NM State Aggies vs FIU Panthers Volleyball 10-18-24

 

I’ve been off for three days and going to tonight’s volleyball game between the NM State Aggies and FIU Panthers is the first thing I’ve done over that time.  I’ve actually been here at night sort of wanting to be back at work (except that the reason I took off the extra time was to miss an all-hands meeting, no regrets).  I did finally get a haircut today and a chili cheese dog from Legend Burger, so I did something worthwhile.  Fall also suddenly began two days ago.  It’s gotten colder with a stiff breeze.

 

I should do some Aggie Sports recapping first.  Aggie Football won a thriller on Tuesday night.  They had tied the score with LA Tech with under two minutes left in the game.  The Bulldogs went right back down the field, but the Aggies blocked what would have been the winning chip shot field goal.  The Aggies won it, 33-30, in double overtime.  (I’m sure the fans appreciated getting the win for staying there late on a weeknight.)  That was their second win of the season and Shiyazh Pete was back in playing.  (Coincidence?) 

 

I was so bored in my time off; I also listened to UTEP Football get their first win and heard the Broncos win the next night.   It’s like football every day of the week now.  (UTEP fans are chomping at the bit to play NMSU to save their season right now.  Of course, Aggie fans probably thinking the same.)

 

The Aggies Coaches Show this week didn’t mention Aggie Volleyball.  It’s been a rough week.  In a mid-week matchup (that I forgot about), they were easily beaten in El Paso by the Miners in two matches.  With their two losses to UNM, the season is now officially a disaster.  UTEP has a great record this season, even better than conference top dog, WKU.  (However, WKU played a much tougher out-of-conference schedule.)  Over the weekend, the Aggies convincingly beat Sam Houston in their first match, but were swept in the second.  I have no idea what happened, but I did notice that Yasso Amin had a bad game in that second match.

 

 

I wasn't wearing pink, but I was wearing my new shirt.

A large group of little girls were outside the Pan-Am Center and many were dressed in pink.  It was another pink game with a t-shirt giveaway.  (I missed it again.  I’m still okay with that.)  The team was wearing their pink uniforms.  I have to admit that they looked good in them.  Coach Jordan was dressed up in a natty sweater vest.  Grad Assistant Lia Mosher was in a bright pink dress shirt and black slacks with her long blonde hair down.  She was like a life-sized Barbie doll in a hot business outfit.

 

However, looking over the team, there were a couple of issues.  Claudia Rossi was on the bench.  To review, the Aggies started the season with six setters on the team and they are now down to two.  With the rotation the Aggies run, they can’t afford to lose any more.  (It would go badly if they went down to one setter.)  Also missing was Assistant Coach Whitis.  He’s no longer on the roster.  I didn’t mention this about the match with the Lobos, but I noticed him and Coach Jordan weren’t speaking to each other.  I have no idea what the blow up was.  Well, I guess this means Assistant Coach Battle has moved up.

 

Anyway, surviving setter, Nellie Reese, changed her hairstyle.  Why didn’t she do this earlier to differentiate herself from Claudia?  There was a couple in the next section that pointedly didn’t stand for the Anthem.  I think they may have been Makayla Martinez parents.  (What’s up with that?)  Makayla was also starting tonight over Yasso.  (That’s even more baffling.)  Tess Fuqua made it into the team intro video with her cheering on the sidelines.  (I wanna see her play.)  One of the starters for FIU was named, “Travel Morris.”  There’s a unique name.  There was a great crowd of 986 on hand with a whole bunch of enthusiastic little girl volleyball players.  Let’s go!

 

Set 1

The Aggies started off dominating.  Starr Williams and Mari Sharp led off with kills.  Makayla had a great dig.  5-2 Aggies, Mari and Kacia Brown teamed up for a block.  Rilen Garcia rotated in and served up an ace hitting the backline.  Ashley Herman and Kacia added kills.  9-4 Aggies, Nicole Briggs and Ash had a block and FIU called a timeout.  The Aggie reserves started barking with that block.

 

I noticed Shiyazh and some guys from the Football team were here.  Later, Pistol Pete, wearing a pink dress shirt, went up and chatted with them.  Yasso came into the game.  She didn’t seem injured on the sidelines, so I was interested to watch her play.  9-7 Aggies, the Aggies won the point after a long rally.  The FIU coach questioned something after the point, but didn’t throw a challenge.  11-7 Aggies, Nellie served up an ace.  Starr put in another kill and then the teams traded service errors (every time).  14-9 Aggies, Starr finished another long point.  The Coach was up and ready to yell if they hadn’t won the point. 

