NM State Aggies vs Sam Houston State Bearkats Soccer 9-20-25

It’s been a disaster.    I say this as an observation without sarcasm.    The Aggie Soccer team is 1-9 after their preconference schedule.    I went over their issues a bit in an Aggie Volleyball post.    Since their home loss to Texas Tech, the Aggies have lost three road matches: 4-0 to UNM, 3-2 to Cal State Fullerton, and 2-1 to Long Beach State.   

Unlike the home matches I’ve seen, the team did open up the offense starting with their game against UNM, but didn’t get the results.    Backup keeper, Karolanne Lafortune, finished the game in net.    Ariana Leamons and Jena Johannes scored against Cal and Mya Gonzales scored against Long Beach.    In all of these games, primary goalie, Valerie Guha, was having to make a lot of saves.

Undaunted, I still came out for this Saturday night game against the Sam Houston State Bearkats.    The road was blocked to the field and there were a bunch of school busses in the Pan-Am parking lot.    I think it was the annual Battle of the Bands at Aggie Memorial Stadium.    I’d see some bands going in later, but I never heard them playing.    I came way too early after a day of hanging out with dad watching College Football.    (We also visited a new Dairy Queen that I didn’t know about.)    There was already a big crowd in the grandstand.    It seemed much larger than this official 635.

Were they there for the giveaway shirt or the postgame autographs?    I knew the shirt was for students only, so I wasn’t excited for it.    A family walked away disappointed from the souvenir table in front of me.    The grandma pronounced it a “scam.”    However, I didn’t notice anybody wearing the jerseys inside.    More on that later.   

The field inside finally looked wonderful and had the smell of fresh cut grass.    We’d gotten a bunch of rain this week.    A storm missed town earlier in the afternoon.    There wouldn’t be any weather issues tonight.    I grabbed some courtesy water, which I appreciated, though it wasn’t hot.    It was actually a perfect night to be outdoors.    I saw several Aggie bucket cow hats in the crowd.    (Grrrr.)    I was wearing my Wave the Wonder Dog shirt.    I saw a little girl wearing one and suddenly felt a bit embarrassed.    The Band wasn’t there, which was surprising since it was a bye week for Football.    There were plenty of cowbells to make up for it.           

I met the Weight Room Manager, Ramey, in the stands.    I asked about the Football team, who’d had a bad loss last week, and the Soccer team.    He thought Football was okay.    The girls seemed a bit down, but perked up and came together before the game.    They did seem in good spirits after they came on field after suiting up.   

Ramey gave me the unfortunate news that Aggie Volleyball had lost today.    They’d lost the first two matches of their road trip yesterday and apparently lost Tess Fuqua today, as well.    I’m not sure what happened to her.    She’d had 22 kills in one match yesterday.    Playing two five-set matches against UNM earlier in the week may have drained them.    (I hope I’m not writing, “It’s been a disaster,” about the entire Aggie Sports season later.)

I noticed an issue immediately with the Soccer team with their uniforms.    They were wearing black and Val was wearing dark purple.    Sure enough, during player introductions, the ref had a long conversation with Val.    I’m sure he wanted her to change to a more contrasting color, but he allowed it.    The purple was for dearly departed Thalia Chaverria, who was being honored tonight.    The light posts were lit in purple.    Teammate Blakley Edgar read a lovely memorial to Thalia before the game.

First Half

The Aggies were on offense to begin with.    43’ left in the half, the Aggies got a corner.    There was a kick in front of the Sam Houston goal that went wide.    The crowd was buzzing and loud, as they would be for entire game pretty much.    There was a very pretty blonde ball girl in front of the stands.    She’d be a constant distraction from the game.    I noticed her little finger was in a cast.    I wonder if she’s on a team.

SH came back.    39’ Val had to bat away a shot.    This led to a corner.    Val blocked a long, high shot.    SH got the rebound and put it in.    The Aggies on the field immediately protested.    Maybe there was a handball?    Regardless, Coach Baarts wasn’t mad and the goal stood.    1-0 Bearkats.    The PA seemed angry and only announced the goal, but not the player making the shot.    It was Kelsey Villatoro, assisted by Ellie Morgan (from the official scoring).   

I found that discouraging, but the crowd and the team were still enthusiastic.    The action went back-and-forth.    34’ Meredith Scott took a long shot that went wide.    33’ Bearkat Cadence Sanders made a solo charge with a shot that was high.    31’ Ariana Leamons made an attack.    She passed back to Ariana Ellison, who passed to Meredith coming in, but it didn’t connect.

SH had another corner.    27’ they made another rush with a pair of attackers.    Tiana Johnson took a pass and put it in.    (Assists from Kinsey Hill and Taylor Vance.)    Val came had come out to make a stop, but couldn’t get it.    2-0 Bearkats.   

26’ Meredith came right back down on the attack.    She passed to Blakley in the box, but SH keeper, Katie Bahn, fell on it.    25’ defender Marlee Cavitt tripped up an attacker.    I thought there’d be a yellow card, but it was just a foul.    It wasn’t my imagination.    The game was getting more physical.    The resulting free kick from 40 yards out was caught by Val.

23’ Ari L. made a solo rush.    Her shot was deflected by a defender.    It was a near handball.    Meredith took a rebound shot that went wide.    Some kids in the crowd began a “Let’s go, Aggies!” chant.    Where would we be without the kids cheering?    Blakley came out on a sub.    The Coach gave her a very demonstrative talk on the sidelines waving his arms.    21’ Johnson took a shot that went wide and led to another SH corner.   

