First, I'll talk about the actual cold-hard facts/statistics.
As I look over the final stats for the year, there are a few that pop out. The most impressive is attendance. We played all games, minus 2, at Las Cruces High School. The gym capacity (judging from the Hawaii game) is 2800.
We had a total o f 31, 111 see the team play at home this year. Our biggest attendance was the last game - at the Pan Am - where we had 3397 come to see our Seniors.
That's dang impressive considering 10 years ago you couldn't get 200 people to a match.
Our Record
33-4. There isn't a whole heck of a lot you can say about that record. And look at who we beat:
Sacramento State - 3-1
San Diego (Ranked 14 in the last poll) 3-2
Hawaii (Ranked #11 in the last poll and currently in the Elite 8) 3-2
Nevada (Nice revenge) 3-0
Not to mention the win vs. Texas in the spring.
We ended the season with a 17-0 winning streak at home.
AVCA
What a great year, poll wise. We were ranked consistantly in AVCA's Top 25, with our highest ranking at 19 on 11/17. (The final poll comes out on 12/20.)
Awards
Coach Jordan recieved WAC Coach of the Year for the 2nd year in a row. All-Conference First Team included Alice Borden, Jackie Choi, Kim Oguh, and Amber Simpson. On the Second Team was Krystal Torres.
There were many other tournament honors for our players - those I still have to track down.
The Players
From the seniors on down to the freshmen, I feel we had a solid team.
We saw Kelli Goodan and Krista Altermatt on the court a lot and producing quite well. We didn't get to see Nicole Holguin too much so she's still a bit of a mystery!
Jackie, Tanya and Alice had quite a senior year. Jackie ended with 1517 sets, 142 kills and .317 %. Tanya with 255 kills, 273 digs and 857 TA. Alice ended with 495 kills, 1139 TA and .263%.
Speaking as a fan...
I think this was the most exciting year for our team. The record, the win over Hawaii, the trip to the NCAA's, the awards - everything made it a great year to be a fan.
We got spoiled at LCHS. Going back to the Pan Am was an eye opener. I remember last year when we had to play our last game at LCHS. It was culture shock and a lot of us weren't too happy with being there. Now, the shoe is on the other foot. I kind of missed LCHS. Don't get me wrong - I'm glad to be back at the Pan Am.
This was my first year in the SideOut Club. I can't believe I didn't join last year - I don't know why I didn't. It was great to have that more one on one with the team and the staff. Getting to hear Mike talk about the team and our opponents was a huge bonus.
I know there were a lot of newbies at the games. Many times, there were people around me asking questions about this call or that play. I only hope it continues to grow.
One of the most exciting things for me was tailgating. I can't tell you how many folks were shocked to hear we tailgated and that we had a pretty good crowd. I think we averaged around 10-15 folks per match. At one game we had Amber Simpson's parents and grandparents join us. Krystal Torres' mom was always there as well. I hope that continues as well.
Now that we're in the 'off season' ... Let me clarify that. The fans are in the off season, not the team. I was corrected on that a few times when we had Mike and Jackie Choi stop by the show last year. There is no off season.
So let me just thank the entire NMSU Volleyball program for an amazing year. Mike was right - it was going to be the best year yet and it was. Next year? It'll be just as great. We've got some big shoes to fill but I think they'll do just fine.
Now - what to write about until next season?
posted by Melanie Brooks @ 11:01 AM
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