 

The Aggies pulled away.  Mari had a block, Starr had a kill, and Mari had a kill.  I was getting some heavy pickle smells behind me.  I don’t like pickles.  Ashley had a block.  19-11 Aggies, FIU was called for a lift.  20-12, Mari had a flying kill from the backcourt.  Rilen, who’d set her, was pumped.  Nicole and Ash had another block and Starr finished off the set with a pair of kills.  Aggies win 25-15.    

 

Set 2: Aggies 1, FIU 0

We had our first souvenir toss and there was the predictable “Squee!” from the little girls for it.  With the teams changing ends, I got a good look at the Panthers.  They were generally tall, well-built, and nice-looking.  They’ve got their names on the back of their jerseys.  From the stats on the program, they’ve got four main scorers.  Their reserves would go “Yee Haw!” on kills.  I’m not sure why this team is so bad (2-17 record).  Yasso played for them last season (and UTEP before that).    

 

I did notice an injured Panther player on their bench.  She was very pretty and had her blonde hair pinned up like a princess.  (The shiny diamond earrings helped the look.)  She was scoring the game on the bench.  Ryleigh Whitekettle was doing that earlier in the season, but now she’s standing up with the reserves (but still unavailable).  Peyton Castillo was currently scoring for the Aggies.

 

Makayla aced on the backline to the start the set off well for the Aggies.  The Aggies took the next point.  It might have been a roof call.  The FIU coach questioned it, but didn’t challenge.  4-1 Aggies, Starr had a kill.  Mandi Morioka, the FIU libero, dove into the press table for it.  The Aggies took the next point on a net violation. 

 

Starr had a kill and Kacia had a solo block, before FIU had a three-point run.  8-5 Aggies, Mari had a kill to break the run.  Yasso had a joust at the net.  The Aggies won it on an FIU double touch.  FIU took the next point on an Aggie DT.  Mari had a nice save on the point.  Next, Rilen made an awkward backset and nobody was behind her.  Oops.  Yasso stuffed two attacks on next point.  She then had a kill and another kill that rebounded into the up official.  You know what?  I think she’s okay.  15-7 Aggies and a Media timeout.  We had a hat toss into the crowd.  “Squeeee!”

 

Yasso dunked one out of the break.  Ash followed with a kill.  FIU served an ace at 17-9 Aggies.  Ash and Yasso had kills.  Now I was smelling pizza behind me.  Where did somebody get pizza here?  20-12 Aggies, Starr was blocked on a swing.  That was FIU’s last highlight in this set.  Nicole had a kill at 20-12 and FIU took a timeout.

 

Mia Fox came in.  After an FIU foul, Maggie Lightheart (our sweetheart) came in.  Her parents were sitting below me.  They had no reaction.  24-13 Aggies, PA Ed called, “Boom!” on a big kill by Maggie.  This got a reaction from her folks.  There was a do-over on the next point.  The crowd got really loud.  The Aggie serve might have gone off before the whistle.  I’m not sure.  The up official yelled at one of the ball girls, who hustled a ball off the court.  Starr and Kacia had a block to finish the set, 25-13 Aggies.  As the teams changed ends, Starr came back and was actually laughing.  Is she loosening up finally?

 

Set 3: Aggies 2, FIU 0

Dance Cam was activated in the break!  The little girls were dancing the Macarena, though they weren’t playing that song.  Libero Darian Markham got the kill on the first point.  There was a missed set to another player and she was right there and slapped it over.  Darian came away grinning. 

 

Kacia had a block and Mari had a kill before a long rally at 4-2 Aggies.  Kacia had saved the point early before the Aggies took it.  The FIU coach challenged and there was a long review.  A couple of toddler girls were play-fighting below me.  It wasn’t much entertainment.  The call stood for the Aggies.  From there, Kacia, Ash, and Mari had kills.  7-2 Aggies and timeout FIU. 

 

Bantam Weight Volleyball was recognized and most of the little girls in the crowd cheered.  There was a NM State flag toss into the crowd.  Flags were unfurled around the crowd.  Out of the break, Rilen served up another ace.  What a serving run!  Mari had another kill, but the Coach was getting mad, even on points they were winning. 

 

12-3 Aggies, Ash talked the Coach into calling for a challenge on the point.  He didn’t seem sure (and it’s not like the set was close).  Little girls sang along to California Gurls by Katy Perry in the break.  Tess and Peyton grooved on the bench together.  The call stood.  Ash got back into the Coach’s good graces with a kill on a backset by Rilen.  Yasso and Kacia had a block and Yasso had a tip kill.  17-3 Aggies and FIU took a timeout to take suggestions for dinner.

