, 3-0 UCD. 

 

It almost got even worse.  Another UCD shot seemed to go in right after.  The goal was announced and was even up on the scoreboard.  However, there was no mid-field kick, so play continued before it was announced that the goal was waved off.  It was probably an offsides call.  Goldstein dove to stop a final Aggie shot before the half ended.  3-0 UCD.

 

Halftime

UCD was up 4 to 2 in shots on goal and 4 to 1 in corners.  I was sort of surprised Valerie stayed in goal after the third goal.  If that fourth goal had counted, surely, Coach Baarts would have taken her out to protect her stats.  No backup goalie went out on field to warm up during the break.

 

The Aggies retreated to the locker room.  Xitlaly brought up the rear, but she was back walking unassisted.  The coaches followed a bit later.  The Other Aggies were sitting on one corner of the field like they were having a picnic, which they pretty much were. 

 

I sat back and enjoyed the sun and the breeze.  I didn’t have much choice.  I was regretting not bringing a radio so that I could listen to the Ranger game that was on, not to mention the Chihuahuas and the Cowboys were also playing. 

 

Second Half

It was still mostly bench players who started the half for the Aggies.  I wonder what Coach Baarts said to the team in the half to justify this apparent throw.  Still, the Aggies dominated possession for most of the half.  They made several attacks that Goldstein had to field. 

 

37’ left in the game, a ball popped up into the stands.  A fan shouted, “I got it!”  He didn’t get it.  31’ right after Kennedy Herrera tripped an attacking UCD player, Loma was clobbered on the other end.  Even from across the field, you could hear it.  She was okay and now really motivated.  Apart from these two incidents, it was a fairly clean game.  (That is to say, bruising, but not putting people into the ground.)  29’ Loma made a great move and took a shot that went just wide.

 

Ariana was on the grandstand side of the field for much of both halves.  I could see the small, slight girl get absolutely exhausted.  She was finally subbed out with 16’ left in the game.  15’ Loma took a hook shot in front of the net.  It seemed to go in slow motion but hit the end the far end of the net.  3-1 UCD.  There was nearly no reaction from anybody after the goal.  It even seemed to take the PA by surprise and there was a delayed announcement.

 

Loma took a couple of more shots.  During a stoppage, she was by the stands and yelled at her team, “There’s still 11 minutes left!”  Loma was in on an assist attempt.  A minute later, Goldstein had to punch away another shot by Loma.  5’ Jaiden McCellan took a long shot that was caught.  4’ Loma passed to Carolina Rodriguez on a breakaway.  Goldstein had to stop another shot.

 

2’ a loose ball rolled down the sideline to one of the smaller stands.  A rushing Jaiden called out to the fans there to stop the ball and toss it to her.  Nobody moved.  Val ran over to the grandstand to take a final free kick.  The game ended.  3-1 UCD.

 

The other scoreboard stats were 4 to 3 UCD in shots on goal.  The Aggies were up 6 to 5 in corners.  UCD seemed content in the second half to stay on defense.  They only made a couple of probing attacks.  I suspect they could have run up the score more had they wished.   This broke the Aggies’ unbeaten streak at home at eight.

 

Our Player of the Game is Loma McNeese, who scored the Aggies’ only goal today.  She was also the main attacker for the second half.  I’ll also single out UCD goalie, Caeley Goldstein.  She didn’t have to do much in the first half, but was very busy in the second and kept the Other Aggies in the lead. 

 

I was a bit stunned coming into this game from yesterday.  I was more stunned afterward.  I’m not sure what happened to the Aggies here other than they just ran into a good team (UCD 4-2-0).  USC and Oregon may have still been coming together at the beginning of the season.  Hopefully, they’ll regroup for conference play coming up. 

 

I’d noticed there was a game going on at the baseball stadium when I came in.  It was still going on when I left.  I wasn’t in the mood to stay unfortunately.  I got back home in time to only hear the Ranger postgame show, but did get to hear half of the Chihuahuas’ game and the Cowboys’ game.  I sort of glossed over a bunch of my notes here but wasn’t in the mood to give a detailed account of this game either.  I’ll be back for Volleyball later this week. 

NM State Aggies vs WNM Mustangs Volleyball 8-25-24

How about this new poster?  I have to say Yasso Amin on the lower right cleans up nice and has a great smile.  After the Crimson and White Scrimmage last week, the Aggies would tune up some more with an exhibition with the Western New Mexico Mustangs today.  I’m still a bit drained from last night’s soccer game, so this recap will be a bit low-key. 

 

Both squads of Cheerleaders (and Pistol Pete) were working the game for their tune up before Football next weekend.  There was a team of high school girl players sitting where I usually sit, so I was glad I came in a bit late.  Another team would come in and sit at the other end.  Once again, Volleyball had better warm up music than Soccer.  A good, enthusiastic crowd was on hand. 

