Minutes to Memories

Okay, you guys know we’re big Lady Jag Volleyball fans at our house, but after tonight, we’ve pretty much become lifelong fans.

Some might think we’d have had a hard time rooting against Arkansas State University tonight, seeing that ASU is my wife’s alma mater. I even attended some summer classes and did some graduate work there. But I don’t care – we’re for the Lady Jags no matter what... Let me tell you about it.

Before the match, the starting lineups were announced. When the Lady Jags were announced, Brittany (a sophomore middle blocker) ran straight toward the bleachers and threw a Lady Jag Volleyball t-shirt directly to Hillary. It turned out that several of them came over and threw shirts into the bleachers, but it was obvious that Brittany intended Hillary to have that shirt!!! I’m convinced that Lauren tried to throw another one to Hillary, too, but another kid ended up with the shirt. This was Hillary’s night before the match even started!!!

The Lady Jags lost the match in three straight games, but they had a great effort. The combination of picky officiating on our setter, Stephanie, and the ASU talent didn’t spell victory for the Lady Jags, but they still played well overall. They were closer each game, but they still came up short.

After the match, we went to wait outside the locker room to try to get a few autographs Hillary missed last night (in the picture, you can see Hillary had already slipped on her new t-shirt!). While we waited, a few parents gathered around, and Brittany’s dad gave Hillary his shiny new media guide!

But it got even better…

When Kalyn was giving Hillary an autograph, she and Taylor asked if Hillary would like to see their locker room. I think you know the answer! It was so cool to see those two athletes take her back to the locker room for a tour! While they were back there, they found a t-shirt that actually fit her, and Hillary told me later, she was impressed that Lauren remembered her name from last night.

I know the newspaper will just have a little note that ASU defeated USA in three games tonight in Sunbelt Conference volleyball action. But I can tell you, there was a lot of good stuff going on from where I stood – good stuff from some impressive college girls, and an unforgettable night for a little girl.

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On another really good note, how about those St. Louis Cardinals?!?! Up 2 games to 1 now in the NLCS with the Detroit Tigers awaiting the winner. I'd love to see a Cards/Tigers series!

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On a computer note, I've added a links section on the left hand column of my blog for those of you interested in checking any of them out! I'm just so proud of myself that I figured out how to use the html to add the links!