Aggie Rally Falls Just Short At No. 21 LSU

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The Aggie volleyball team lost a heartbreaker to No. 21 LSU in Baton Rouge, LA on Saturday night as the Aggies rallied from down two sets to none to force five sets against the Tigers. The Aggies were manhandled in the first set 25-19 but improved their play in set two falling 25-23. The Aggies then dominated set three before hanging on for a 25-22 victory and then continued their domination in set four winning 25-15. The Aggies fell behind 5-1 in the fifth set but rallied and forced extra points before falling 17-15.

Kayleigh Giddens tied for match-high honors with 22 kills. Ellen Miks recorded a match-high 31 digs

The first set was dominated by LSU as they jumped out to an early 10-4 lead. The Aggies would trim the lead down to four points at 12-8 on a setter dump by Jennah DeVries but the Tigers would respond with a 5-1 run to push their lead to 17-9. The Aggies would cut the lead down to five points at 20-15 after LSU's Brittney Johnson committed an attack error but LSU would score the next three points to push their lead back out to eight at 23-15. They would finish off the set winning 25-19 on a kill by Desiree Elliot.

The Aggies fell behind early again in the second set as LSU jumped out to a 6-1 lead. The Tigers would hold a six point lead at 11-5. The Aggies would still trail by five points at 14-9 but bck-to-back kills by Kayleigh Giddens and Whitney Woods would draw the Aggies to within three points at 14-11. The Tigers would push the lead back out to four points as they led 19-15, however, a kill by Kelsey Brennan was followed by an attack error by LSU's Desiree Elliot and the Aggies would draw to within two points at 19-17. Kayleigh Giddens would get another kill and the Aggies trailed by just one point at 19-18 forcing LSU to call a timeout.

The Aggies would tie the set at 19 after Desiree Elliot would commit another attack error. The Tigers regained the lead at 20-19 but the Aggies would tie the set at 20 behind a kill by Kayleigh Giddens. Back-to-back kills by Angela Bensend gave LSU the 22-20 lead forcing the Aggies to take a timeout. After the timeout the Aggies would tie the set at 22 apiece. LSU would retake a two point lead as Angela Bensend would put down a kill which was followed by an attack error by Whitney Woods to give the Tigers match point. The Aggies would stave off match point on a Rocio Gutierrez kill but the Tigers would take the set on the next set as Angela Bensend would record another kill.

The Aggies came back from intermission recharged from their near comeback in the second set as they would jump out to a quick 9-4 lead. The Aggies would push their lead to six points at 12-6 but the Tigers answered with a 3-1 run to cut the Aggies' lead down to four at 13-9. After trading points the Aggies would score three points in a row to go up by seven at 17-10. The Tigers would trim the Aggies' lead to five at 18-13 but a kill by Amanda Tonga was followed by an attack error by Madie Jones to put the Aggies up 20-13 and forced the Tigers to call a timeout.

The Aggies maintained their seven point advantage at 23-16 and had set point at 24-18 after a service error by LSU's Lauren Waclawcyzk. LSU would hold off the Aggies for four points to draw to within two at 24-22 but a kill from Desiree Scott ended any hopes for a comeback giving the Aggies the 25-22 set victory.

The Aggies would again dominate in the fourth set as they jumped out to an 8-4 lead prompting a timeout by the Tigers. The Aggies would push their lead to seven at 14-7 on a kill by Kayleigh Giddens. The Aggies would maintain the seven point advantage as they would go up 18-11 on an attack error by Angela Bensend. The Aggies would extend the lead to nine points at 21-12 and held a 23-13 lead after a double-block by Kelsey Brennan and Jennah DeVries. The Tigers would score two points in a row to cut the Aggies lead to 23-15 but a kill by Kayleigh Giddens would give the Aggies set point at 24-15 and an attack error by Desiree Elliot would be wide giving the Aggies a 25-15 set victory to force the fifth and deciding set.

