LAS CRUCES, N.M. – New Mexico State volleyball hosts Western Athletic Conference foes Utah Valley and Seattle U for the Aggies final home matches of the season. NM State takes on the Wolverines on Thursday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. (MT) before facing off with the Redhawks on Saturday, Nov. 4 at noon. Following Saturday's match, the team is set to honor its senior class in a special ceremony.Â
WHERE TO WATCH
Fans can watch New Mexico State's match against UVU for free on the WAC Digital Network. The Aggies match against SU can be viewed live on FOX Sports Arizona PLUS, Altitude 2, ESPN3 and Comcast New Mexico.
REMARKABLE RANKINGS
New Mexico State (17-7, 8-2 WAC) posts a .122 opponent hitting percentage, which ranks first in the nation. NM State also ranks 34th in assists per set (13.06), 35th in digs per set (16.87), 46th in kills per set (13.76) and 52nd in blocks per set (2.42). Additionally, the Aggies lead the WAC in assists, kills, and opponent hitting percentage.
Individually, Ariadnne Sierra averages 5.22 digs per set which ranks 30th nationally and second in the WAC. Lia Mosher (1.08) ranks fourth in the league in blocks per set while Sasha-Lee Thomas is 10th (0.92). Thomas also posts a .277 hitting percentage, which is fifth in the conference. Kassandra Tohm (3.52) is fourth in kills and Tatyana Battle ranks 10th with 3.07.
In WAC play alone, Thomas is second the league with a .356 hitting percentage while Tohm (.292) and Mosher (.259) sit in fourth and ninth, respectively. Tohm also leads the conference with a 4.00 kills per set average and a 4.22 points per set average. Mosher is the lone freshmen on the blocks top-10 list as she places seventh with 1.11 blocks per set.
SENSATIONAL SENIORS
NM State libero Sierra currently ranks fourth all-time in career digs at New Mexico State with 1,298. The senior leads the team with 444 digs this season. She tied the four-set digs record earlier this season in the Aggies loss to Notre Dame. Sierra is also the WAC's active career digs leader.
Thomas worked her way into the New Mexico State all-time record book. She currently ranks seventh with 324 block assists. The senior also ranks eighth with 377 total blocks, Thomas is also second in career blocks among the WAC's active career leaders.
 LAST TIME OUT
NM State took down UMKC and Chicago State on the road in its last matches. In their match against UMKC, Tohm led the way for the Aggies when she posted a match-high 14 kills on hitting .458. Defensively Sierra led the way with 13 digs and was followed closely behind by Kaylee Neal, who tallied 12.
Against Chicago State, New Mexico State recorded 45 kills while posting a .388 hitting percentage. Battle led all players with 16 kills in the sweep. Briana Ainsworth posted 22 assists while Natalie Mikels tallied 17. Mosher led the team with four total blocks.
KNOW YOUR FOE: UTAH VALLEY
Utah Valley comes into the match with a 12-13 overall record and a 7-3 record in conference play. The Wolverines are ninth in the nation in blocks per set (2.99) and third in total blocks (284). In conference play, the team averages 3.41 blocks per set.
Madison Dennison leads the nation in total blocks (160) and posts 1.68 blocks per set, which ranks fourth nationally. The senior middle blocker is the reigning WAC Player of the Week and has won the award three times this season. Offensively, Lexi Thompson leads UVU with 313 kills this season, averaging 3.29 kills per set.
In the first match between the teams this season, the Aggies stumbled in a five-set thriller in Orem, Utah. NM State took the first and third sets but could not get the win as the team fell 2-3. Tohm tallied a career-high 24 kills and seven digs in the loss. Thomas and Battle posted 14 and 13 kills, respectively.
KNOW YOUR FOE: SEATTLE U
Entering the weekend, Seattle U posts a 9-14 overall record and a 5-5 record in league play. The Redhawks went 1-1 last weekend, falling to Grand Canyon 2-3 before defeating CSU Bakersfield 3-1. On the road this season SU is 4-6 overall but 3-2 in WAC play.
Katarina Marinkovic leads the team with 295 kills this season as she averages 3.60 kills per set. The sophomore also posts a team-high 21 services aces for the Redhawks. Setter Shae Harris tallied 811 assists so far this season. She earned WAC Player of the Week honors previously this season after posting 12.40 assists per set in SU's win over UVU.
The Aggies swept the Redhawks during the first meeting between the teams. Tohm led all players with 17 kills and was followed by Thomas, who tallied 10. Ainsworth posted a double-double with 20 assists and 10 digs in the match.
COMING UP
Following the match with Seattle U, the Aggies close out the regular season with road matches at Grand Canyon on Thursday, Nov. 9, at 6 p.m. (MT) and CSU Bakersfield on Saturday Nov. 11, at 1 p.m.
