The Aggie volleyball team dispatched their I-10 rivals in dominating fashion last night at UTEP's Memorial Gym. The Aggies swept UTEP for the eighth time in the last nine matches and this one was particularly dominating. The Aggies won 25-15, 25-14 and 25-15. We try not to complement our rivals too often but we will give them kudos for a nice turnout last night. An announced crowd of 1363 filled Memorial Gym and it was a fantastic atmosphere, very reminiscent of the season that the Aggies played in Las Cruces High's gym. The Aggie faithful were there as well and while they were probably outnumbered 3 to 1, they were just as loud as the Miner fans (and clearly had more to cheer about).

Amber Simpson led the Aggies with 11 kills, Lindsey Yon and Krista Altermat pitched in with eight apiece and right-side hitter Whitney Woods had one of her best matches of the season recording seven kills. As predicted the Aggie defense was excellent and held UTEP's star Amy Sanders in check. She recorded eight kills but had four errors for a .111 hitting percentage. As a team UTEP hit just .039 for the match.

One thing we've noticed is that Alyssa Gintant has added a new wrinkle to her game. For the past three matches we've seen Alyssa use a quick little dump over the net to record several kills. It's something that she hadn't been doing prior to the Aggies' trip to Hawai'i so we wonder if that's something she's been working on lately (and we will endeavor to find out). It's a two-handed version of the quick dump over the net move that Morgan Reader used a lot during her time at NMSU. It's pretty effective as long as you're not doing it a whole bunch (Warning: we're about to stretch the boundaries of our volleyball strategy knowledge) and it's one of those things that if it's been working and the defense knows the setter can, at any point in time, dump the ball over the net into an empty area in the middle of the floor, it can draw the defense in and create holes down the lines or in the back of the court.

A couple of other quick observations. We don't know how many people UTEP averages per match in attendance but this was clearly their match of the season. The gym was packed, their cheerleaders were there, their dance team was there, their big fuzzy mascot was there too. Also in attendance was UTEP AD Bob Stull. Suffice it to say, we were their "Hawai'i" match which makes last night's dominating performance all that much better. Don't forget to check out our photos from last night's match (sorry, there aren't a whole lot of them, the lighting in Memorial Gym wasn't very accommodating for our camera).

The Aggie football team will be heading to Moscow early tomorrow morning for their showdown with the Vandals. Idaho is 4th on ESPN.com's Bottom 10 (Thanks Vic) but for some reason the Vandals always cause the Aggies heartache. The Aggies and Vandals have split the last six meetings and the last time the Aggies defeated Idaho in Moscow was 2002, 35-31. As far as the heartache we speak of, in 2003 the Aggies led 28-0 at halftime (if we remember correctly) and ended up losing 35-31. We sat next to some Idaho fans and they were very gracious in victory (they were just as shocked as we were). In 2005 Idaho defeated NMSU in overtime when they went for a two point conversion (after some help from the officials), in 2006 a phantom block in the back penalty on a Chris Williams kickoff return to start the second half was the difference in the game up in Moscow and last season, even though the Aggies defeated Idaho 45-31, it marked the end of the season for Chris Williams.

Don't forget to vote for Chase Holbrook in the Davey O'Brien Award fan voting.

Finally, congratulations to the Aggie women's swimming and diving team. They were second nationally on the Division I Academic All-America Team released by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) with a cumulative team GPA of 3.566.

On to today's links...

The NMSU athletic website recaps last night's volleyball sweep.

Bill Knight of the El Paso Times recaps last night's victory by the Aggies over the Miners.

Tom Scott of KTVB in Boise talks briefly about the Idaho/NMSU football game on Saturday (5th paragraph).

KTSM NBC 9 in El Paso has an Aggie football video report plus highlights from last night's volleyball match. (Thanks Vic)

The NMSU athletic website previews the upcoming Cross Country WAC Championships.

Jason Groves of the Las Cruces Sun-News reports that the Aggie women's basketball team has rounded out its 2009 recruiting class.

Jason Groves also writes that the men's basketball team probably won't be affected by the new three point line.

Felix Chavez of the Las Cruces Sun-News writes that Justen Alford and La'Auli Fonoti are producing in new roles on the Aggie defense.

Felix Chavez has posted the offensive and defense statistical matchup between the Aggies and Vandals on his blog.

The Sports Network previews this week's battle between the Aggies and Vandals. (Thanks Roberto)

Athlon Sports ranks Chase Holbrook in their Top 5 quarterbacks for week 9. (Thanks Roberto)

ProFantasySports rates Chris Williams as a stud in their Stud/Dud report. (Thanks Roberto)

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