LAS CRUCES, N.M. – New Mexico State volleyball will travel to Las Vegas on Friday, Aug. 26 to open the 2016 campaign against Albany in the UNLV Invitational. First serve is set for 1 p.m.
 
In addition to facing Albany, the Aggies will match up against UC Santa Barbara on Friday at 6 p.m. and against host UNLV on Saturday at 3 p.m.
 
All three matches will be broadcast live. Fans can listen to the matches locally on KRUX 91.5 FM, TuneIn Radio or on NMStateSports.com, with Adam Young handling play-by-play duties. Saturday's match against UNLV will be televised live on the Mountain West Network. 
 
The Aggies are 13-5 in season openers in the Mike Jordan era and are 30-12 all-time. NM State has also won the last four season openers and six of the last seven.
 
The 2016 NM State squad returns three starters from last season's Western Athletic Conference Championship team, while losing five starting seniors. The Aggies also add nine new freshmen and are one of over 10 teams in the country without a senior on the roster.
 
Among the returners is Preseason WAC Player of the Year Sasha-Lee Thomas, who returns for her junior campaign. A Second Team All-WAC selection in 2015, Thomas logged 204 kills in 34 matches and led NM State with 114 blocks (97 assisted and 17 solo) last season.
 
The Aggies were also selected by the league's coaches as the favorite to win the WAC title. In addition to Thomas, junior Jordan Abalos and sophomores Brianna Ainsworth and Tatyana Battle were named to the Preseason All-WAC team, which gave NM State the most players on the team.
 
This is the second time NM State and Albany have faced off, with the Aggies sweeping the first meeting on Aug. 28, 2007. Last Season, the Great Danes finished as the America East Regular Season Co-Champions with a 17-9 record. They return the 2015 AE Co-Player of the Year, senior Laini Leindecker, and the 2015 AE Defensive Player of the Year, sophomore Nicole Otero.
 
NM State and UCSB will meet for the 22nd time on Friday, with the Gauchos taking the last match in five sets on Aug. 31, 2013. The Gauchos lead the overall series 19-2. UCSB comes into 2016 after a down season in 2015 that saw the Gauchos finish with a 7-20 record. However, UCSB returns five starters from last season, which includes senior Phoebe Grunt, who posted 176 kills and averaged 0.99 blocks per set in 2015.
 
The sixth meeting between NM State and UNLV will happen on Saturday. In the most recent match between the two, the Rebels won 3-1 on Sept. 11, 1998. UNLV, who finished 2015 with a 16-14 record, returns six starters from last season. Among the returners is 2015 All-Mountain West selection Bree Hammel, who led the team with 305 kills and a .321 hitting percentage last season.
 
Schedule
NM State vs. Albany – Friday, Aug. 26 – 1 p.m.
NM State vs. UC Santa Barbara – Friday, Aug. 26 – 6 p.m.
NM State vs. UNLV – Saturday, Aug. 27 – 3 p.m.
 
Radio (with Adam Young)
KRUX 91.5
TuneIn Radio
NMStateSports.com
 
Television
Saturday – Mountain West Network