Aggies Welcome Bulldogs for CUSA Home Opener

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KVIA) -- Conference USA Volleyball returns to the Pan American Center on Friday, as NM State hosts Louisiana Tech for a pair of matches in Las Cruces. The Aggies (7-7, 1-1) look to build on last Saturday’s road win over Kennesaw State, in which they swept the Owls and avenged a five-set loss from the night prior. LA Tech (6-9, 0-2) lost both matches to Liberty, taking just one set out of seven on the weekend. In 2023, NM State went 3-0 and won all nine sets against the Bulldogs, including a dominant sweep in the CUSA Championship Quarterfinals. 

HOW TO FOLLOW

Who: Louisiana Tech (6-9, 0-2 CUSA) at NM State (7-7, 1-1 CUSA)

Where: Pan American Center – Las Cruces, N.M.

When: Friday, Oct. 4 (6:00 PM MT) / Saturday, Oct. 5 (12:00 PM MT)

Live Stream: ESPN+

Live Statistics: nmstatestats.com

All-Time Record vs. LA Tech: 20-1

Last Meeting: LA Tech 0 vs. NM State 3 – Nov. 17, 2023 (2023 CUSA Quarterfinals)

QUICK HITS

- NM State Volleyball played its first match in program history on Oct. 4, 1974 (50 years to the day before Friday’s match)

- That day, the Aggies opened with Sul Ross State, before defeating UTEP 2-1 for their first-ever win

- NM State has now played nine series against CUSA opponents; one against each league member, with a 12-6 record

- The Aggies hold a 4-5 record in series openers, but are 8-1 in finales spanning their two years in the league

- Yasso Amin was named Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week on Monday, Sept. 16

- Starr Williams was named Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week on Monday, Sept. 2

- Darian Markham is currently 99th in the nation with an average of 4.18 digs per set.

- Markham is also 114 digs away from breaking the all-time NM State record for career digs (Krystal Torres: 1,942)

- Nellie Reese leads the Aggies with 10 service aces on the season

- Nicole Briggs leads all Aggies with 0.96 blocks per set and has been involved in 48.0% of all Aggie blocks this season (49/102).

LAST TIME OUT

A week ago, NM State took its second trip to the Peach State in less than a month, visiting Kennesaw State for the Owls’ first-ever Conference USA series. The home team came back on Friday to take a five-set win. The Aggies bounced back with a convincing sweep on Saturday, led by an efficient 12 kills and 15 digs from Mari Sharp. Kacia Brown also continued a dominant three-match stretch in which she has posted 21 kills and eight blocks on a .576 hitting percentage.

GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY

Friday will mark 50 years since the inception of the NM State Volleyball program. That day, NM State took on Sul Ross State in its first-ever match. Later that night, the Aggies took down rival UTEP in a 2-1 victory, earning the program’s first win. Half a century later, the Crimson & White have amassed 956 wins, including 572 and counting under Head Coach Mike Jordan. The Aggies have produced 11 trips to the NCAA Tournament, 10 AVCA All-Americans and nine Coach of the Year Awards.

GIVING IT 200 PERCENT

The Aggies are third among CUSA institutions in hitting percentage (.230), behind only WKU and UTEP. NM State is 7-1 this season when posting a team mark above .200, but 0-6 when hitting .199 or worse. Additionally, when opponents hit below .200, NM State is 6-0 this season, but have just one win in seven tries when opponents post at least a .200 mark (UIW - .228).

When out-hitting their opponents, the Aggies are 7-1 this season. Conversely, the Crimson & White have yet to win a match in which their opponents have a higher hitting percentage.

FEELIN’ 22

After three seasons with Arizona, Nicole Briggs transferred to NM State in the summer of 2024. The Chino, Calif. native joined Mike Jordan’s squad after playing 54 matches, including all 31 last season, for the Wildcats. Briggs quickly made her mark for the Aggies, setting three career highs during a win over CSUN in the fifth match of the season. Briggs has already set new single-match bests in kills (8), total blocks (12), block assists (10), points (14), total attempts (19) and tied career highs in digs (2) and solo blocks (2). Entering the weekend, she leads the Aggies with 43 block assists, six solo blocks, 49 total blocks and 0.96 blocks per set. 

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. 

EARNING HARDWARE

Starr Williams opened the 2024 campaign with a bang, posting 30 kills on a .560 hitting percentage in just two matches against a pair of 2023 NCAA Tournament teams (Coastal Carolina and Georgia Tech). For her efforts, Williams was named CUSA Offensive Player of the Week. 14 days later, Yasso Amin tallied 37 kills on a .388 hitting percentage, along with 25 digs, three blocks and two aces over the course of the Borderland Invitational. Amin was named the league’s Sept. 16 Offensive Player of the Week, joining Williams as the first two Aggies to earn 2024 regular-season honors.

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.

FIFTH-YEAR AGGIES

Darian Markham and Mari Sharp each came to Las Cruces in the fall of 2020, making their Aggie debut in Spring 2021. Each have won multiple individual awards and a pair of WAC titles, and both are in their fifth season with the Crimson & White in 2024. Both Markham and Sharp were named to the All-CUSA Preseason Team in August after a 2023 campaign in which they were named CUSA Libero of the Year and All-CUSA Second Team selection, respectively.