I don't know quite what to say today.

It should be a wonderful day - full of great food, wonderful friends and fun times as well as volleyball. But, I just can't get into.

Today is Senior Night. Aggie fans don't like Senior Night. Senior Night means the season is, for all intents and purposes, is over. It means having to go back to counting down the days until the season starts again. It means checking around for news of spring ball.
More importantly, it means saying goodbye and I really hate saying goodbye.

I started watching Aggie volleyball 4 years ago. So this senior class is the class that I started my volleyball addiction with. I watched as Krystal and Amber became amazing forces in their respective positions. I got to learn a lot about Lindsey and Alyssa and realize what tremendous athletes they are. While watching each of them, I took mental notes then rushed home to the net to look up different things about each position.

Think about it - both Amber and Krystal broke long standing school records in blocks and digs respectively. The blocks record was formerly held by Jonna Steffens who attended NMSU from '89 to '92. The digs record was formerly held by Vanessa White who played for the Aggies from '88 to '91. I have a feeling these records will stand for a very long time. Krystal and Amber have built up their respective records after having broke them mid-season. I don't have the current numbers as I type this. The records portion of the NMSU athletic website doesn't come up.

So, let's talk about tonight. After a turkeyday tailgate, we'll head into the Pan Am and watch the Aggies take on Virginia Commonwealth. Who? VCU is coached by James Findley who is in his fourth year. He's familiar with our area. He's a graduate of Sul Ross State in Alpine, Tx, and he was an assistant at UTEP for 2 years. VCU is in the Colonial Athletic Association and finished 2nd in the conference with an overall record of 19-11.

Having said all of that - I don't know what to expect aside from a great game, of course. It's always fun to see a new team on the court of the Pan Am.

Our tailgate starts at 4pm and you are cordially invited. It's the last Volleyball Tailgate of the year. Expect to see us continue to set up before all womens bball games as well as softball.

Tomorrow, we'll talk about our annual match vs. UNM. It's happening at Johnson Gym at 6:30pm. I don't think there is a big crew from Las Cruces going up so we're counting on the Albuquerque Aggies to show up in force.

We'll also talk about the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday at 7pm at the Encanto de Las Cruces. ($10 per person, cash bar)

In the meantime, I'm going to hit the kitchen and whip up some food for the tailgate tonight. I'm in charge of mashed potatoes. At least I can take my mind off Senior Night while standing over the sink and peeling spuds.