20’ Esme Arenas (short for Esmerelda, by the way) was the Aggie player that subbed in.    She made a solo attack and got passed the defenders.    No offsides call was made.    Bahn ran out of the box to engage her to trip her up.    A minute later, Esme got the ball again in the SH box off a great pass and put it right in.    2-1 Bearkats.    Bianaca Chacon and Amaya Simoni-Walters were given the assists.    I don’t know which one had the great pass.

18’ a ball flew into the grandstand.    The pretty ball girl smiled when the ball came back to her.    Mostly, she was frowning during the game.    Sanders took a shot that Val caught.    The crowd now was louder than ever.    17’ Marlee made a speedy attack.    Unfortunately, there was nobody coming up the middle to make a follow up attack.    15’ Ari E. intercepted a pass, but her attack was broken up.    Ari would take a long shot that went wide.   

On the far sideline, an Aggie player and an SH player seemed to fight over the ball on a throw-in.    I couldn’t see who was involved, but the crowd cheered it on.    The Aggies and Bearkats then traded shots.    At midfield, Meredith took a high kick from an SH player.    A Bearkat player was knocked down immediately afterward.    9’ an SH attack was broken up.    They got a corner out of it, but no shot.    7’ Marlee made another quick charge.    She just missed connecting with Esme, who would have had an easy shot.    Esme put her head in her hands.    The crowd loved the effort, at least.

6’ Mya Gonzales charged in and took a shot on the wing that was caught.    5’ Andrea Alvarenga had the ball in the SH box.    She had an open shot, but instead dribbled around and passed it.    The crowd collectively groaned.    4’ a group of Aggie subs came in.    A couple of minutes later, a bunch of the crowd left.    I’d heard a student behind me say that they weren’t handing out the jerseys until the half.    These people were going to line up.    Indeed, an announcement would be made at the half.    With under a minute left, SH made a good attack effort, but it was off.    2-1 Bearkats.

Halftime

I forgot to write down the halftime stats.    Who cares?    The new ASNMSU president came out and tossed a few jerseys to the crowd.    He’s a handsome devil, I have to admit, but I wouldn’t trust him.    Some students came back wearing their new Aggie Soccer jerseys.    I also must admit, they’re very nice and I’m jealous.    It’s not working out for me with souvenirs this season with Soccer.    There was no entertainment, though there was an adorable little girl in a sweater, a long prairie skirt, and cowboy boots, who was dancing to the PA Tejano music.    It was cute and she was surprisingly good at dancing.

Second Half

The crowd was a bit smaller after the giveaway, maybe a bit more subdued, but was still loud and into it.    41’ left in the game, Emma O’Neill was in and made a free kick at the SH net that was caught.    39’ I think Ari E. was mugged by a Bearkat player by the Aggie bench across the field from me.    The players were in an uproar after this.    The refs were “Letting the girls play.”   

A band was lined up at the top of the berm on the stadium.    They filed into their seats.    Back to soccer, 38’ Marlee took a shot in the box that Bahn smothered.    The crowd approved of the attempt.    The reserve girls on both teams were cheering loudly.    A few minutes later, Milana Eyrich took a wide shot.    34’ Kennedy Herrera tackled Johnson on a breakaway.    She was called for a foul, which put the crowd in an uproar.    There was a free kick at the top of the Aggie box, but Pam Murray shot it over the Aggie goal.

31’ Marlee came from out of nowhere and ran down a solo SH charge at the Aggie net.    The girl has afterburners.    Back the other way, possibly the most impressive shot of the game, Esme, with four defenders hanging on her, still managed to get a shot off in the SH box that went just wide.    I’m still impressed a day later writing this.    SH came back with a couple of attacks.    Johnson shot one over the goal.    A few minutes later, after some kicking the ball around the Aggie box, SH had a corner.    Val dunked one shot and caught another.

The action cooled for a bit into a defensive struggle with the ball mostly in the Aggie end.    16’ the Aggies finally got a free kick in the SH end.    The ball was punted into the SH box, where Amaya made a hook kick in front of the net for a goooooal!    Bianca and Meredith got the assist getting it to her.    That was the equalizer and very clutch.    SH seemed to have it locked down before this, so this goal surprised everyone.

More violence on field ensued.    13’ Tessa O’Neill was taken down hard.    10’ Ainsleigh Thomson flattened a Bearkat.    Meredith was kicked hard in the shins right after and went down.    9’ Ari E. took a long shot off a free kick that was caught.    5’ off a throw-in, Esme took a shot directly in front of the SH net.    Bahn had a terrific reaction to stop it.    Right after, Meredith passed to Esme in the SH box.    There was a big collision with the defenders and the crowd wanted a foul, but didn’t get it.

The Aggies kept attacking.    4’ the Aggies had a corner that was kicked away.    3’ the Aggies had a free kick.    Val ran over to the SH end to take it.    The resulting shot on goal was caught.    2’ there was stoppage with Ainsleigh injured.    (Retaliation for a few minutes ago perhaps.)    She came out.    1’ Meredith made a super dangerous back pass to Val with two attackers on her.    She was trying to get the ball out of the Aggie end quickly.    SH had a corner with under a minute and that was all.    It’s a draw, 2-2.

That was hard fought by the Aggies to avoid the loss, which they were determined they weren’t going to do on Thalia Day.    (That was the reported halftime speech by the players.)    Just from their record, Sam Houston is a mediocre team, so this isn’t encouraging.    Ramey had hoped the tough pre-conference schedule might make the conference game easier by comparison.   

The Aggies at least opened up the offense.    They were up 8-6 in shots on goal.    SH had a 6-3 advantage in corners.    Shots were even at 13.    In spite of the rough play, there were no yellows.    Gameballs to Amaya Simoni-Walters for her clutch goal and an assist, to Bianca Chacon for two assists, and one to Esme Arenas for her goal and for being an offensive sparkplug in general.   