 

Several Aggie players were not suited up to play, including Sydney McIntosh, Peyton Castillo, Mia Abalos (that was disappointing), Jaqueline Corcoran, local girl Tess Fuqua, and Ryleigh Whitekettle.  Okay, that last one is upsetting, since Ryleigh is our star player.  She wasn’t bandaged up or anything, so hopefully this was just a precautionary move.  [Pre-Post Edit: Cancel the season.  Coach Jordan said in an interview that Ry is having back surgery.  No offense to her excellent teammates, but this is a major blow to the team.]  I didn’t recognize Mari Sharp again.  Unlike her poster picture (top right), her long hair was now curly and below her waist (and completely unlike her poster last year with shoulder-length curly hair). 

 

Western New Mexico had some confusion which direction to face for the Anthem.  They didn’t know where the Flag was.  For their player introductions, the rest of the team stepped back, while the player being introduced stepped forward.  (Love that one player name, Logan Dodge.)  They have a very international roster with players from New Zealand, Columbia, France, and Brazil (and even Las Cruces).  They also brought a pretty good cheering section.

 

The Aggie new intro video was produced to AC/DC’s Thunderstruck.  It was cool.  It really exercised the Pan-Am’s sound system.  Newcomers Nelle Reese (setter) and Nicole Briggs (middle blocker) started Set #1.  Oddly, two liberos were introduced for each team.  I won’t know until watching another game if this is a rules change.  Kaylee Peterson was the other libero.  (Darian Markham was the primary, of course.)  Unfortunately, she didn’t see action today.

 

Set 1

Again, this is an exhibition.  There’s no official stats and it doesn’t count, so I’ll lightly recap this match.  The Aggies took an early lead.  Yasso put in several kills and Starr Williams had a block.  At 7-2 Aggies, setter, Claudia Rossi, came in to set and serve and got an assist to Aleka Darko for a kill.  9-4 Darian saved a setter dump shot.  A couple of points later, Claudia successfully dropped one in. 

 

At 12-5 Aggies, WNM took a timeout.  The crowd went crazy for the t-shirt toss from the Cheerleaders.  Mari had a flying kill and followed it up with an ace.  A group of little girls started chanting, “Hit the ball, Aggies!”  After a couple of Aggie attack errors, Coach Jordan got up for some commentary.  After a Mustang ace made it 16-11 for a four-point run, the Aggies took a timeout. 

 

Starr put up a couple of kills out of the break, including a dig that nearly rebounded into the scoreboard unit.  Yasso had another kill at 19-13.  She came out and took an offered seat between Coach Whitis and Coach Battle (Tatyana Battle, of course), who both spoke to her.  Freshman Makayla Martinez came in to serve.  

 

23-15 Ashley Herman tooled a block.  She came out with Claudia and they both got additional instruction from the assistant coaches.  Starr finished up the set with a couple of kills, 25-18 Aggies.  The final point was the longest rally of the set.  WNM libero Lilouann Bechec dove into the sideline tables going for that last swing.          

 

Set 2

The teams changed ends.  Wow!  The WNM assistant coach, Jen Whetten, was like a silver blonde Barbie.  I hesitate to imagine what she looked like as a player.  Aggie Soccer came in and sat down across the court.  Ariana Leamons had some trouble negotiating the stairs with her leg in the cast.  The Crimson group of cheerleaders sat down and the White group took over. 

 

Maggie was in and put in a kill.  Nelle put in an ace.  (I hope I was identifying the right setter in this.  Newcomers, Nelle and Claudia, bear a passing resemblance to each other.)  It was close early.  Mustang Jayden Hughes made a solo block and then had an overpass kill to tie it at 4.  Starr tooled a block to break the run, but Mustang Carley Deck put in a kill between two blockers to make it 6-5 Aggies.

 

That staff photographer who was bothering the Volleyball girls last night, was now bothering the Soccer girls.  He was all over one of them.  I couldn’t quite identify who, otherwise I might be more jealous.  You know, this might have also been the guy who was all over Peyton when she was injured on the bench last season.  (I’m really trying too hard to interject a little more drama in this exhibition.)

 

On the next two points, Maggie had a touch kill and Starr followed it up with the thunder, 8-7 Aggies.  Bianca Perez came in to set and served up Ash for a kill.  10-7 Aggies.  Timeout WNM.  Yasso had touched an out serve on the previous point, but came back with a kill off a block on the next point.  After a block by Kacia and another Ashley kill, Maggie put in a kill.  17-12 Aggies. Timeout WNM. 

 

Maggie and Nicole teamed up for a block.  Starr made back-to-back kills.  Nicole made a couple of bear paw slaps for kills from the middle blocker position.  Grad Assistant, Lia Mosher, must be working with her.  That was her signature move.  Maggie finished the set off with an ace.  25-13 Aggies.

 

Set 3

There was a guy doing an ear-splitting whistle behind me during the match.  He’d done it often enough at the end of the last set that I was being deafened in one ear.  I should have moved, but I was a little hemmed in.  I hope I avoid this person next time, otherwise Volleyball is going to be intolerable.  (Little wonder I didn’t want to write this.)    

