PALO ALTO, Calif. – NM State fell in three sets to No. 6 Stanford in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night at the Maples Pavilion.

The Cardinal took the match in a 20-25, 13-25, 17-25 decision.

As was the case this entire season, All-America candidate Gwen Murphy put on a stellar performance. The Elfrida, Ariz./Valley Union HS native racked up nine kills, three service aces and a block in her final match in the Crimson and White. Murphy finished her senior season averaging 3.29 kills per set, .024 aces per set and 0.83 blocks per set.

The Cardinal had three players with double digit kills. Hayley Hodson and Merete Lutz both registered 13 kills. Brittany Howard had 12 kills.

In the first set of the night, Stanford opened up on a 3-0 run. The Aggie stilled themselves and rallied back to tie it at 4-4, as part of a 7-1 run that saw them lead 8-5.  The Cardinal managed to tie it, and eventually took the lead at 12-11. From there, Stanford controlled the set and took it 25-20.

The second set was all Cardinal, as they opened with a 9-4 run. Stanford ran out to its largest lead of the set at 11-5. They eventually claimed the frame 25-13.

After the break, NM State came out swinging, taking the lead out of the gate and not relinquishing it until Stanford took over at 10-9. The two teams proceeded to trade points until the Cardinal went on a 3-0 run to push their lead to 16-13. Stanford clinched the match with 25-17 decision in the final set.

Before tonight, the Aggies had not lost since September 19, when they dropped a match against Texas 1-3. The 19-match win streak that followed finished as the second longest in school history, only behind a 23-match streak set by the 2003 team.

With a final record of 28-6, NM State has put together 11 20-plus win seasons under head coach Mike Jordan.