Aggies fall in 5 sets to Missouri State

SPRINGFIELD, Missouri (KVIA) -- On Saturday, NM State Volleyball wrapped up its stay in the Show-Me State as it took on Missouri State. The Aggies took control early, claiming both of the first two sets. However, the hosts pulled off a five-set comeback, taking the final frame 15-5 and moving the Crimson & White to 4-4 in CUSA action. The loss was NM State's fourth in a row, dropping the squad to 11-10 overall.

Set-by-set: NM State loses 2-3 (25-23, 25-22, 20-25, 21-25, 5-15)

FIRST SET
Maggie Lightheart returned to the lineup on Saturday, starting off the match at the service line. The junior racked up her first of 12 kills early on to help her side pull ahead by three after a 4-0 run. Missouri State responded by taking six of the ensuing seven points, pulling ahead by two. Shortly after, a block gave the hosts a four-point lead for their largest of the frame at 20-16. Kate Sinclair answered the call with three kills during a four-point Aggie burst that pushed them back in front before two more MSU kills swung the affair back at 23-22. Two straight Bear errors gave Mike Jordan's squad set point, which Tess Fuqua capitalized on. The outside hitter gave her side a 25-23 win via a perfect set from Nellie Reese, who racked up 10 assists in the stanza. 

SECOND SET
A back-and-forth affair was broken up on a 4-0 push that saw Tess Fuqua and Zoe Ziegler combine for three kills and a block, swelling the Aggie edge to 12-9. In a set with 10 ties and four lead changes, Mia Fox's pair of kills helped vault her team in front for the final time at 16-15. Nellie Reese's lone ace of the day made it 19-17, establishing a margin that held through 11 consecutive alternated points. Jaelynn Kohli came through with one of her four kills in the set to pull ahead 23-21 before an error from the hosts brought NM State within one point of a set victory. Kohli then rose above the net for a flawless solo block to take the frame 25-22.

THIRD SET
After a bumpy start, Zoe Ziegler propelled her team back in front with a pair of kills amid a 5-1 burst (11-10). MSU went on to take seven of the next eight rallies, burning both of Mike Jordan's timeouts. A trio of Bear errors kept the Aggies in the fight, but the margin never crept below two as the hosts got on the board with a 25-20 set win. 

FOURTH SET
Kohli and Fuqua combined for five kills by the time NM State held a 10-8 advantage in the fourth. Despite finding her side down by two shortly after, Kohli racked up two straight kills to help pull back in front 15-14. Maggie Lightheart had her best set of the day with five kills, including three in a six-rally span to knot things back up at 17 apiece. An immediate 5-1 response from the hosts gave them the final lead of the game, which was later capped off at 25-21.

FIFTH SET
Lightheart poured in an ace at the end of a three-point rally to tie up the final frame at 3-3, seeming to breathe life into the Aggie effort. Over the next eight rallies, MSU took seven points as NM State produced six attack errors. Down 10-4, Tess Fuqua rounded out the scoring for the visitors with her team-best 18^th kill, but the Bears ran away with a 15-5 fifth set to complete the comeback. 

NUMBERS OF NOTE

• The Aggies dropped to 3-10 all-time against the Bears with the loss, including a mark of 0-3 in Springfield after playing their first two road matches in the series since 1983.
• Tess Fuqua led the Aggie offense with 18 kills in the loss, following up on her 19-kill showing a day prior. The redshirt sophomore added seven digs and a block.  
• Jaelynn Kohli matched her career high with 16 kills in the loss, hitting .257 in the contest. The freshman also poured in three blocks, two digs and an assist.
• In her return to the floor, Maggie Lightheart racked up 12 kills and a team-high 19 digs on Saturday. 
• Makayla Martinez posted 14 digs to help her defense on the day, alongside a career-high eight assists. 
• Nellie Reese led the team with 28 assists in addition to five digs.
• Claudia Rossi notched her second double-double of the season with 18 assists and 10 digs. 
• After leading CUSA in service aces just eight days ago and averaging 7.4 per contest, the Aggies have posted just eight total aces in their past four outings.
• The reverse sweep was the first suffered by the Aggies in any match since joining Conference USA ahead of the 2023 season. 
• NM State entered the day 7-0 in 2025 when winning each of the first two sets. 
• Zoe Ziegler's five blocks were one short of her season high, matching a total set versus Oral Roberts on Sept. 20. 
• With 62 kills and 67 digs, NM State notched its third-highest and fourth-highest outputs of the season in each category, respectively. 

UP NEXT
NM State will return home next weekend for a pair of bouts against Middle Tennessee (10-10, 2-6 CUSA) on Friday, Oct. 24, and Saturday, Oct. 25. The Aggies look to build a winning streak and return to the winning column in the Pan American Center. The Crimson & White's penultimate home series will be streamed live on ESPN+ and available to follow via nmstatesports.com/stats.

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