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.

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

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.

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.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – If you’re an avid American Ninja Warrior watcher, perhaps you’ve watched Ixchel Valentino.

The UNM student competed on the show this season but didn’t make it past the first round of the finals. But that doesn’t mean we’re done seeing her on the famous obstacle course. 

“It still feels like a whole dream to me, because I grew up here, and there’s only a few people from New Mexico that have made it that far on the show. And so now I get to be one of those people,” said Valentino.

Valentino is back on UNM’s campus after taking the national stage on American Ninja Warrior.

“You have to qualify through a few things. You have to do the qualifiers, move on to the semi-finals, win in the semi-finals to move on to the actual finals. So I made it all the way to stage one, and then, unfortunately, did not do my best out there, but I was super happy to make it that far,” said Valentino. 

Even though she didn’t win it all, the 19 year old says she’s cheering on her fellow ninjas, who are now her friends.

“I got the experience to go film with them, compete with them, I’m like, actually friends with some of those people, and we go train together, and we meet up at competitions,” Valentino said. 

The UNM sophomore calls herself the “Nerdy Ninja,” and is studying nuclear engineering.

“Starting the school year, it’s a little stressful. The work loads a lot, but I’m excited for it. If I could handle something like the big stage on American Ninja Warrior, I think I could handle a few exams,” said Valentino. 

On top of all her schoolwork, she’s going back to the competition floor later this month.

“About three weeks ago, I got called back for season 17 of American Ninja Warrior. They’re going to be filming in Las Vegas, so I get to go back to the big stage,” Valentino said. 

While she was a rookie this season, she’s no stranger to competitions.

“I did robotics competitively at the age of five. I did it all the way through high school,” said Valentino. 

She says that experience, plus her time on Ninja Warrior, is preparing her to come back better than ever.

“I was really used to getting my mind in that state for a competition, getting myself prepared to, like, take on a course. I would just kind of block everything out. I was very sound mentally. But with Ninja, you have to also be ready physically,” said Valentino. “Since I filmed before, I’ve gotten a lot stronger, both physically and mentally, with how I approach competitions and how I train myself.”

You can watch Valentino next season on American Ninja Warrior, but she isn’t the only New Mexican tackling the course.

Albuquerque native, Katie Bone, announced on social media she got the call for season 17 of American Ninja Warrior as well. 

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – When you think of camping essentials, you probably think of a tent, a sleeping bag and cooking supplies. But what about a Wi-Fi connection?

For some, the thought of staying online defeats the purpose of being in the great outdoors. But for others, it’s an amenity they’d rather have while camping.

KOB 4 learned it’s a debate our State Parks Division is following closely. 

It’s not hard to escape everyday life in New Mexico. It’s estimated three-quarters of all New Mexicans live within 40 miles of a state park. For example, the Manzano Mountains, where some families spent their Labor Day weekend unplugged.

“We call it dinosaur camping,” said Sterling Williams, who prefers less connectivity while camping. “There’s no Facebook, there’s no social media. It’s really talking and spending time with your family.” 

For other families, camping isn’t so much of an escape.

“We can unplug anytime we want to, but we like to be outside. We like to hike, we like the scenery, but we still want to be able to watch Netflix when we’re tired,” said Jan Branham, who prefers more connectivity while camping. 

New Mexico state leaders want to make sure both families can have the outdoor experience they want.

“Wi-Fi in parks is definitely something that’s a national discussion,” said Toby Velasquez, director of the New Mexico State Parks Division. 

According to the Outdoor Hospitality Industry Trade Group, roughly 82% of U.S. campgrounds already offer Wi-Fi.

Nearly 40% of campers say it affects where they pitch their tents, including in New Mexico.

“We still see, you know, folks who are interested in remaining connected in different ways, and so that’s really going to be the challenge for state parks in New Mexico moving forward,” said Velasquez. 

Velasquez says there are discussions about expanding Wi-Fi capabilities to all 35 state parks.

“It’s going to be a balance of different locations. You know what we’re able to provide, for example, at Rio Grande Nature Center State Park in the heart of Albuquerque versus Pecos Canyon or Sugary Canyon State Park up in Colfax County might be a different menu than what we would see in other areas,” Velasquez said. 

Velasquez says the State Parks Division just wrapped up a five-year contract with Viasat, providing Wi-Fi service in 10 different state parks. His team is still reviewing the data to answer some important questions.

“How much is too much? How much is needed? What is not needed? And how’s that going to be provided? Is it going to be a user pay, user benefit option? Is it going to be something that’s somehow supplied by the government entity in order to maintain that connectivity?” Velasquez said. 

Velasquez says they’ll be relying on input from park users, but it’s clear there’s still a debate out there.

“We do like to have Wi-Fi for her phones and all that stuff,” Branham said.

“To do Wi-Fi for camping. That’s not really camping to me,” said Williams.