Mia Fox came in for Set 3.  I saw her dancing before the set.  (Like the new setters, the new middle blockers, Mia and Nicole, have some resemblance.  I’ll figure it out by the end of the season.)  The Soccer girls were on Bongo Cam having fun.  Jack Nixon came in and sat at the press table.  He was in shorts and a loose shirt.  It was Casual Day for him with no broadcasting duties. 

      

Starr had a couple of kills at the start of the set, along with a block with Aleka.  WNM was staying right with the Aggies.  5-5 Rilen Garcia came in to serve.  She got a big cheer from the crowd after her first dig.  Mia and Ash teamed up for a block, but Mustang Eimaya Medina put WNM up with an ace.  A blocking error then put WNM up, 6-8.  Mari scolded the team in the huddle. 

 

7-8 WNM, Yasso had a kill on a touch.  The call was challenged, but upheld.  The Aggies came back and retook the lead.  13-10 Aggies, Starr had a tip kill.  Darian and Eimaya both had pancake saves on the point.  Starr pounded in two more kills and WNM took a timeout, 15-11 Aggies.  Coach Jordan talked to all six setters.  Coach Whitis wasn’t watching the game.  He was having an involved conversation with a couple of boosters sitting behind him. 

 

There was an announcement of a fourth set during the break.  That was a good idea.  Yasso made a couple of more kills.  20-17 Aggies, Ash had the kill, but WNM had saves at the net on two overpass kill attempts.  Mia slapped a kill.  Makayla saved the point on a dig when two players fell down.  Ash and Mia combined for a block.  23-17 Makayla aced.  Ashley finished the set by stuffing it into two blockers, 25-18 Aggies.

 

Set 4

Some of the crowd left, but not before they went berserk for a New Mexico flag toss.  (I got mine last night.)  The lucky fans unfurled them in the stands.  The Cheerleaders packed up and left.  Thankfully, the Whistler left, as well.  Nicole, Maggie, and Bianca started with Makayla in as the libero.

 

Mari had a flying kill on the first point, but Makayla and Yasso almost took each other out going for a dig.  At 1-3 WNM, the Coach was up again.  Maggie made a kill on a quick set and then aced to put the Aggies up 4-3.

 

Eimaya aced to put WNM back up, 4-5.  There seemed to be some confusion on the coverage.  Makayla put an ace on the line to put the Aggies back up, 7-5.  The call was challenged, but upheld.  Mustang Jazmyne Walker aced to tie it at 7.  WNM retook the lead, 9-10, on a blocking error.  The Coach was giving instruction to Maggie on court from the sideline after the play. 

 

Claudia was in to set.  She connected with Ashley for a kill to tie it at 10.  Still, WNM was up at the media break, 13-15.  The Aggies huddled, but none of the coaches talked to the group.  I don’t even know how to interpret that.  Kacia tied it at 15 on a touch kill.  Claudia aced to put the Aggies up 17-16.  WNM fought back to the lead.  Mari went into the sideline tables trying to save the point, but took the next point with a kill to tie it at 18. 

 

Ash and Maggie kills put the Aggies back up, along with a block by Kacia.  23-19 Aggies, Maggie had an overpass kill.  WNM made a great dive out-of-bounds for a save on the point.  25-20 Aggies take the set, as Maggie finished it off with a kill.  The Aggies took all four sets, not that we’re counting.

 

First off, Starr Williams had 14 kills (by my questionable count).  I think she’s healthy and going to do well this year.  Yasso Amin had 9 kills, Ashley Herman had 8, and Maggie Lightheart and Mari Sharp each had 7.  This is great.  The Aggies have a bunch of killing machines and Ryleigh Whitekettle wasn’t even playing.  (I don’t know how the Coach is going to find playing time for all of these players.)            

 

I counted 9 blocks by seven players or combinations thereof.  I’m liking this.  I wrote down aces, but not errors, so I can’t judge the effectiveness of the serving.  (Forget about counting assists.)  Sorry to WNM, but it was enough trouble to track one team’s stats.  I think they put up a very good fight this afternoon, but were overmatched in the end.  They didn’t beat themselves or look bad.  I feel like there are a lot of good players for the Aggies.  It’s just a question of putting the right pieces together. 

 

Coach Jordan immediately went over to talk to Jack after the match.  They’ve both been here forever.  Did Jack used to call Volleyball games?  I’ve never heard him do it, so it’s been awhile. 

 

I’d planned on trying out a recommendation for dinner, but I’d gone out with dad yesterday to Arby’s and got stuffed.  I wasn’t interested in another big meal this weekend.  Also, I thought this match was going to be over quicker, so I just went home.  I’m sure I’ll get my appetite back in a couple weeks when I go to my next Aggie sporting event.  Hopefully, I’ll recover some enthusiasm, as well.