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No. 14 Jackets bounce back for wins over New Mexico State and Coastal Carolina

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No. 14 Jackets bounce back for wins over New Mexico State and Coastal Carolina


Jack here, this is not me doing the recap, but instead is our newest staff writer, my dear friend and partner in crime during our Technique days, Will Fuss. Fuss is a Tech BSIE graduate in the class of 2023 who worked as the Sports Staff Writer (Fall ‘20), Sports Editor (Spring ‘21-Fall’22), and Paper Boy (Spring ‘23) for the Technique while in school. They have covered every Tech varsity sport and have been a Tech fan for 23 years and grew up in the Atlanta area. Fuss will have his byline properly listed once we get his account sorted out!


Following a tough loss to a talented UCLA squad, Georgia Tech Volleyball handled business against their remaining GT Invitational foes by dispatching New Mexico State in four sets and a dominant sweep over Coastal Carolina. The Jackets move to 2-1 on the season and hold onto a No. 19 ranking as UCLA sneaks into the top 25.

Head coach Michelle Collier moved one win shy of 200 on the weekend, and will become the second Jacket volleyball skipper to reach the threshold. O’Keefe Gymnasium continues to fill up for every home tilt, as the sellout streak hit 30 games against the Aggies on Sunday afternoon.

Tech played efficient games to dispatch New Mexico State and Coastal Carolina, hitting .367 against the Aggies and completing the sweep against the Chanticleers by an average score of 25-18. Larissa Mendes totaled 31 kills, including 23 against New Mexico State (her career high), and Tamara Otene and Bianca Bertolino recorded double-doubles on Sunday and Monday respectively.

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Sunday, September 1: 3-1 Win over New Mexico State

The Jackets dominated three of four sets against the Aggies, winning sets one, two, and four by scores of 25-13, 25-12, and 25-11. New Mexico state took the third set 25-21 on a hyper efficient .500 hitting percentage that included 10 kills by Starr Williams alone and only two attacking errors.

Tech played a shallow bench, with only nine players seeing action and the starters playing every point in the fourth set. Mendes and DeAndra Pierce each had eight-plus kills on a .500 or greater hitting percentage, including a career-high 23 kills by Mendes.

Otene had the game’s only double-double with 13 kills and 14 digs, while Bertolino’s nine kills and 16 digs left her just shy of the double-double mark. Luanna Emiliano recorded 43 assists, Sofia Velez had 16 digs, and Liv Mogridge had an efficient eight kills along with three of the team’s 10 blocks.

Monday, September 2: 3-0 Win over Coastal Carolina

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Tech rounded out the weekend with a sweep over Coastal Carolina, holding the visitors to a .055 hitting percentage on the day. The Institute squeezed out a close first set win, 25-23, before more comfortable results of 25-12 and 25-19 for the win.

Only one Chanticleer, Jalyn Stout, had more than two kills with a positive hitting percentage, as her nine kills and two aces paced the visitors. Velez and Otene had 15 and 12 digs respectively as the Jackets benefited from clean receptions and 33 combined attacking and service errors by the Chanticleers.

Bertolino paced the Jackets offensively with 10 kills and added 11 digs for her second double-double of the year. Mogridge and Pierce both tallied at least five kills without an error, and Pierce had a game-high five blocks.

Takeaways

Bounce back: After dropping a close opener against a good UCLA team, Tech used the day off to reset and soundly defeat their remaining weekend slate. The sweep of Coastal Carolina was a strong finish to the weekend, but the team may have played even better against the Aggies besides the dropped third set.

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Short leash: While the first two sets against New Mexico State were 25-13 wins, the third set loss spurred Collier into cutting out the bench entirely. Her trust paid off with a 25-11 final set win, but the Jackets will need more reliability from the reserves against the nation’s top teams.

Next Up

Tech travels to Provo to face Lipscomb and BYU on September 6 and 7. BYU is ranked No. 14 after a 3-0 start, and will be the Jackets’ first big road test. Each match will get underway at 9 p.m. Eastern.



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New Mexico

New Mexico Environment Department to hold hearings on Project Jupiter air quality

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New Mexico Environment Department to hold hearings on Project Jupiter air quality





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New Mexico

UNM plans to build new gates along Central

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UNM plans to build new gates along Central


ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico plans to build new gates at four campus entrances along Central that will close nightly.

The gates will replace manual barriers in a project expected to cost about $1.5 million.

The Board of Regents approved the security upgrades for the UNM campus.

University officials said the gates will automatically close nightly from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

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The gates will go in near Princeton Drive, Stanford Drive, Yale Boulevard and Terrace Street on the south end of campus.

A current rendering shows the gate completely blocking the road. Officials said the change will reduce unauthorized traffic and allow police officers to focus more effectively on prevention and response.

Construction will start in May. University officials hope to finish the project by September.



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9-year-old who pleaded to go to spelling bee is released from ICE detention

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9-year-old who pleaded to go to spelling bee is released from ICE detention


A 9-year-old boy who begged to be released from an immigration detention center so he could attend his state spelling bee has been freed with his family, their lawyer said Wednesday.

Deiver Henao Jimenez made the plea during a video call this month with children’s entertainer Ms. Rachel, whose real name is Rachel Accurso.

“I don’t want to be here anymore,” Deiver said on the call, which was later shared on Accurso’s social media pages. “Nothing is good here.”

He and his parents, asylum-seekers from Colombia, had been held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in South Texas since early March, when they were detained during a routine immigration check-in in New Mexico, according to their lawyer, Corey Sullivan Martin.

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ICE freed the family on humanitarian parole Wednesday, about a week after Martin filed a request for their release and days after NBC News reported on their case.

Deiver Henao Jimenez finished third in a Spanish spelling bee organized by Las Cruces, N.M., Public Schools.Las Cruces Public Schools

His elementary school principal wrote a letter in mid-March supporting the family’s release, which was later delivered to immigration officials, describing Deiver as “a dedicated student with excellent attendance and high marks.”

Sullivan Martin said Deiver is eager to return to school, rejoin his gifted and talented classes and get back to practicing his spelling words.

“I don’t see how it was necessary at all to detain a child who was doing exactly what we want children to do,” Sullivan Martin said.

The family planned to return to New Mexico, she said, where they will continue checking in with immigration officials while their case proceeds.

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The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Deiver was released a day after ICE freed another child whose case drew widespread attention following a video call with Accurso. Gael, a 5-year-old boy with developmental disabilities, had experienced worsening medical issues while he was detained at Dilley, his parents said.

The facility has faced growing scrutiny from immigration lawyers and advocates, who say children there have struggled to access adequate medical care and education in an environment where lights remain on around the clock and officers stand guard. Some families have described poor food and long waits for medical attention.

DHS has disputed those accounts, saying families are provided appropriate care in a facility designed for their needs.

After her video meetings with the children, Accurso — known for her signature pink headband and singsong delivery — called for Dilley to be shut down and for families to be returned to their communities.

During their conversation, Deiver told Accurso he missed his friends and said the food at Dilley made his stomach hurt. But he was most worried about getting out in time to compete in New Mexico’s state spelling bee in May after he earned a spot by placing third at a regional competition.

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“We’re trying to get a child out of a jail to do a spelling bee,” Accurso said last week. “I just never thought those words would go together.”





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