Autographs

It was time to again stand in line with a bunch of little girls.    Ah ha!    This time I was with a guy and his dog.    I’d seen them before and I thought it was Wave with a different handler, but it was a dog that just happened to look a whole lot like Wave.    His name is Bogey and he’s not related to Wave either; he’s a rescue from the pound.    What a find!    He’s a beautiful animal and just as friendly and well behaved as Wave.    (There I was wearing my Wave shirt and Wave hat.    I’m such a fanboy.)    

While in line, a dog attacked Marlee on the field.    I think she knew her attacker.    He seemed very rambunctious.    Women’s Basketball was here, not getting autographs, but they were on knoll watching the game.    I might have heard them a few times.    Coach Baarts came by to talk to some fans.    I wanted to say something encouraging, but didn’t get the chance.    He looked insecure, if not haunted.

I told Bogey’s owner that the girls were going to go crazy for the dog.    They did.    When he came by, they stopped everything to pet him.    I almost think the dog was looking forward to this moment.    The girls were nice to me, but not that enthusiastic.   

Unfortunately, I either missed or didn’t get the attention of several girls I meant to talk to.    (I didn’t just have a cute dog in front of me, there was also a cute little kid behind me.)    I was also distracted in line refreshing the Aggie website trying to get the official scoring.    I didn’t see who made that second Aggie goal and didn’t hear the announcement over the crowd noise.    I wanted to make sure I complimented the right person.

I’m still kicking myself for not identifying Blakley Edgar and telling her she made a great memorial speech about Talia.    Sorry.    Meredith Scott is very cute and bubbly, but I didn’t get to say anything to her between the dog and the kid.    I wanted to call Marlee Cavitt, “Afterburner,” but she was sitting with Meredith and giggling along with her.    I did not identify Esme Arenas to congratulate her on her goal.    I managed to at least say, “Hello,” to a few players I knew on sight.   

I actually conversed a little with a few other players.    I congratulated Karolanne Lafortune on getting into a few games and doing well.    I asked Sydnee Johnson how she was doing.    She’s still not able to play.    She’d be another speedy player.    I commented on Kennedy Herrera changing her hair color.    Thankfully, they posted the stats before I got to Amaya Simoni-Walters so I could congratulate her on her goal.    I told Rachel Haan I was glad I finally got to see her play this year.   

Finally, Valerie Guha was last in line and standing, whereas everyone else was sitting.    She was wearing two ice packs on her hips.    This poor girl.    She did confirm that the ref was talking to her about her uniform color.                         

Okay, well it was a nice night and a reasonably exciting game with a good crowd.    Still, it’s hard to get excited about a tie.    I may be even less convinced about this team’s future.    I’ve been offered a ticket to a baseball fundraiser the same night as Soccer’s last game.    I might not feel bad about missing soccer.   

NM State Aggies vs UNM Lobos Volleyball 9-17-25 Part 2

 

Maggie serving for the match.

Continued from Part 1

Set 3: Aggies 1, Lobos 1

Several students were in the crowd. There was a “Grand in the Stands” giveaway that they were eligible for. I took off for a bathroom. After yesterday’s match between these two teams, I figured this one might run long, so no point in holding it. I assume some student was happy.

Kate Sinclair scored the first two points from the middle. Lobo libero Camila Canedo did make an off-court save on one of them. The Lobos took the lead after that, 3-4. Mia Fox and Nellie Reese had a mix up on setting and Coach Jordan was rubbing his head. After a couple more mishits, it was 3-6 Lobos and the Aggies took an early timeout. The coveted Aggie cow bucket hat was being thrown to the crowd by the Cheerleaders. The little girls were shrieking. Nellie was getting some extra chatting from the Coach in the break.

Tess Fuqua had an overpass kill and a touch kill, but the Lobos started pulling away. Nellie’s mom, Robin, made the comment, “The wheels have come off.” 5-11 Lobos, after Maggie fired a shot out, the Coach put Rilen Garcia in for Claudia Rossi, apparently blaming the setter. (He probably wanted to get Rilen some work, too.) Unfortunately, Tess fired one out right after.

6-13 Lobos, Zoe had a kill. Maggie had a block on the next point and tooled a block on the one after. 9-15 the Lobos sided out and had an off-court save. The Coach put Bella Castro in for Tess, going small. (Probably trying to save a little wear and tear on Tess.) 11-17 Maggie made a dive dig on an overpass. The ball popped over the net for a surprising kill. Unfortunately, she missed a dig after and the Coach pulled her for Jacqueline Corcoran. The Coach chewed Maggie out for a minute. She went back to the Reserves and stood by herself, obviously unhappy. I wanted to give her a hug. (Again, the Coach probably thought she was getting tired and had written off the set, so he took her out to rest her.)

Tess did come back in and got a kill, 13-20 Lobos. Next, Mia pounded one hard enough to rebound the ball into the stands. 15-21 Tess aced. Jaelynn Kohli was blocked on the next point. She was still playing, but a bit quiet. Mia tooled a block and Nellie served another ace, but the Lobos took this one, 18-25, after a long rally.

Set 4: Lobos 2, Aggies 1

The crowd was again into the Whataburger food race on the video screen. I’m into going to Whataburger in the near future for a Honey Barbeque Chicken Strip Sandwich. I need to make this happen. The Lobos huddled up in the corner off the court, which was a little different. I offhandedly asked Trey what the ticket prices were for this game. Him and Robin said Nellie had forgotten to put them on the family list and it was $10 each. (Son Cooper apparently never remembers for Baseball.) The ticket I bought for dad on Saturday was $7, but they usually charge more for big games. Prices have gone up.