 

Yasso had a kill and Ash had an overpass kill.  20-3 Aggies, Mari made a flying kill and the crowd went nuts.  Mia came in and Aleka Darko came in on the next point.  Mia stayed in to serve.  23-4 Aggies, Mia, a middle blocker, was working in the backcourt.  She ducked her 6’2” frame under an FIU swing and it sailed out.  Bella Castro came in to the serve.  24-4 Aggies was an absurd rally with Rilen and Bella making saves on the Aggie point.  Kaylee Peterson came in to serve, as the little girls started chanting, “Let’s go Aggies!”  Finally, Ash ended it with a kill.  Aggies win 25-5 and 3-0.       

 

The Aggie reserves charged the court.  I wonder if there was some pent up frustration after last week.  Coach Jordan gave the team a quick talk, which seemed upbeat from the way they reacted.  The little girls then swarmed the court to meet the team.  

 

The Aggies never trailed in this one, so it wasn’t entirely competitive.  Ashley Herman led the scoring with 10 kills.  Starr Williams and Mari Sharp each had 8.  Kacia Brown had 7 blocks.  Yasso Amin seemed fine in play.  I’m not sure what happened to her or why she wasn’t starting.  The team stats are almost gaudy:   .315% to -.088% hitting percentage, 38 to 16 kills, and 12 to 4 blocks. 

 

It was sprinkling outside, which surprised everyone.  Thankfully, it didn’t rain more than that.  That darn pizza smell made me hungry, which I had to rectify once I got home (with soup, which wasn’t the same thing).  We’ll see if Aggie Volleyball can keep it up tomorrow and if the weather cooperates for Aggie Soccer for the day/night double header.

NM State Aggies vs Kennesaw State Owls Soccer 10-13-24

 

I have to talk about the today’s soccer match between the New Mexico State Aggies and the Kennesaw State Owls, but really I’m glowing about what happened last week, which also involves the Soccer team.  I was sitting in a waiting room and met Mya Hammack.  She was so sweet and nice and beautiful.  I recognized her when she came in and I called her by name.  She might have recognized me from getting her autograph earlier in the season (8-18-24).  Mya sat down next to me and we chatted for about an hour.

  

 This is an older picture of Mya.

It was wonderful and delightful.  Mya’s charming beyond belief (as long as you’re not on the pitch with her and in an enemy uniform, which includes the refs).  There was one sad topic we discussed.  If I had the chance, I’d always meant to ask an Aggie Soccer player what happened to Thalia Chaverria.  Mya was okay about talking about it.  Thalia died of a seizure from a brain tumor.  They didn’t find out until the autopsy, so there was a delay in finding out the cause of the death.  (So does this answer all of my questions about this?  On one level, yes, but the full details may have confirmed something else I was thinking or maybe not.  I doubt I’ll ever know.)

 

So, you’re talking to Mya Hammack and you didn’t tell her that she was your “favorite” on the team and you still have her poster up from last year, but did ask about her dead teammate?  I was trying not to flirt with her.  (Granted, that didn’t stop me from doing it when getting her autograph, but I wanted to call her “cute” and embarrass her in front of her teammates then.)  In talking to her, I found out she’s way too good for me. Mya’s planning on graduating in December and leaving town in any case.  I’m just happy to have met her, though I’ve told everyone I know about this and I can’t stop thinking about it.  (Meanwhile, Ryleigh Whitekettle is like, “What?  Am I nothing to you (3-4-23)?

 

On to less important things, I was really hoping for a win today.  Aggie Volleyball had had a rough week.  (I’ll deal with that in another post.)  I’d watched a bunch of College Football yesterday and saw some great games, but didn’t get the results I’d hoped for.  (Let’s not even discuss Aggie Football.)  However, Diego Pavia did get another great underdog win for Vanderbilt on Saturday. 

 

Aggie Soccer had had mixed results on the road last week.  Against FIU, the team went a player down early in the game from a red card and lost 3-0.  Mya explained the foul and the rule in play for it.  Jena Johannes had grabbed an opposing player, who was on a breakaway.  That’s a no-no if you’re the final defender.  They then fought Liberty to a 2-2 draw with a late goal.  These were two of the best teams in conference.  It was good news that Loma McNeese was back playing, like said she would.  The bad news was that Xitlaly Hernandez was back on the shelf.

 

I was greeted with a sea of pink at the Soccer Complex.  The girls were practicing in pink shirts and a bunch of the crowd was also wearing them.  I’d missed the giveaway.  (And I was okay with that.)  I have a corral short-sleeve dress shirt I could have worn, but preferred to be more comfortable.  It was hot and sunny out and last time I’d worn a dress shirt to soccer (8-24-24), it was unpleasant. 