In the race to 15 in the final set, the Aggies fell behind 5-1 behind three kills by LSU's Madie Jones. The Aggies would call a timeout to regroup and out of the timeout they would score back-to-back points putting up a block by Amanda Tonga and Whitney Woods on a Mjadie Jones attack and getting a kill from Rocio Gutierrez. The Aggies would cut the Tigers' lead to one at 6-5 but an attack error by Lauren Waclawcyzk tied the set at six points apiece. The Aggies took their first lead of the set on a kill by Kayleigh Giddens forcing a timeout by the Tigers. Angela Bensend would knock down a kill tying the set at seven. The match set would see ties at eight, nine and 10 points before LSU would record back-to-back points to take a 12-10 lead. After an Aggie timeout, the Tigers would go ahead 13-10 on a service ace by Victoria Jacobsen. The Aggies' Kayleigh Giddens would pull the Aggies back to within two at 13-11 and an attack error by LSU's Brittney Johnson would bring the Aggies to within one at 13-12. A kill by Madie Jones gave the Tigers match point at 14-12 but kills by Rocio Gutierrez and Kayleigh Giddens would tie the set at 14. The set would remain tied at 15 but a double contact was called on Kayleigh Giddens giving the Tigers another match point. This time there would be no rally for the Aggies as Angela Bensend would end the match with her 22nd kill.

Kayleigh Giddens and LSU's Angela Bensend tied for match-high kills with 22 each. Kelsey Brennan and Desiree Scott each had eight kills for the Aggies while Whitney Woods, Amanda Tonga and Rocio Gutierrez each had seven kills.

Madie Jones finished with 20 kills for LSU and Michele Williams pitched in 16 kills.

The Tigers had five players finish with double-digit kills as Lauren Waclawczyk led the Tigers with 20, Angela Bensend had 17, Sam Delahoussaye and Meghan Mannari each had 14 and Brittney Johnson had 10.

Ellen Miks led all defenders with 31 digs while Kayleigh Giddens recorded 17 digs to post another double-double. Kelsey Brennan finished with six digs and Madison Hardy and Whitney Woods each had six. Jennah DeVries and Rocio Gutierrez each finished with five digs while Amanda Tonga had four and Desiree Scott had two.

The Aggies finished the match hitting .233 while LSU hit .228. The Aggies had six service aces to LSU's five and committed just 21 attack errors while LSU committed 27 in the match.

The Aggies finish the Tiger Classic with a 1-2 record and are now 6-3 overall. LSU wins the Tiger Classic with a 3-0 record and improves to 9-0 on the season.

The Aggies are back in action on Tuesday, September 14th when they travel to Albuquerque to face in-state rival UNM.


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Knights Lose to Cleveland - Fall to 0-3

LAS CRUCES — Playing a competitive football game was the first step for Oñate after two lopsided losses to open the season. For 24 minutes on Saturday against Cleveland, Oñate looked to be the better team. But football games are 48 minutes long and the Storm pulled away to knock off the winless Knights 40-15 at the Field of Dreams. "We feel better about it as tough as the first two losses were," said OHS running back Lawrence Sanchez, who gained 143 yards on the ground and hauled in a touchdown pass. "We came out smiling and having fun. Coaches told us to enjoy the high school experience and that is what we were doing in the first half. We beat ourselves in the second half because everyone was trying to do too much." Despite outgaining Cleveland 196-53 in the first half, the Knights (0-3) found themselves down 7-0 at the break. Read more here:
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Aggie Volleyball Swept By North Carolina 3-0

bleedCrimson.net Report

The Aggie volleyball team suffered their first sweep of the 2010 season as they fell 3-0 to North Carolina in day two of the Tiger Classic in Baton Rouge, LA. The Tar Heels won the three sets by scores of 25-15, 25-17 and 25-16.

The Aggies struggled offensively versus the North Carolina block as the Tar Heels outblocked the Aggies 9-1 in the match.

