LAS CRUCES, N.M. – New Mexico State volleyball opened the NM State Springhill Suites Invitational with a loss to North Dakota on Thursday night. The Aggies were defeated by the Fighting Hawks 25-22, 25-8, 21-25, 21-25, 10-15 to lose their first home match of the season.

"North Dakota played pretty good defense," head coach Mike Jordan said. "We couldn't hit the ball in the court in the last three sets and you can't do that against a good team."

How It Happened

The Aggies came out hot to start, scoring the first five points of the set. UND surged back, taking a 13-12 lead after chipping away at the Aggies' advantage. A back-and-forth battle followed and North Dakota pulled ahead, scoring four points in-a-row to take the 17-13 lead. New Mexico State made its comeback, scoring six-straight with Kassandra Tohm at the service line. UND made a last attempt, tying the game 20-20 but the Aggies lead proved to be too much and New Mexico State took the first set 25-22.

NM State dominated from start to finish in the second set, beginning with an 8-3 lead over the Fighting Hawks. New Mexico State went on a scoring run with Jordan Abalos serving to lead by 10. Another scoring run with Tohm at the service line gave NM State a 22-7 advantage. Errors by North Dakota closed out the set for New Mexico State's 25-8 win.

In the third set, NM State battled point-for-point with the Fighting Hawks but North Dakota went on a scoring run to take a 12-10 lead over the Aggies. New Mexico State battled back and was able to tie the set 20-20, but UND surged back, taking a 22-20 lead over NM State and the Fighting Hawks finished the set with a 25-21 win over the Aggies.

New Mexico State and North Dakota competed once again but NM State fell behind when the Fighting Hawks went on a three-point scoring run to lead 16-14. Both teams continued to fight for each point but UND pulled ahead with a 19-16 advantage over the Aggies. NM State could not overcome the deficit and the match continued to a final set.

In the fifth set, UND came out with the momentum and took an early two-point lead over the Aggies. Fighting for each point, NM State cut the lead to a single point, but the Aggies fell behind by two once again. North Dakota went on a four-point run to take a 14-9 lead over NM State and the Aggies fell 15-10 in the fifth set to end the match.

By the Numbers

NM State led North Dakota 53-51 in kills. UND posted 86 digs compared to New Mexico State's 80. Sasha-Lee Thomas hit .256 with 14 kills. Briana Ainsworth recorded her second double-double of the season with 19 assists and 14 digs.

NM State continues its run in the SpringHill Suites Invitational when the Aggies take on No. 11 UCLA on Friday, Sept. 1, at 7 p.m. (MT) Fans can tune into the game on FOX Sports Arizona-Plus, FOX College Sports Atlantic, Comcast channel 77 (in New Mexico) and ESPN3 (WatchESPN app).