 

There were no little ball girls out today.  Instead, it was three athletic-looking black guys, possibly Football players.  I wonder if they were being punished.  The Hot Pan Am Girl was later drafted to act as a ball girl.  (They really needed at least one more person.)  She seemed ambivalent about it while wearing an unflattering orange vest, but still looking good.  I only mentioned the race of the guys because they had no trouble standing for the Anthem, unlike a couple of Aggie Soccer players.  (I did not ask Mya about them.)

 

There was a great passionate crowd out for the game.  Some of the Aggie girls were waving vigorously to somebody in the stands before play.  I sat next to a couple of senior ladies, who were very into the game.  Below me, a pair of grandparents came with their granddaughter.  They brought her in with a Radio Flyer wagon.  It was made of canvas and had lots of features, including a canopy.  I was fascinated with it, but would still rather have a little red wagon made of metal like I had as kid.  There was also an adorable little dog in the crowd.  The granddaughter was intimidated by it though.

 

First Half

No disrespect intended, but Kennesaw State will be abbreviated “KS” for the rest of this post.  The Aggies cranked up the offense to start.  Coach Baarts had wanted the team to stop having to play from behind.  They got two corners to start.  The second one was kicked out of the box, but the ball came to Ariana Ellison.  41’ left in the half, Ari made a beautiful shot into the top corner of the KS goal.  The goalie had no chance on it.  1-0 Aggies.  Honestly, the perfection of the shot was totally unexpected from anybody on the team maybe outside of taking shots in practice.  Ari seemed completely nonplussed with the accomplishment.

 

Loma was playing near the stands.  Without the Band there, it was pretty quiet.  She was doing a bunch of talking.  I wasn’t sure if she was talking to the opponent behind her, or her teammates, or to herself.  KS came right back on the attack.  37’ the Aggie net was left open.  Jena stepped in and kicked the ball out.  KS got three corners in succession.  The ball bounced around the box dangerously, but came out.  Meredith Scott and Andrea Alvarenga started an immediate counter after the third one.  Andrea was hard tackled outside the KS box.  A yellow card was issued.

 

32’ KS was still pressing.  Aggie goalie Valerie Guha charged out on a breakaway.  She slid at the attacker, but missed.  The net was again wide open, but the attack was stopped by the other defenders.  On another attack, a KS header went over the Aggie net.  29’ Mya Gonzales (Gonzo) made an attack, which resulted in an off pace shot that was caught.  KS came right back with a shot that went into the side of the Aggie net.

 

26’ off an Aggie corner, the Aggies got off a couple of shots that were blocked.  Three minutes later, Loma took a running shot that was caught.  20’ Andrea got knocked down.  There was no call.  The crowd didn’t like it.  “What’s with the ref?”  “I think he came in on the bus with Kennesaw State!”  The ref sounded German, but I doubt Valerie (our German player) made any effort to get to know him before or after the game.

 

19’ there was a hydration break, along with some mass Aggie subs.  KS’s bench looked a bit thin and they only subbed one or two at a time.  Coach Baarts was sending in lots of subs during the game.  I think he was trying to run them down.  16’ Janae Shaklee made a great tackle and strip at around midfield.  The crowd loved it.  The Aggies got two corners off that, but no shots.  Milana Eyrich (Millie) took a shot afterward that went just outside. 

 

11’ more Aggie subs came in.  Sydnee Johnson came in and got a lecture from the ref for violating protocol on a KS free kick.  He was not endearing himself to the crowd.  8’ Mya (my Mya, my favorite) got a steal.  She made a long crossing pass to Syd, but just missed her.  A couple of minutes later, Syd passed to Shila Rasoul.  Shila made a great pass across the goal, but there was no one on the other end of it.  3’ KS had a solo attack.  Jena broke it up.  Before the half ended, the Coach was up and yelling at a line judge over something.

 

Second Half

There was nothing to talk about during halftime.  On the scoreboard, the Aggies were down 3 to 1 in shots on goal, though up 5-3 in corners.  That was an odd differential.  To start the second half, Ari was dropped back on defense.  Mya was moved up to midfield, which was the first time I’d seen that this season.  I’d complimented her on her defense, but said she looked like she wanted to be on offense.  Yes, and she was originally a forward.           

 

Aggies jumped out to another quick start.  43’ left in the game, Meredith took a shot that was caught.  Loma had a solo breakaway.  She had a wide open shot, but put it over the goal.  She wore an ironic smile, but was not happy with herself.  Loma came right back with another shot, but KS keeper Charlee Bernal fell on it.  (Bernal was wearing a really sharp-looking bright yellow jersey with black letters and trim.)  KS stormed back with a shot that hit the scoreboard over the Aggie goal.  Val was now really screaming at her teammates.