Set one saw the Aggies fall behind early 9-2 as an overpass by the Aggies on the match's first serve set the tone for the remainder of the match. The Aggies would call a timeout at 7-1, however, they could not cut into the deficit falling behind 17-9 after a kill by Shelbey Bleke. The Aggies would cut the Tar Heels' lead to seven at 19-12 after back-to-back kills by freshman Rocio Gutierrez. The Aggies would get to within six points at 20-14 after a Kelsey Brennan block, however, the Tar Heels would win five of the final six points to take the set 25-15 as freshman defensive specialist Shelby Tamura was called for a double contact on set point.

The second set saw the Aggies hang tough early as the Aggies trailed by one at 5-4 after a kill by Rocio Gutierrez. The Tar Heels would take five of the next six points to build a three point lead at 9-6. The Aggies would cut lead back to two after a kill by Kelsey Brennan, and the set would remain a two point differential after a kill by Kayleigh Giddens made the score 10-8. The Tar Heels would go on a 5-2 run to push their lead out to five points at 15-10.

The Aggies would trim the lead by one point after a setter dump by Jennah DeVries made the score 18-14. A quick 4-2 run by the Tar Heels put the Aggies down 22-16. After the two teams traded points Kelsey Brennan would be blocked on an attack and the Tar Heels would seal the set victory on a service ace by Kaylie Gibson to take the set 25-17.

The Aggies would take their first and only lead of the match in the third set as Kayleigh Giddens would get the team's only block putting the Aggies up 1-0. The Tar Heels would score the next three points to take a 3-1 lead, the Aggies would trim the lead to 3-2 after a kill by Desiree Scott but a 3-0 run would put the Tar Heels up 6-2. The Aggies would be unable to cut the deficit as they were down 10-6 after a Desiree Scott kill. Ellen Miks would keep the Aggies within four after a service ace made the score 13-9 in favor of the Tar Heels.

The Aggies would trim the lead to two points at 14-12 after back-to-back kills by Kelsey Brennan and Rocio Gutierrez. The Aggies would still trail by two after Kayleigh Giddens put down a kill on the pipe set but four straight Tar Heels points would send the Aggies into a six point deficit at 19-13. The Aggies would be unable to close the gap and the match would end on three consecutive hitting errors on the Aggies giving UNC the set 25-16 and the match 3-0.

Setter Jennah DeVries led the Aggies in hitting percentage as she finished with two kills on five attempts. Kayleigh Giddens had a match-high 12 kills on 48 swings with five hitting errors and hit .146 for the match. Rocio Gutierrez added 10 kills but had seven hitting errors in 27 attacks to hit .111. Whitney Woods added five kills while Desiree Scott finished with four and Kelsey Brennan with three kills.

Ellen Miks led all Aggies with a team-high 15 digs.

The Aggies had no answer for Shelbey Bleke who finished with 10 kills on 13 swings and hit .769 on the match with no hitting errors. Courtney Johnston finished with nine kills on 19 swings with three hitting errors and hit .316 on the match. Chrintine Vaughen, Suzanne Haydel and Kayla Berringer each finished with eight kills as the Tar Heels hit .364 for the match.

The Heels' Cayla Shortley finished with 16 digs to lead all players.

The Aggies fall to 6-2 on the season and will wrap up the Tiger Classic tonight at 7:00 p.m. MT when they face host No. 21 LSU.


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Aggies Two Touchdown Underdog

Aggie Head Football Coach - DeWayne Walker
DeWayne Walker's second season as NMSU head football coach gets underway Saturday night when the Aggies take on San Diego State at Aggie Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6:00pm. Season Tickets are still available at the Pan American center ticket office or by calling 575-646-1420 and start as low as $44. Season tickets save up to 56% off the single-game price, so be sure to get your season tickets before the season starts on Saturday night. Betting lines on the game have San Diego State listed as a two touchdown favorite.

