Arizona Takes Tight Match in Las Cruces

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KVIA) -- NM State Volleyball fell to Arizona on Saturday after a competitive four-set match. The Aggies (4-4) kept the contest tight throughout, amassing at least 20 points in each set, but Arizona (9-0) continued its winning streak and eclipsed its win total from last season. NM State ends the Borderland Invitational with a 2-1 record, notching wins over Texas Southern and Abilene Christian.

Set-by-set: NM State loses 1-3 (22-25, 25-23, 20-25, 22-25)

FIRST SET 

Four quick kills from Starr Williams vaulted the home team in front by a score of 14-8 early. Arizona pieced together an 8-0 run to pull ahead before a Yasso Amin kill stopped the bleeding. Later, Ashley Herman and Kacia Brown each recorded kills during a 5-1 run that gave the Aggies the lead. After a set that saw seven ties, the Wildcats closed with a 7-2 spurt, taking the opening frame 25-22 on a Kiari Robey kill.

SECOND SET

The Aggies nearly doubled their hitting percentage in the second frame, posting 16 kills and just five errors on 36 swings (.306). Sharp and Amin combined for five kills to within a 6-1 run to power ahead 12-6, wasting an Arizona timeout along the way. The Aggies answered a Wildcat 6-1 stretch of their own with a 5-1 run, highlighted by a kill and ace from Amin on back-to-back points. Junior setter Nellie Reese jump-started a 3-0 run with a kill to close the set at 25-22 in favor of the home side. After just two frames, the Aggies had three members approaching double-digit kills (Sharp with nine, Amin with eight and Williams with seven). 

THIRD SET

The third stanza was Arizona’s strongest, and yet, NM State put up a strong fight on its way to 20 points. A 4-0 run that put the Wildcats up by three points then prompted a quick timeout from Head Coach Mike Jordan. Later, true freshman Makayla Martinez dropped in an ace to take a 10-9 lead. Despite eight ties and four lead changes, Arizona mustered four separate runs of 3-0 or better, with the final one closing the set 25-20 on a Jaelyn Hodge kill.

FOURTH SET

NM State responded with bursts of its own, pouring in runs of 3-0, 3-0 and 4-0 to quickly pull ahead 10-5, leading Arizona Head Coach Charita Stubbs to utilize a timeout. The stoppage proved worthwhile as the visitors rolled off a 10-4 response to take a lead at the next break. Mari Sharp joined Starr WIlliams with four kills apiece in the set, but the effort fell short as Arizona put up 15 kills on fewer attempts in the stanza. Ultimately, the Wildcats’ 22 digs in the frame outweighed NM State’s 14. Despite a last-ditch effort from Mari Sharp to pull within two points late, the fifth year senior was ruled to be in the net on the next play, ending the match.

NUMBERS OF NOTE

• NM State was the first team to reach 20 points in three of four sets, but only prevailed in the second frame.
• In the second set, the Aggies posted a .306 hitting percentage, but failed to amass a mark of .200 or better in the remaining stanzas.
• In the first six matches of the season, NM State recorded at least 10 block assists in each match. In the past two, the Aggies have combined for just 10, after four versus ACU and six on Friday.
• Over the weekend, Yasso Amin tallied 37 kills and a .388 hitting percentage.
• Yasso Amin and Mari Sharp both tallied 15 kills on Saturday afternoon; both finishing second for the Aggies in a four-set match this season. Starr Williams amassed 16 kills in four sets when the Aggies visited No. 14 Georgia Tech on Sept. 1. 
• Nellie Reese posted 25 assists against the Wildcats, setting a new best in a four-set match this season.
• Through eight matches, Darian Markham has posted 140 digs averaging 4.67 per set. The 2023 CUSA Libero of the Year averaged 4.53 en route to her award-winning campaign, but has set a career high so far in her fifth year.

FROM THE FLOOR

Head Coach Mike Jordan, on the loss: “The numbers were pretty similar overall, but they were able to block the ball a little more often. They covered a lot of our blocks and kept them alive. I think the serve-and-pass games were similar, but they blocked a little bit better. We’re not far from having a lot of wins, but we’re a little too messy. It’s not just one thing in particular. We have to locate sets better. We have to serve it more efficiently and effectively. Those things just pop up throughout a rally here and there, but we’ve just got to clean that up a little bit.”

UP NEXT

For the first time in five years, the Battle of I-25 will be renewed. The Aggies will head up north on Tuesday for a bout with New Mexico. Two days later, the Lobos will make the trip to the Pan American Center. Tuesday’s matchup will be streamed live on Mountain West Network and available to follow via LiveStats. 

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