NMSU Volleyball Exhibition With Western NM Set for Sunday
LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KVIA) -- After 280 days, the offseason is officially over. Following last weekend’s Crimson & White scrimmage, Mike Jordan’s 27th year at the helm of NM State Volleyball commences with a Sunday exhibition against the Western New Mexico Mustangs. The in-state matchup will be the Aggies’ lone exhibition this season, and their final tuneup before heading to Atlanta for the regular-season opener at the Georgia Tech Invitational.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Who: Western NM (0-0, 0-0 Lone Star) at NM State (0-0, 0-0 CUSA)
Where: Pan American Center - Las Cruces, N.M.
When: Sunday, August 25 at 2:00 PM MT
Live Stream: N/A
Live Statistics: nmstatestats.com
Last Meeting: WNMU 0 @ NM State 3 [Exh.] (Aug. 19, 2023)
TAKING NOTICE
Conference USA unveiled its 2024 volleyball preseason awards on Thursday, Aug. 22, which included both a head coaches’ poll and a 13-member All-CUSA Preseason Team. The Aggies received two first-place votes en route to finishing second in the poll, behind five-time defending regular-season champion Western Kentucky. Four Aggies (Yasso Amin, Darian Markham, Mari Sharp and Ryleigh Whitekettle) were named to the preseason team, giving NM State the most representatives in the 10-member league.
SIGHTS SET HIGH
The Aggies returned every starter and 97.7% of all point production from a season ago. The 2023 squad turned in an eight-match winning streak towards the end of the season to vault to the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, eventually advancing to the CUSA Championship Game. In the offseason, four freshmen and five transfers bolstered the roster up to 25 Aggies. Notable additions include 2023 CUSA First-Team selection Yasso Amin from FIU and three-year Pac-12-starter Nicole Briggs from Arizona.
LEGENDS ON THE BENCH
Entering 2024, Mike Jordan already amassed 565 wins, 12 regular-season conference titles and seven conference tournament championships. With Gregg Whitis already back for his fourth year as an assistant, Jordan added two of his greatest former players to his coaching staff. In February, Operations Director Tatyana Battle was elevated to assistant coach. In July, Jordan brought Lia Mosher back to Las Cruces after playing last season professionally overseas. Battle and Mosher played a combined 10 seasons for the Crimson & White, including two as teammates (2017-18). The duo combined for a 97-17 (.851) WAC record, six regular-season titles and three trips to the NCAA Tournament. Battle and Mosher tallied 262 matches played, 2,154 kills, 1,145 digs and 617 blocks. They will undoubtedly bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to share with the 2024 roster.
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
WNMU posted six wins a season ago, but began the season with an exhibition at the Pan American Center. In the 2023 matchup, the Aggies took the win in a relatively comfortable three-set sweep. WNMU put up their best fight in the second set, falling 25-23, but failed to put up more than 15 points in the first or third frames.
The Mustangs are led by Geno Frugoli, who is entering his second season in Silver City. Frugoli led the Mustangs to a 6-23 record last season, with a 2-14 Lone Star Conference mark. Frugoli is winged by first-year assistant Jen Whetten. After spending two years at Pima CC, Whetten returned to her hometown of Silver City in May as Frugoli’s assistant on the Mustang bench.
UP NEXT
The Aggies will head east to Atlanta, Ga. for two games at the Georgia Tech Invitational. Up first, NM State will play Coastal Carolina in a neutral match at 1:00 PM MT on Friday, Aug. 30. Then, the Aggies will take on the hosting Yellow Jackets in a bout with the No. 14 team in the nation. The battle between the Aggies and Yellow Jackets will be streamed live on ESPN+ and available to follow via StatBroadcast.
For complete coverage of NM State Volleyball, follow us on Twitter (@NMStateVBall), Instagram (@NMStateVBall) and like us on Facebook (NM State Volleyball). You can also follow along with Aggie Volleyball via NMStateSports.com.