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Aggie Volleyball Sweeps Rice; Ziegler Suffers Season-Ending Injury

bleedCrimson.net Report
The Aggie volleyball team swept Rice 3-0 in the first game of the Tiger Classic in Baton Rouge, LA on Friday afternoon. The victory did not come without a price as sophomore outside hitter Stephanie Ziegler went down with an injury late in the first set with the Aggies leading 19-13. Ziegler had to be taken off the floor on a stretcher and official word from the Aggie coaching staff is that she suffered a broken tibea and broken fibea near her right ankle and will miss the remainder of the season.
Aggie freshman Rocio Gutierrez came into the match for the Aggies to replace the injured Ziegler who had been playing well to that point. The Owls went right after Gutierrez on serve and she struggled passing the ball and Rice took advantage cutting the Aggies' lead to 21-19. "When she first came into the match she was real nervous and passed really bad serve-receive," said Coach Jordan. After a timeout by the Aggies, Gutierrez settled down and the Aggies would take the set 25-19 on four straight hitting errors by the Owls. "They went right at her [Rocio] when she first came in but out of the timeout she came out and three passed three or four balls in a row and we sided out efficiently."
Kayleigh Giddens led all players with a match high 12 kills on 32 swings with just two hitting errors to finish with a .312 hitting percentage. "She played well, she really attacked the ball well and carved it around the block," said Coach Jordan. "There was a stretch in game two and a little bit in game three where we didn't pass the ball particularly well and they had a double block in front of her and she was great hitting balls off fingertips and carving it around blocks. She did a great job of scoring." He added, "Even when she wasn't getting kills she was doing a great job of putting pressure on our opponent."
Desiree Scott returned to the floor after a one match absence due to illness and finished with six kills on eight swings with two hitting errors for a .500 hitting percentage. She also added four block assists as did fellow middle Kelsey Brennan who also finished with six kills. As a team the Aggies hit .198 on the match.
The Owls struggled offensively hitting .073 as a team. Nancy Cole finished with 10 kills on 21 swings with three hitting errors for a .333 hitting percentage as she was the only Owl in double-figures in kills. Mariah Riddlesprigger finished with eight kills for the Owls but also recorded eight attack errors.
Defensively the Aggies' Ellen Miks out battled Rice All-American libero Tracey Lam as Miks finished with a match-high 19 kills while Lam finished with 16.
The Owls had a total of five service aces, three by Megan Murphy and two by Tracey Lam while the Aggies had one service ace off the serve of Kayleigh Giddens.
The Aggies improve to 6-1 on the season while Rice falls to 3-4. The Aggies will play two matches on Saturday to finish up the Tiger Classic as they'll face North Carolina at 11:30 a.m. MT and finish against No. 21 LSU at 7:00 p.m. MT.

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UTEP Gets Drubbed by Houston

From the El Paso Times - HOUSTON -- For the past four years, no active quarterback has been a more prolific passer than Houston's Case Keenum. He's on pace to leave the program as the best thrower statistically in NCAA history. In the 42nd start of his incomparable career, however, UTEP finally figured out how to get Keenum's air attack under control. The Miners didn't defend the run. Read more here:
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LCHS Has No Trouble With Volcano Vista

From the Las Cruces Sun-News - Jeremy Buurma put on a show and the Las Cruces Bulldawgs rolled from there, beating Volcano Vista 51-14 on Friday night in Albuquerque. Buurma threw four touchdowns on the evening and ran for another in the Las Cruces High romp. Las Cruces High improves to 3-0 this season. Volcano Vista dropped to 0-3 overall. Down 7-0 in the first, LCHS drove down the field and got a 20-yard run from Xavier Hall and another 15-yard scamper from Buurma. Buurma capped the march with an 11-yard scoring run that, with the extra point, tied the score at 7 with 4:35 left in the first quarter. Read more here:
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Mayfield Doubles Up Carlsbad Despite Injuries

From the Las Cruces Sun-News LAS CRUCES — Mayfield was missing nine players due to injury Friday against Carlsbad. But the Trojans still had senior running back Brandon Betancourt. Betancourt had scoring runs of 60, 43 and 45 yards to lead the shorthanded Trojans past the previously unbeaten Cavemen 42-21. The Trojans moved to 2-1 this season after losing at El Paso Montwood last week.
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