Nellie didn’t forget how to serve and put in another ace to begin Set 4. The Lobos tied it on the next point. Maggie Lightheart made a dive and a one-handed dig attempt on it. 2-1 Aggies, Tess had a touch kill. 3-2 Aggies, probably the longest point of the match. It was absolutely insane. Maggie may have had four or five swings on the point before Kate finished it with a kill. Maggie did tie it at 4 by finally getting a kill. She gave the Aggies a lead with a kill off the blockers.

The Lobos retook the lead, 5-6, by blocking Zoe Ziegler. Maggie tied it back up at 8 when she was left wide open for a kill. Kate tied it at 9 and then tied it at 10 with kills. Can you tell this was a tight set? The Aggies took the lead on an ace by Tess off a shanked return. Maggie added to it with a block. Makayla Martinez rotated in to serve and made an ace off the tape, 13-11 Aggies. 14-12 Mia and Maggie combined on a block. I noticed the Coach was standing and watching. I think he was into this as much as the fans. Maggie had a kill going into the Media break, 15-13.

Mia and Zoe combined on a block, 16-13 Aggies. 17-14 Mia smacked a ball hard enough to bounce into the stands nearby, near Wave the Wonder Dog! Protect the dog! The Lobos made a comeback. Tess was blocked to tie it at 17. Timeout Aggies. Maggie had a misfire out of the break and Bella came in for her. Zoe tied it back up at 18 with a swing through the blockers. The Lobos took a 19-20 lead off a touch call. The Coach challenged, but it was upheld.

Meanwhile during the delay, the Reserves with Maggie there on the other end of the court, were huddled up tightly together and doing something where one of them would step out and turn her head. They took turns doing this. The Coach called for their attention, but then they kept doing it. Trey had no idea what this was about. This was absolutely bizarre to watch, but it somehow helped.

Maggie came back in when the Aggies sided out. Kate tied it at 20 with an overpass smash. The Lobos took a timeout. Back to play, Mia made a block, but the ball was dug out and returned. Mia fired out and the Lobos tied it at 22. 23-22 Aggies, Jae tooled a block. We got to set point on a kill by Tess, as her teammates were colliding behind her. The crowd was up and shouting. Zoe got the kill to take the set, 25-25 Aggies. It was an insane long rally with the crowd going crazy. Makayla kept it going with a save on an overpass kill.

Set 5: Aggies 2, Lobos 2

I was shaking after that final point. It might have been excitement or the cold in the Pan-Am Center was finally getting to me. I should have dressed warmer. Dance Cam was on to the tune of ABBA’s Dancing Queen. The camera found a pudgy kid working it to the delight of the crowd.

Kate began the final set with a block. Jaelynn was blocked on the next point, but got a touch kill after. Tess scored the next two Aggie kills and made it, 4-2 Aggies, with a shot off a defender. The Lobos tied it at 4. Zoe made a tip that hung on the net for a moment that then fell on the Aggie side. The Coach challenged that the ball had hit the floor earlier, but the call was upheld. In the break, the camera found the fat kid again dancing to some cumbia music.

Mia had a tip kill at 5-4 Aggies, was blocked at 6-5, and tooled a block at 7-5. 8-5 Aggies, Zoe made a solo block. The teams switched ends. Wave was put on camera. He had these big, sorrowful eyes that said, Please win. Zoe tooled a block to make it, 9-6 Aggies. 10-6 Nellie aced. Timeout Lobos. (A startling stat from of the TV broadcast came up on the video screen, but I’ll save it for later.) The Lobos lost the next point. It might have been Four Touches.

12-7 Aggies, Jae with the kill. Timeout Lobos again. The fat kid was dancing to the Pedro the Dancing Baby Raccoon Dance. 17-7 Maggie aced. Match point, Maggie aced again and the girls rushed the court. Aggies win the set, 15-7, and the match, 3-2. What a battle! As a freshman, the Coach had put Maggie in these serving situations, so that paid off.

Jack Nixon came out of the crowd to congratulate Coach Jordan. The team huddled up on court and the Coach spoke to them. He looked angry, but Trey said he saw him say, “Good job.” Nellie came over to her parents. Her fingers were sore from the match. She was eager to talk about play, but her brother Cooper came by with his teammate Cade, and I decided I’d best leave.

  

This was a mirror of the Tuesday match, but with a flipped result. It was nearly three hours. The Lobos out-hit the Aggies .206 to .169, but pretty much everything else went the Aggies’ way. I usually highlight one stat for the victory, but this one is embarrassing. The Aggies were up 13 to 1 in aces. They had 7 errors, which are free points, but aces are the next best thing. The Aggies were up in kills, 64-53, and blocks, 12-7.

Giola Riccato of Italy paced the Lobos with 13 kills. Seenane Brewer had 11, Reagan Miller and Addison France each had 10 kills. Definite Gameball for Maggie Lightheart. She had 9 kills, 4 aces, 5 blocks, and 10 digs. Numbers tend to be gaudy for five-setters, but that was a great all-around effort. I don’t know, but the Coach yelling at her appeared to work. (But I hated seeing her sad.) Tess Fuqua led all scorers with 17 kills. She wanted this one for her hometown.

They had plenty of support. Jaelynn Kohli had 11 kills and 5 blocks and apparently has rubber ankles. Our towers were awesome: Mia Fox 10 kills, Zoe Ziegler 8, and Kate Sinclair 8. I think this team has 6 players capable of scoring in double digits in any match, so pass that ball around. Nellie Reese, in addition to leading in assists, had 4 aces and 12 digs. Makayla Martinez led in digs with 13. I think I’ll give an assist to the crowd for this one, too. They sort of willed that Set 4 win.

