By Zack Ponce (Photo courtesy Mark Sabhoni)
“Rewarding…frustrating…” were the two words New Mexico State
volleyball head coach Mike Jordan used to sum up the Aggie’s 2012 campaign.
The NMSU squad, loaded with talented, yet in some instances
inexperienced freshman and sophomores, had a roller coaster ride of a
volleyball season.
“It’s been kind of an oddball season too in the sense that
we started out great, beat some good teams early and were feeling pretty good
about ourselves, and then seemed to kind of plateau…we didn’t make a ton of
progress for awhile,” Jordan said.
NMSU entered the season picked to finish first in the
Western Athletic Conference by the coaches.
The Aggies rushed out to a 10-3 start and seemed to clearly be the
conference’s best team. But by the
midway point of the season, NMSU appeared to run out of fuel.
The Aggies struggled to find an identity throughout the 2012
season, and at times appeared leaderless.
Coach Jordan tinkered with the starting lineup seemingly every match,
looking for the spark of momentum his team needed.
“Even when we won there were times when we didn’t feel
particularly well with the level of play.
I think we were fortunate in some respects to have the depth this year
which we have not had much of the last few years,” Jordan said. “But I’m glad we kept searching and trying
different lineups. You give the players
all the credit for their patience level and their willingness to do whatever
asked of them. Whatever we asked (the
players) to do they went out and did to the best of their ability, and there’s
a lot to be said of that.”
Jordan and his coaching staff played all but two of the
ladies on his roster throughout the season.
What some may point to as a weakness, turned out to be the Aggies’
greatest strength – its depth.
Different players stepped up at various times throughout the
year to help NMSU through the regular season slog of 30-plus games.
Transfers Ciara Brown (setter), Loren Loerch (outside hitter),
and Preslie Alexander (middle blocker) helped the Aggies in the beginning of
the season.
Brown quickly developed a bond with middle blocker Desiree
Scott and would set her up for the perfect kill. Loerch developed into a key offensive
contributor whenever outside hitter Meredith Hays needed to rest. Alexander’s playing time fluctuated
throughout the year, but she became one of the team’s best defenders at the net
in addition to Scott.
Outside hitters Nathalie Castellanos and Bradley Nash earned
more playing time as the season progressed and eventually became key cogs in
the NMSU rotation.
Castellanos earned praise from Jordan for always competing
hard no matter the match situation.
Nash, who began the year still recovering from a knee injury, finally
became physically healthy enough to earn starting time.
NMSU ended the regular season losing for straight matches,
three of which came to the top three teams in the WAC. Jordan said that “forced their hand” and led
to “drastic” lineup changes heading into the WAC Tournament.
The Aggies easily advanced through their competition at the
WAC Tournament in part because of the aforementioned lineup changes. Alexander moved over to the middle blocker
spot, Hays moved to the left back position, Stephanie Ziegler regained her
starting spot at libero, and Nash earned significantly more playing time.
New Mexico State earned an automatic bid to the NCAA
Volleyball Tournament with the WAC Tournament victory. The Aggies will face No. 12 Brigham Young in
Provo, Utah in the first round on Friday at 7 p.m.
The Cougars are a dangerous team that ranks first in the
nation in hitting percentage, hitting .313 as a team. 6-foot-7-inch junior outside hitter Jennifer
Hamson lead the BYU team. She was named
the West Coast Conference’s Player of the Year.
Said Jordan, “she’s a first-team All-American whether they win a game in
the NCAA Tournament or not.”
The key for the Aggies is to serving tough and aggressive, limit
unforced errors, passing well, and play solid defense.
“We’re going to come out the same way with the same lineup
and I hope we get the same kind of defensive intensity and effort at the
service line that we did (in the WAC Tournament),” Jordan said. “If we do, then we will put ourselves in a
spot where maybe we can win. If we don’t,
it could be a bloodbath.”
Regardless of Saturday’s outcome against BYU, the NMSU
volleyball team has made significant strides since the season’s start, and been
one of the most exciting teams to watch over the course of the fall athletics
season.
“I honestly could say this is one of the best seasons I’ve
ever had in volleyball because I’ve learned so much,” said Castellanos, who
just a year earlier led the Gadsden Panthers volleyball team to a New Mexico
State Championship. “I wouldn’t change
it for anything. I love my coaching
staff, my teammates, and just the fact they love to compete is something I
really appreciate.”
The experience of playing in an NCAA Tournament is foreign
to all except Loerch, who was a freshman on the 2010 Cal-Berkeley squad that
lost to Penn State in the NCAA Championship match. With the bulk of the team returning, the
experience will only set up the team for more success next year.
“I’m pretty excited and a little nervous because it’s
something bigger, but at the end of the day it’s volleyball. The only reason there’s tension is because
it’s ‘do or die,” Castellanos said.
Added Scott: “It’s
definitely a whole new experience for a lot of us and one you can’t sulk
about. No matter what happens it’s going
to be fun. I think during the WAC
Tournament we played with a lot of heart and if we keep playing that way a lot
of things are possible, and beating BYU is one of them.”
*Story originally published in The Round Up print edition Nov. 28, 2012