 

39’ Meredith was on a breakaway.  She put one into the side of the net.  Andrea took a pop up shot that was caught.  35’ this was curious move.  Mya came out and Lauren Machuca came in for her.  Mya’s usually in for the whole game.  She looked okay coming out.  I didn’t notice her going anything wrong.  Mya did keep drifting back to go on defense. 

 

The Aggie offensive pressure continued.  33’ Janae took a shot that went wide.  Next, Meredith passed to Loma on a breakaway.  Loma made a crossing shot to Gonzo, who took a header shot that missed.  KS came back with Alana Nesbit making a charge.  She outran two defenders clinging to her.  Val had to come out and stop her shot.  Val had to catch another high bouncing shot right after.  23’ off of an Aggie free kick, Nesbit countered and went the length of the field before her attack was broken up.  Before that kick, Val had yelled to Lauren to stay back on defense.  That was probably a good move.

 

21’ mass Aggie subs came in and a hydration break.  Mya was back in and was put on Nesbit on defense.  The Aggies had a corner right out of the stoppage.  Another Aggie attack followed.  There was some nice passing downfield, but the players seemed reluctant to take a shot around the goal.  Finally, Lauren settled for a long shot that missed.  The crowd got a bit quiet.

 

17’ Nesbit was injured on the other side of the field.  I didn’t see what happened to her.  She was bent over, but walked off the field with a trainer.  She did come back in later.  No yellow card was issued.  Unfortunately, an overly long discussion ensued about the rules.  The crowd was just loving the ref here.  The ref finally did a drop for KS.

 

13’ Lauren was tripped in front of the stands.  There was no call, except from the fans.  Two minutes later, Ari went down hard, but there was again no call.  (I’m not saying this was retaliation for Nesbit going down, but like I said, I didn’t see what happened to her.) 

 

Still, the Aggies kept up the pressure.  Syd took a rolling shot that was scooped up.  10’ Loma passed to Syd on a breakaway.  Bernal got tangled with Loma and Syd had a wide open shot, which she buried.  2-0 Aggies.

 

5’ we had a delay for a KS thrown shoe.  While the player was retying her shoes, Lauren was smiling and waving to someone in the stands in the break.  I wonder if it was whoever the girls were waving at earlier.  Back to play, Andrea was knocked down.  On the resulting free kick, Syd took a shot that went over the net.  She then picked up a yellow card for upending a player.                 

 

And then, we were done.  Aggies win 2-0.  On the scoreboard, the Aggies still trailed 3 to 4 in SOG, but led 6 to 3 in the corners.  I heard somebody in the stands questioning those totals.  I somewhat do as well.  Taking them as they stand, Valerie Guha gets a nod for a clean sheet and for stopping 4 shots.  Ariana Ellison and Sydney Johnson are recognized for their goals.  No extra points for style, but Ari’s shot was really pretty.         

 

The game was a bit chippie.  The teams weren’t enthusiastic about shaking hands afterward.  The crowd was also a bit angry and tense.  That’s normal.  A good soccer crowd stops just short of being hooligans.  I thought about staying around after the game to see Mya, but I didn’t want to overstep any bounds.  The next game is Senior Day and she’s a senior.  I already told her I couldn’t come to their final home game with UTEP because of work, so I might see her for a farewell on Saturday.     

 

I think Aggie Baseball was playing at their ballpark when I left.  I looked at their Twitter.  They didn’t have a schedule for fall games.  I don’t think I’ve seen a Softball one either. I went to Subway for lunch.  That was a questionable decision.  At least I found out that the ice cream place next door was back open.  Then again, if it’s possible to screw up ice cream, they’ve come close to doing so.  The people working there were nice.  One of them asked about the purple ribbon I was wearing on my Aggie shirt.  It was for Thalia.  They’d handed out the ribbons earlier in the season.  I was finally able to say what had happened to Thalia from meeting Mya.  The clerks thought it was tragic.  Hopefully, we won’t have to memorialize any more student-athletes in the near future.    

Art: Tombstone Paintings

I went to an artshow at a monastery with my dad and a neighbor a couple of months ago.  We had a nice time and saw a lot of great art.

 

Dad and I were immediately attracted to this fellow's artwork.  By odd coincidence, we had been watching Tombstone on TV earlier in the afternoon.  This is the artist's business card.

I bought this postcard version.  Both of these images were large paintings at the artist's booth.

NM State Aggies vs LA Tech Bulldogs Volleyball 10-5-24

 

Well, the good news this Saturday morning was that there was an MLB playoff game on the radio.  The bad news was that I found out I couldn’t get AM radio signal in the Pan-Am Center.  That was probably okay for two reasons.  One, I wasn’t going to do double coverage again of baseball and today’s Aggie Volleyball game against the LA Tech Bulldogs.  It’s hard enough just writing down volleyball play-by-play.  Two, before I got cut off, Cleveland was up 5-0 in the first and Detroit hadn’t even gotten an out.  (The Indians won 7-0, as I found out later.)