This was as good a lineup the Aggies can put out this season. They looked good against a good team. With the crowd behind them, I like their chances at home at least. Even with a few embarrassing collisions, they really seemed to work as a team. I think they’ll be competitive in conference, but we’ll have to see if they can compete with UTEP and WKU. The girls have a busy week with three more matches on schedule before starting conference play.

I came back to work the next day. One of my coworkers was so happy to talk to me. I’d been trying to get her to go to a volleyball game, since she was a player in high school. She had watched this match on TV from the fourth set on. She was all smiles and so excited. She was super impressed with Zoe and Nellie. (I made sure to tell Trey.) I think she’ll finally be going to a game in the future.

NM State Aggies vs UNM Lobos Volleyball 9-17-25 Part 1

This week’s Aggie Coaches Show had an interesting divulgence from Coach Sanchez of the Aggie Football team. Their next game is going to be against the Lobos. He said the team was made well aware that their funding had been cut in favor of UNM. (Given that the Lobos beat UCLA last Friday in football that might have been a good investment.)

If this is true, this is part of the fallout from firing Mario Moccia as the Athletic Director. Mario knew everybody in Santa Fe and lobbied hard for NMSU Athletic funding. Without him, they had to start from scratch and legislators were easily swayed to giving the funding to nearby Albuquerque. The next time the university needs to hire a new coach, or, heaven help us, needs to find a new conference, that’ll complete Mario’s revenge since he also seemed to know everyone in college sports.

Granted, you might not notice a funding cut considering Football, Men and Women’s Basketball, Softball, and Baseball aren’t doing that well. However, Soccer and Volleyball were competitive in conference. Aggie Soccer has completely fallen off a cliff (1-9 record). Their strength of schedule to this point has been brutal. Maybe they’ll do better in the conference part of their schedule, but it’s hard to imagine. We don’t yet know how good Volleyball is or isn’t, since they didn’t host a tournament this season.

Does this all point to funding issues? The best players expect to be paid with NIL money. It’s hard to recruit top talent without it. As for the tournament, smaller university teams expect to be paid to come here, and bigger universities expect a challenge that won’t lower their rating. Of course, facilities at NMSU need upgrading, repair, and replacement to help recruiting. This is mostly happening now because of very generous donations from donors, not state funding.

As is, NMSU’s best hope in conference may be hoping that the best teams leave. (I know UTEP is leaving, certainly not their best. I think other teams are going too, but I’m not sure who.) Of course, the conference may go away if it starts coming apart. This has almost happened before, which is how NMSU ended up in it. They were desperate for new members.

Aggie Volleyball’s first real test was scheduled for this week with a pair against the Lobos. Last year, after a couple years of not playing, the Lobos embarrassed the Aggies in their two matches (9-19-24).  The Aggies played in Albuquerque yesterday and lost in five sets. They lost the first set, took the next two, but dropped the last two. Encouragingly, they were all pretty close.

From looking back, I was surprised that attendance at UNM was well off of last year going from 1300 to 900. The Lobos out-hit the Aggies, .290 to .219, but the Aggies were up in kills, blocks, and aces. Jaelynn Kohli was back and paced the Aggies 15 kills. That’s awesome. Maggie Lightheart had 14 kills, Mia Fox had 11, Tess Fuqua had 10, and Kate Sinclair had 6 blocks. Addison France led the Lobos with 20 kills.

I was plenty busy on my day off before tonight’s evening game. I ended up getting tired and taking a nap. Dad was invited out to another café rehearsal performance, so he wouldn’t be attending. Glad I took the nap because it was going to be a long night.

I was once again sitting with the Reese family. Trey and Robin had missed the game in Albuquerque, so I wasn’t able to get a report on the match. I asked about an upcoming Aggie Baseball game/fundraiser and if they were going. (I may be going. Fan Michael offered me a ticket.) Not only were they, they were in a competition with the other parents to sell tickets. The winners would have their kids starting. Their son Cooper Reese will get to pitch an inning thanks to their efforts.

I did mention what I wrote above about funding issues to them. Robin actually asked me what happened to the Soccer program. I’m not any sort of expert, but it seemed like they didn’t reload with great transfers or have more players ready to step up and replace departing players. This season’s schedule wasn’t meant for a team going through rebuilding. In that sense, Volleyball has been amazingly fortunate. They didn’t get any big university transfers, but Coach Jordan nailed it with a couple of great freshmen recruits and a JC transfer. Also, they had players who’d been in program for a while, ready to come up and start.

There was a great crowd tonight at 1,413. It was bolstered with several girl’s teams. I saw the bus for Hot Springs (T or C) outside. Tom was there. I hadn’t seen him in a while. I could hear him yelling occasionally during the match. The grill was open on the concourse. I should have thought of that. I might have made different dinner plans.

As for the team, Jaelynn was still wearing thumb guard, but ready to play. Makayla Martinez was off the injured list and also ready. Peyton Castillo was suited up to play. She’d been in sweats the last time. I was worried about Zoe Ziegler. She was on the bench and getting a massive tape job on her ankle, but she’d be playing. Ashley Herman was riding around on a scooter. She’d just had her surgery, as I’d been told. Lia Mosher was gone. She was going to be playing over in Europe. The pretty trainer on the team was wearing a mini-skirt with cowboy boots. It was a bold fashion choice.

The Lobos’ uniform had styling on it that looked like a collar. That was kind of clever. I got a look at France. She is a powerfully built young woman. There seemed to be a few Lobo fans in the crowd, but they didn’t bring a section full of supporters, like they’ve done in the past for Women’s Basketball.

