LAS CRUCES, N.M. – New Mexico State (15-4, 5-0 WAC) notched their fourth-straight sweep with a 25-19, 25-17, 27-25 win over UT Rio Grande Valley (12-7, 3-2 WAC) on Saturday. The Aggies have now won nine-straight matches and hold a two-game lead in the Western Athletic Conference.
 
"I thought we did a lot of really good things today," said head coach Mike Jordan. "I didn't like the way we served it in the last set. We served it kind of lame and they were in system a lot. We played really good defense for the most part. I thought we attacked the ball really well in the middle and on the right as well. I loved the way we set the ball today. We located really well, probably better than we have in the last little bit. All in all, it was a really good win."
 
Junior Sasha-Lee Thomas paced the Aggies with 11 kills and three blocks. Sophomore Tatyana Battle contributed nine kills and a block, while junior Kassandra Tohm put up eight kills and four blocks. Redshirt freshman Megan Hart tied her career high with six kills, and added three blocks.
 
The Aggies came out on fire as they took a 5-3 lead early in the opening set. At its height, NM State pushed the lead to 18-11 and then 20-12. UTRGV would attempt a comeback, but fall short as the Aggies took the set 25-19.
 
The second began a little tighter as both teams traded points early in the frame. NM State took the lead to stay at 7-6, and proceeded to go on an 8-3 run to push the lead to 15-9. The Aggies eventually claimed the set 25-17.
 
After the break, NM State came out a little sluggish as the Vaqueros took a 6-2 lead early in the third set. UTRGV would hold the lead until the Aggies tied it at 13-13. From there, things were tightly contested with NM State breaking away at 17-15. The Aggies held the lead until the Vaqueros tied it at 22-22. Both teams traded points for the remainder of the match. NM State was able to hold off UTRGV to seal the win with a 27-25 decision in the final set.
                                                               
The Aggies are back in action on Thursday as they host UMKC at the Pan American Center.