 

I was hungry for another three-set win today.  Literally.  I hadn’t had time for breakfast before going to this noon game.  There was a bit a light crowd compared to last night (although the official attendance said otherwise).  At the end of practice, Mari Sharp popped a ball high over the court.  The other players covered their heads and scrambled.  Mari was embarrassed but laughing about it.  This would be a bit of foreshadowing to something weird that happened later in the game.

 

There was a new intro video for the team with some new footage and subtracting out some players that weren’t playing (though not all of them).  For the souvenir ball toss, Starr Williams threw hers at some nearby girls but missed.  The ball fell into the off-court area.  Some young women below me, who’d gotten a ball from Yasso Amin, handed theirs off to the girls.  Meanwhile, Nicole Briggs went over and got the ball off the court and handed it to the young women.  In turn, they handed it off to a little girl below them, who was Tess Fuqua’s baby sister (I think).  More on these young women later and why they were giving away balls.

 

Set 1

Starr got a tip kill to start the match.  Mari got the next Aggie point off a ball that hit the tape and fell over.  It seemed like a lucky day for the Aggies.  Kacia Brown put in a tip to make it 3-2 Aggies.  Claudia Rossi came in as the alternate setter.  The score stayed close.  Yasso was blocked on a double team, but Kacia and Mari both had kills afterward.  LAT gave the Aggies a 10-9 lead after a roofing call. 

 

The Aggies started to maintain a lead.  Nicole hit an off-speed kill, Mari had a kill, and Kacia dropped the hammer at 13-11 Aggies.  After a touch kill from Mari, Aleka Darko went “Boom!” on a kill, as called by PA Ed Carnathan.  LAT did make a couple of saves on the point.  15-13 Aggies took us to the Media timeout.

 

Out of the break, LAT took the next point.  I think setter Nellie Reese missed coverage on a dig.  Coach Jordan was up and yelling immediately.  17-14 Aggies, Yasso got a touch kill.  She’d missed a couple of shots long early.  Timeout LAT.  It was quiet enough briefly that I could hear the Coach, “You knew where she was going to hit it and you didn’t cover!”

 

The teams traded service errors.  LAT got an overpass kill.  They tied it at 18, when Yasso returned their serve into an antenna.  Timeout Aggies.  Back to play, LAT tooled a block to tie it at 19.  Coach Jordan almost stormed the court in anger.  Mari came back with a kill to put the Aggies back up, 21-19.  Timeout LAT.  It seemed like the Coach was talking to himself before he spoke to the team.  LAT scored the next point and Coach Jordan took a timeout.  It was a short talk.  He told Ashley Herman in the Reserves to get ready.  She started warming up.

 

Marketing Director Nicole Sacks came by and said, “Hi.”  She was operating a hand-held camera in the crowd.  LAT took a 22-21 lead.  Ash came in for Nicole.  A double touch called on LAT tied it.  Mari tooled a block to tie it at 23, but Nellie served into the net to put LAT on set point.  The Bulldogs converted immediately with an overpass kill to take the set, 25-23. 

 

Set 2: Bulldogs 1, Aggies 0

My stomach grumbled.  Should I start rooting for LAT to win this in three?  No.  Of course not.  (But if the Aggies go down two sets . . . )  LAT was called for a lift on the first play of the second set.  They’re hitting all of the spots the bingo card of fouls.  The Coach challenged the next point on a possible touch on a kill by Starr.  The call stood.  Mari came back with a kill on a touch.  Yasso got a kill to tie it at 4.  Rilen Garcia came in as the alternate setter.  I guess the Coach decided that the setting was the problem in the first set.

 

This move paid off quick with another kill by Yasso and Rilen serving up an ace in the corner.  Yasso made a block and at 8-4 Aggies, LAT took a timeout.  Out of the break, Yasso was double teamed on her next swing and blocked.  From there, the Aggies started pulling away.  Mari had an overpass kill at 10-5 Aggies.  Ash, Aleka, Mari, and Starr all had kills and it was 15-8 Aggies.

 

Morgan Stewart came in to serve.  During the point, the ball was hit high in the air and went into the overhead video unit.  The ball somehow got in the gap between the advertising cover and the unit and didn’t come down.  Now I’ve seen everything.  That was a one-in-a-million shot.  They had to replay the point.  (How are they going to get that ball down?)

 

With the teams changing ends, I was getting to watch LAT.  Their coach, Amber McCray, was really animated on the sidelines and was constantly talking to her team on court.  LAT put the ball into the antenna at 17-11 Aggies and called a timeout.  Kacia then rattled off the next three kills to make it 21-14 Aggies.  On the next point, an LAT free ball dropped in on the Aggie side untouched.  The Coach didn’t get as angry as I thought he would over that. 