Set 1

Kate scored the first two points. The Lobos straight whiffed on a set to give the Aggies a 3-0 lead. Jaelynn scored the next two kills, one on a touch and the next one was buried into a defender. 6-4 Aggies, Mia was blocked. The Lobos took the next point with a pancake save and a block. Mia wouldn’t be denied and got her first kill at 7-5 Aggies.

Kids were still coming in. The parking lot was full when I came in, but the crowd didn’t fill the seats until right before the match started. 8-6 Aggies, Maggie got her first kill by painting the line. Zoe got her first kill at 9-7. One of the Lobo players went into the Press Table going for the ball and almost fell into PA Ed. Jae added another kill and then combined with Kate on a block. 12-9 Tess had a kill and then followed it up with another that rebounded high and way out-of-bounds.

On the next point, the Aggies looked completely confused on court. Coach Jordan still seemed fairly calm. 14-11 Aggies, Mia tipped the ball out, but it was touched for another kill. 15-11 Maggie made a solo block to take us to the Media timeout. Out the break, the Lobos took the next point. Robin was yelling on a missed block. No problem. Maggie got another block and then a kill. 18-13 Aggies, Nellie Reese aced and the Lobos took a timeout.

The Cheerleaders tossed t-shirts into the crowd in the break and predictably hundreds of little girls started screaming for them. Wave the Wonder Dog and his entourage came down the aisle. He wasn’t near me, so I didn’t get to pet him, but I was comforted knowing he was here. The Lobos came back after an Aggie service error and an attack error by Maggie. Jae fired out at 18-16 Aggies. Coach Jordan took a timeout. A few people were at the new “lounge” area. I’d later see that the suites behind us were filled. This was a big game.

The Lobos got within a point as Tess had a double touch foul. The Aggies recovered. Kate had a kill, Maggie aced, and Jae had a block. 21-17 Aggies and timeout Lobos. On the next point, the Aggies made several blocks, which the crowd loved. Jae finished it with a kill. Tess had a kill and then tooled a block to get it to set point. The Lobos made an off-court save on the point.

Lobo Naomi Chankoumi finally sided out Maggie’s five-point run with a kill. The crowd was loud enough that I almost think it startled the Aggies. Naomi thumped a huge swing on the next point, but Nellie incredibly dug it out. Jaelynn finished the point and the set with a kill. 25-18 Aggies.

Set 2: Aggies 1, Lobos 0

Right to it, Maggie was blocked on the first point, but Jae came back to tie it at 1 with her own block. Maggie aced on the next point with that extreme slice on her serve. The next serve, it was a little too extreme and went out. 3-2 Aggies, Tess tooled a block. Makayla made a tremendous dig on the next point. Tess finished it with a kill through the blockers.

Lobo Madison Blanco aced off the tape to make it 5-4 Aggies. Tess made an “ole” swing for a kill and followed it with another kill, her eighth, 7-5. The Lobos tied it at 7 as Maggie fired wide, and they took the lead when the Lobos blocked her on the next point. Mia stopped the run with a kill, 8 all. Zoe used her height advantage to paint the far corner to tie it at 9. 9-10 the Lobos took the lead. Makayla had another great dig on the point. Maggie attempted to hit that corner, but just missed it for a 9-11 Lobo lead. Jae fired through the blockers to make it a one-point lead.

The next point was nearly the turning point of the match. Nearly. The point was suddenly blown dead in play. Jaelynn was sitting on the court. The ball was being played on the other end of the net, so I didn’t see it. Even on the initial replay, the camera missed it, but the opposite angle showed Jae rolling her ankle 90-degrees and going down. The crowd gasped. She was helped off and I think every Aggie fan’s heart sank. Bianca Perez came in and the point was replayed.

11-12 Lobos, Nellie dropped in a sneaky setter dump for the point. Tess was blocked as the Lobos went up to an 11-14 lead, but Tess followed that with a kill. The Lobos took a 12-15 lead into the Media timeout. I could barely believe what I was seeing in the Reserves. Jaelynn was up and walking. Credit to the training staff. They must have taped the heck out of her ankle. Could she play?

12-16 the Lobos were pulling away, but the Aggies were playing hard. Claudia Rossi made an amazingly brave dive all the way across the court for a save. 14-16 Lobos, Maggie got the kill, but there was comedy behind her with Zoe and Claudia taking each other out blocking. No harm done. Lobo libero Camila Canedo got in a dump shot at 14-17. I noticed her in match because she was pretty and tall for a libero. I was getting a great rearview when she was serving. Camila is Brazilian on a fairly international UNM team. She’d also always cross herself when she came on court.

16-18 Lobos, Zoe got a touch kill. Even better, Jae was back in and got a round of applause. She mishit on a swing on the next point, but was moving around okay. The crowd got the better of Camila serving next. A group of little girls suddenly screamed as she served and put it into the net. The girls started doing on most of the Lobo serves after this. 18-20 Lobos, after a long, scary rally, Jae put it away with a kill. Yeah, she could still play. 18-22 Nellie made a set from her knees, but the Lobos painted the corner for the point. Timeout Aggies.

I noticed some Football players sitting up by the concourse. Trey mentioned a group of Baseball players, including his son, were here. The Lobos increased their lead. 19-23 Lobos, Mia made a tip with a walk away added to it. It looks cool, but it’s such a bad idea given how many sure kills got saved in this match. Zoe muscled one to make it, 20-23. The Lobos called a timeout.

Out of the break, Claudia fired a true ace that fell untouched. The Lobos did get it to set point, 21-24. Makayla made a great save during the point. Tess was subbed out. 22-24 a Lobo serve went long. It might have been the little girls screaming again. The Aggies got the call for an attack error by the Lobos. At first, the Lobo coach seemed to be challenging that there was a touch, but it was a timeout. After the timeout, then he challenged, but the call was upheld. This took like 10 minutes. Finally, Mia and Zoe blocked two shots before a third tooled them for the winning point. Lobos take Set 2, 23-25.

