Non-Conference Play Wraps Up With Comeback Over UIW

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KVIA) -- NM State Volleyball earned a comeback win on Saturday, taking down Incarnate Word in four sets. The Aggies mashed a season-best 61 kills in the win and responded to UIW’s strong opening set with three straight wins, highlighted by four Aggies with at least 11 kills. NM State wrapped up its weekend and non-conference slate with a win, pulling back to 6-6 as it opens CUSA play.

Set-by-set: NM State wins 3-1 (17-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-17)

FIRST SET 

A slow start from the home team was exacerbated by a 5-0 Cardinal run that forced Head Coach Mike Jordan into a timeout just 11 points into the match. A second 5-0 spurt spent the second NM State timeout and put the visitors up 15-7. The home team failed to cut the margin within seven points for the remainder of the set, falling 25-17.

SECOND SET

Yasso Amin found her rhythm early in game two, landing kills on three straight points, putting her side ahead 4-2. Amin would rack up seven kills in the frame, but she was far from alone. Mari Sharp (4), Ashley Herman (4) and Starr Williams (2) joined in on the action as the quartet combined for 17 kills in the frame and led the Aggies to a .500 hitting percentage. A 3-0 run closed out the set for the home team, as a Herman kill was bookended by two from Amin, tying up the match with a 25-19 set win.

THIRD SET

The Aggies posted a pair of 3-0 runs in the first 14 points of the stanza, led by one ace apiece from Darian Markham and Amin. The home team found itself ahead by as many as five, before UIW strung together a 6-1 stretch to tie the set at 19 all. Following another tie at 21-21, NM State ripped off four of the next five points, capped off by a Williams/Amin block and an Amin kill to take a 25-22 win.

FOURTH SET

A 4-2 lead appeared to give the Cardinals life early after two kills from Risa Sena. The Aggies had other plans, and the match was effectively won after Claudia Rossi went back to serve. The Texas Tech transfer led a dominant 11-0 run, propelling her side ahead by a score of 14-3 and wasting a UIW timeout. Later, Darian Markham amassed a 5-0 spurt of her own to put the Aggies within striking distance at 23-11. Despite a late 6-1 run, UIW couldn’t overcome a 12-point deficit and Ashley Herman finalized the match with a kill to win 25-17 in the fourth set.

NUMBERS OF NOTE

• NM State tallied 61 kills as a team, setting a new high for 2024. 
• Conjunctly, the Aggies also recorded a new season best with 60 assists. 
• NM State entered Saturday with a 1-5 record after losing the first set of a match in 2024 (previous win: CSUN, Sept. 7)
• Before taking on UIW, NM State had only come back from any deficit once (versus CSUN), and only won a match in which there was a tie on one other occasion (1-1 versus Coastal Carolina).
• NM State recorded back-to-back wins for the second straight weekend, with all four games coming at home. 
• For the second straight match, the Crimson & White posted a second-set hitting percentage of exactly .500.
• Yasso Amin recorded 17 kills on the afternoon; the second-highest total in a four-set match this season, behind Starr Williams’ 20-kill performance against New Mexico.
• Claudia Rossi’s 27 assists were tied for most on the floor with teammate Nellie Reese. Rossi set a new career benchmark in assists during the win over UIW.
• Kacia Brown came off the bench in set one and finished with an efficient six kills on just nine attempts without an error.

FROM THE FLOOR

Graduate outside hitter Yasso Amin, on her mentality: “Every day, I try to give 100% and then some. That’s who I am, because that’s how I was raised. This is the type of team that we have. Thursday was rough, and kind of felt like rock bottom. We had two options after that; stay down there or climb out of it inch-by-inch. I don’t think anyone on our team would be okay with staying down there, and today was a step out.”

Junior outside hitter Ashley Herman, on the win: “I feel like coming into today, we had a no-loss mentality. Obviously, we took a hard loss at the beginning of the weekend, which kind of set the tone for us. After losing the first set today, we all came together and said ‘Ok, we’re going to come back and we’re going to win this match’. The energy was really positive overall, and it helped me. I know it helps others, too, and I just really liked our team’s energy today.”

UP NEXT

The Aggies begin their second season of Conference USA play with the league’s newest addition. NM State will make its second trip to Atlanta in September for a pair of matches with Kennesaw State on Friday and Saturday. First serve from Atlanta will be on ESPN+ at 5:00 PM MT on Sept. 27.

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