 

Starr put in another kill.  After that, an LAT overpass dropped in untouched on the Aggie side.  Coach Jordan face-palmed.  Starr had a kill on the next point, but it was ruled out and untouched.  The whole team called for the Coach to make a challenge, which he did.  The reversal put the Aggies on set point.  Starr definitively finished it off with a kill, 25-18.       

 

Set 3: Aggies 1, Bulldogs 1

During the halftime break, they ran the promo for the 50-th anniversary of Aggie Volleyball, but at the end they introduced three alumni in the stands.  It was the young women seated below me.  They were Natalie Mikels, Jordan Pleasants, and Analyssa Acosta.  It’s good to see that they’re all still fans of the program.  (They had their backs to me.  Otherwise, I might have recognized them.  Maybe?)

 

Yasso scored the first two Aggie points and Ash added the third to make it 3-2 Aggies.  Still, the Coach was not happy.  He went over and yelled at the Reserves.  He really got in their faces and they weren’t even out on court playing.  Out on court, Mari put in two more kills.  Kaci then put in an ace.  The Reserves chanted, “Ole!”  However, Rilen missed a dig on the next point and the Coach lit into her.  When she cycled out, Rilen got another talk from the Coach while sitting next to him.

 

The Aggies kept the barrage going.  Ash and Mari had kills.  “Boom!” was the call on another kill by Starr.  Timeout LAT with the Aggies up, 9-4.  In the t-shirt toss in the break, Tess’ mom was holding her young child and waving her around somewhat dangerously calling for a shirt.  A little girl who did get one actually ran down to offer it to her, but she wouldn’t take it.

 

Starr got a touch kill to make it 10-5.  The refs hesitated on making that call.  The Coach was already reaching for his challenge card.  Starr put in another kill.  Yasso got the next kill and also made a great save on the point.  LAT called their final timeout at 13-6 Aggies.  Yasso then rattled off the next three Aggie points.  Morgan came in to serve for her.  Everyone likes her big serve, but she’d netted the last two. 

 

Let’s finish this.  Kacia had a solo block.  Mari had two more kills.  Yasso had a kill.  Kacia had another solo block.  Bella Garcia came in to serve and Starr finished the set with a tip, 25-13.  For set point, they were showing a video featuring a baby hippo.  The meaning of this escapes me.  Is it a popular meme I haven’t seen?

 

Set 4: Aggies 2, Bulldogs 1

The Aggie girls were on the other end of the court, but I could see them smiling and dancing.  The set started well with Nellie floating an ace into the corner.  3-1 Aggies, Starr made a kill that looked too easy.  Even early, the Aggies started running away with it.  6-2 Aggies, Yasso put in an overpass kill.  LAT won the point at 7-4, though a Bulldog player slid into the sideline table.  There were free balls on both sides and the ending kill hit a line judge at his feet.

 

Starr and Yasso had kills.  Rori Gray, the easy-to-spot tallest Bulldog, slapped down an overpass at 10-8 Aggies.  More Aggie kills were scored in by Ash and Mari.  Nicole and Mari combined on a block to make it 15-9 Aggies.  This took us to the Media timeout.  There was a mini football toss into the crowd.  One guy who got one threw his ball the length of the court to a lady in the north end.  Does he have any eligibility left?  Would he like to play quarterback for the Aggies?

 

By my count, the third Aggie service error of the set occurred when play resumed, but LAT returned the favor on the next point.  LAT took a timeout at 17-10 Aggies.  The Aggies stumbled a bit here.  They had their fourth service error.  Yasso was solo blocked.  Nicole had a kill, but the Yasso missed a shot high.  The Coach yelled at her.  She heard him and got a kill on the next point, 19-13.

 

Rilen aced to get the Aggies to 20-13.  Ashley put in another kill and LAT took their final timeout.  Coach Battle spoke to Yasso separately from the huddle.  Mia Fox and Maggie Lightheart (our sweetheart) came in.  22-14 Aggies, Mia took a powerful swing for her first kill.  23-15 Aggies, this was the longest point of the set and exhausting just to watch.  Whew!  It ended on a DT call on LAT.  Nicole was back in and had a kill to get the Aggies to match point.  Kaylee Peterson came in and got a dig on the next point.  An LAT net violation ended the set, 25-16, and the match, 3-1, for the Aggies.

 

The Aggies had 67 kills, which is an awful lot for a match that didn’t go five sets.  Mari Sharp and Yasso Amin led with 18 kills.  Starr Williams had 12 kills.  Kacia Brown really worked the net with 5 blocks and the Aggies led 7 to 4 in blocking.  Aggie serving put in 4 aces today.  Giulia Bonifacio led the Bulldogs with 10 kills. 