Continued in Part 2

NM Aggies vs New Haven Chargers Volleyball 9-13-25

 

Me and dad were ready to go to tonight’s Aggie Volleyball game against the New Haven Chargers. Unfortunately, Lamae’s little dogs were too upset about an incoming storm for her to leave them. It’s too bad. She was even wearing her Aggie Volleyball shirt. Dad sort of apologized for just wearing an old t-shirt and old jeans to the game, but didn’t feel like changing. I offered to buy him an Aggie shirt and hat at the game. He declined.

We were a little late leaving. We’d been watching Tennessee playing Georgia in College Football. The TN kicker missed a last second field goal that would have won it. We left at that point. Georgia won it in overtime. That was sad. Outside, it was definitely threatening, but not raining yet. At the Pan-Am Center, a good crowd came out (att. 1352). This was in spite of Aggie Football playing at the same time out on the road.

Frankly, I don’t like this evening start time. According to Trey Reese from his daughter, Nellie Reese, the girls like it because they can sleep in. Dad and I weren’t sitting by the Reese family. Dad didn’t seem to have a problem negotiating the stairs, so I guess I should have brought him over. Their son and a couple of his baseball teammates were working as ball boys for the match.

Terrible news began the match. PA Ed announced that it would be Assistant Coach Lia Mosher’s final game with the Aggies. She’s continuing her professional career elsewhere. Coach Jordan had her shake hands with the New Haven coach before the match. That was a nice touch. (I have no doubt she found out about my plan to win a date with her at the volleyball auction. Darn!)

I didn’t notice Makayla Martinez with the team. I’d hoped she would have recovered by now, not gotten worse. Bella Castro would be the libero again tonight. I did see Lia chatting with newcomer, Ezgi Duzgezen before the match. Ezgi still hasn’t come into a game yet. The other starters were a little surprising. Jacqueline Corcoran was starting, along with Claudia Rossi at setter. Her and Rilen Garcia would rotate in the position. I wasn’t sure at the time if Nellie was injured.

Set 1

I’d pointed out a few of the girls in practice for dad to keep an eye on. One of them was Tess Fuqua, who got the first point on a touch kill. Claudia aced on the next point. Charger setter, Caroline Johnson, broke up the run with a dump shot. Mia Fox had an attack error and then was blocked giving NH a 2-3 lead.

Jacqueline tied it up with a tip. Maggie Lightheart got her first kill and tied it at 4. (I pointed her out to dad, as well.) We had a bit of comedy at 5-5. Claudia took shot off her chest for a Charger kill. The Aggies fell behind on a couple more attack errors. 6-8 NH, Kate Sinclair broke the run with an overpass kill. Rilen rotated in to serve, but hit the net. Maggie then hit the antenna and the Aggies were down, 6-10. Timeout Aggies.

Back to play, Maggie powered a kill through a couple of blockers and Tess got a kill off a defender. Lia was talking on the bench to Kate. She’s coaching till the end. 10-11 NH, Tess added another kill. Mia hits one hard enough to make a defender dodge it. She followed that by winning a joust at the net on an overpass and tied it at 12. Jac would tie it at 13 by making a cool-looking turn around and walk away kill while the explosion goes off behind the hero move. (Actually, that’s probably not a good idea on court, only in the movies.)

Maggie tooled a block to give the Aggies the lead, 14-13. She put in a pair of kills afterward. Kaylee Peterson came in to serve and put in ace. 19-14 Aggies, Maggie got a touch kill. She got the Aggies to the Turn with another kill. She was on fire. Off of an out-of-system set, Zoe used her 6’6” height to reach back and hit a kill on the NH backline.

22-16 Aggies, Kate made a solo block and fired up the crowd. After a long rally, Zoe ended it with a tip kill to get it to set point. Finally, Maggie was serving and hit the tape. The ball fell over for the ace and the set, 25-16. She did that yesterday. I think she practices that.

Set 2: Aggies 1, Chargers 0

Mia tooled a block to begin the set. Maggie powered a kill at 2-1 Aggies. She teamed up with Kate for a block at 4-2 Aggies. With the teams changing ends, I was seeing the NH reserves now. They seemed much more reserved than yesterday. 5-3 Aggies, Zoe again used her height to get a kill. The video screen showed the Aggies hitting at a .389 clip. Right after that, they had problems. NH took the lead on a block, 5-6.

PA Ed wasn’t announcing any updates from Aggie Football. That’s usually not a good sign. I finally looked it up. They were down 16-0 to LA Tech. Tess painted the sideline and tied it at 6. Charger Naliah Grannell gave NH back the lead with an overpass kill. Tess tied it again at 7 with a kill. The Aggies took the lead with Tess making an “intimidation” block. (She didn’t hit it. The attacker misfired trying to go around her.)

9-8 Aggies, Mia added a kill. Maggie smacked a kill hard enough to rebound high into the stands, 11-9 Aggies. Kate added a kill to make it, 12-9 Aggies, and NH called a timeout. Out of the break, Kaylee aced and did it again on the next serve. Grannell broke serve with a slap kill. Kate came right back pounding an overpass kill. The crowd really loved that one.

Zoe got the Aggies to the Turn with a block. Bella had a four-point serving run. Zoe served up a fastball kill. Claudia aced at 23-14. Finally at set point, NH had 4 touches and the Aggies took it, 25-15.