 

Boy when the Aggies get on a roll, they are seemingly unstoppable.  Unfortunately, they seem to lose concentration at times and errors get the best of them.  The Coach saw this game like I did.  It was a trap.  He was riding them constantly from the beginning to try and keep them focused.       

      

Autographs

I was honestly nervous about meeting the girls this time.  Still, I’d worn my best Aggie polo shirt and at least looked presentable.  I stood in line right behind Tess’ mom and little sister.  (Whew!  Tess definitely inherited some good looks.)  There were a bunch of adults and guys in line, unlike the usual with me and a bunch of little girls.  I’ll post these interactions in no particular order.

 

I did see Morgan Stewart first.  I told her about Ron being her biggest fan (literally), but he couldn’t be here.  I praised Makayla Martinez for her hustle.  Tess’ mom talked to Bella Garcia.  Bella called her, “Coach.”  Piecing it together from the program, I guess she’s the coach at Centennial High School and coached her own daughter.  (Bella seemed a bit pensive with her old coach.) 

 

I really felt compelled to say something encouraging to Maggie Lightheart (sigh, so lovely, but kind of intimidating).  I told her to keep listening to the coaches and that she was built to succeed.  I pointed at Ashley Herman next to her and said, “She spent two years on the bench before she got to play regularly.”  I asked Ash about her annoying the coaches with her pre-set fist-bumping.  She laughed and said she might start doing that again.           

 

I told Aleka Darko she had the best smile on the team and I got to see it.  I think she complimented my thunderbird belt buckle (or it was somebody else).  It does look good, which is why I wore it for this.  Starr Williams showed a little more enthusiasm after her kills than usual but was still pretty restrained.  She was keeping her head down signing.  I got her attention and told her she had a great game.  That got a little smile from her.

 

I told our returning graduate student, Darian Markham, “You couldn’t stay away, could you?”  She laughed and knew what I meant.  I told Mia Fox she had a couple of good swings at the end.  She wanted more.  (She might be getting them in the near future.)  “Bianca Perez, you’re in cast now!” I said to her.  Yes, she’d just gotten surgery on a torn ACL.     

 

I finally got to Tess Fuqua.  She gave her little sister a kiss before getting to me.  I wanted to tell Tess she had the best hair on the team but thought the better of flirting with her in front of her mom.  I settled for asking her what she said to the huddle at the Lobo game.  She seemed a little embarrassed, “I told them to . . . umm . . . stop playing like . . . umm . . . sissies and play harder.”  I think she may have cleaned up her language a bit with her family there.    

 

I had to say it to Ryleigh Whitekettle, “On behalf of everyone, it’s killing us that you’re sitting on the bench!”  She had such a sweet smile for that comment.  I told her that I’d hurt my back earlier this year and that I understood her pain.  Yasso Amin was at the end of the line.  She thanked me (and probably everyone else) for coming out to the game.  In return, I thanked her for coming here to play.  Yasso shook my hand.  This is a young woman who was raised well with great manners.  (I forgot to tell her how cute she looked on the poster.)

 

Walking across the court, I ran into Assistant Coach Tatyana Battle.  I called her, “Coach Battle,” and congratulated her on her promotion.  Grad Assistant Lia Mosher came over and I told her she looked “Very coach-like” in the huddle talking to the girls.  I told them I liked the outfit coordination yesterday.  They liked it, too.  They’ll try to do it again.  (Again, where was Assistant Coach Whitis this weekend?)  

 

Can I eat finally?  Great!  I went down to Roadrunner Pizza for a sandwich, which they served me quickly.  Thank you.  It was great.  I found an Aggie Sports Annual Report in my mail when I got home, which was a nice surprise.  (I’ll make a ***post*** of it after I’ve read it.)

 

Also surprising, the big College Football news of the day happened.  Vanderbilt beat #1 Alabama today, 40-35.  The highlight of the game was Diego Pavia throwing a 40-yard touchdown on a 4-th and 1.  Way to go, Diego!  (Damn it!  NMSU might be a ranked team if they’d been able to hold the coach and team together for this season.) 

 

Arkansas beat #4 Tennessee later, 19-14.  Dad stayed up past his bedtime to see the end and called me.  He was so happy.  He’s from Missouri, though.  He didn’t seem to care that #9 Missouri and got badly beat by Texas A&M #25.  It was a day of upsets in college football.  While watching, I also got to listen to the Padres versus the Dodgers on the radio.  I didn’t get the result I wanted, but it was a good game.  It didn’t spoil my otherwise pleasant day of sports.