Set 3: Aggies 2, Chargers 0

For the half, PA Ed introduced a group of kids on to the court. They were child cancer survivors, including a four-year old. A kid dance group came out and performed with them. The Aggies watched the show. NH was in a huddle with their coach. It was 24-7 LA Tech against Aggie Football. I didn’t see anybody watching that game on the press row.

Set 3 started with a confused rally. Bella saved the ball at the net and the Aggies took the point. Mia added a kill next. Charger Lauren MacKellar did make an off-court save during the point. The NH coach challenged. Coach Jordan took the opportunity in the break to chew out the Reserves for no discernable reason. The point was reversed to tie it at 1.

Mia got that kill back on the next point in anger. And it was challenged again. This time, the NH Coach sent his captain to talk to the up official. Coach Jordan had to do the same with Maggie. I explained this odd Kabuki to dad that the coaches aren’t allowed to directly talk to the up official. The point was replayed. That’s one thing with volleyball. If the refs can’t agree or aren’t sure, they’ll call for a do-over. On the replay, Mia tooled a block get the kill. Third times the charm. She worked for that one.

Mia added another kill on the next point. Don’t make her angry. I was watching the 70’s Wonder Woman briefly this morning. If you put some big curls in Mia’s hair, she might have a passing resemblance to Lynda Carter. She has the heroic proportions and pretty face. 3-2 Aggies, NH took this point on a long rally. They saved an overpass dunk by Jac.

The Aggies’ blocking came up big with Mia and Maggie combining on a block at 4-2 and a towering block combo with Zoe and Kate with their combined 12’6” height. (Not a relevant stat, but a fun one.) Maggie mixed in another kill between the blocks. 8-4 Aggies, Maggie had another kill after a long rally. The Aggie made several saves on the point. The point was challenged, but upheld. The NH Coach was pretty unhappy. A fan behind me said he should have been challenging in the first two sets and it was a little too late now.

Tess started taking over with a kill at 9-4 (there were more saves on that point), another kill, and then a block, as Maggie was on a four-point serving run. NH took a timeout at 11-4 Aggies. NH broke serve coming out of the stoppage. PA Ed muffed the name of the Charger server, Kole Fluckiger. You know, I can see stumbling on that last name badly. The camera had a close up of her during the announcement. She shook her head. Whatever.

All those challenges and long points did catch up with the Aggies, as NH began a comeback. 11-7 Aggies, the Coach took a timeout. 12-7 Aggies, Zoe got a kill, but after that there were a couple of mis-sets from Rilen. Coach Jordan sent Nellie in for the first time in the game. 13-10 Aggies, Tess won the point on a tip, but it was hard fought for it. The game was turning into trench warfare at the net with both sides dug in.

14-10 Aggies, Jac and Mia combined on a block. The Aggies seemed to be getting the upper hand back, but Tess was blocked on the next point. Charger Kira Lynch made an overpass kill next. 16-2 Aggies, Maggie won a contested overpass ball at the net. Mia followed with a block. 19-13 Aggies, Maggie had a kill. The return on it skimmed length-wise across the net and out.

NH took the next point. Kaylee made a diving save during the point. 19-15 Aggies, Bella shanked a serve receive. Coach Jordan was predictably angry. The Aggies took the Turn, 20-15, as Maggie finished it with a kill at an extreme angle after a long rally. NH was not going away and won the point at 20-17. Zoe made an off-court save during the point. Timeout Aggies.

There were more great digs on the next point, which NH took. 20-19 Aggies, Maggie hit the antenna. Rilen was put back in to set, which meant the Coach didn’t like Nellie’s set to Maggie. Rilen had another mis-set to tie it at 20 and Nellie came back in. I’ve seen before that setting seems very rhythm-based and switching back-and-forth out of rotation doesn’t work.

The crowd was in to it and urging their team on. The Aggies broke the run and took a 21-20 lead. NH took a timeout while Maggie was in mid-serve. Kate had a kill coming out of the break. Maggie came flying out of the backcourt for a kill at 23-21 Aggies. Zoe finished it with a kill, 25-22, and the match, 3-0.

The Aggies definitely dominated in hitting, .218 to .043, in kills, 40 to 28 kills, and in aces, 6-1. However, they were still down in blocks, 10-9, but not as bad as last night. There was no one with double digits for kills for the Chargers. This team played better than their record and that they’re debutantes to D1. Part of me does consider that the Aggies might not be that great right now. Having Jaelynn Kohli and Makayla back would make them about as good as they’re going to be with Ashley gone.

Maggie Lightheart again gets a Gameball with 15 kills. Tess Fuqua had 8 and Zoe Ziegler had 6. Mia Fox and Kate Sinclair had 4 blocks each. Kaylee Peterson was effective as a serving sub with 3 aces. Finally, Bella Castro led the team in digs, just like a libero should.

I went over to the Reese family after the match. Dad told me he’d wait outside. I told Trey I was going to ask if Nellie was injured until she came in for the third set. He didn’t know why she wasn’t starting. I wonder if, given the attrition of Aggie setters lately, Coach Jordan wanted to make sure Rilen didn’t get rusty on the bench. Trey was following along with Aggie Football. They were down 27-14 in the fourth. (They’d lose 49-14.)

His son came by from ball boy duty. One of his teammates ran by and said, “I’ve been holding it since the game started.” I guess they were drafted into the jobs. That’s what you get for hanging around the volleyball bench. I told Trey that the ball girls were better looking yesterday. He wholeheartedly agreed.

Outside, I didn’t know what would greet me weather-wise. It had rained, but not a lot. There was a storm in the distance. Dad enjoyed the match. He was texting Lamae about the game. He was really impressed with Maggie. We’ll see who wants to come next time, which will be the ***Aggies versus the Lobos.*** That’ll be a real test to gauge the team by.