LAS CRUCES, N.M. – New Mexico State volleyball closes the regular season with a pair of matches at the Pan American Center this week. The Aggies welcome Kansas City on Thursday, Nov. 15, for a match at 6 p.m. MT. NM State follows the contest with a special Senior Day match against Chicago State on Saturday, Nov. 17, at 2 p.m. Following the finale against CSU, the team is set to honor seniors Briana Ainsworth and Tatyana Battle during a special ceremony.

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FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can watch the Aggies face off against the Roos on FOX Sports Arizona Plus, FOX College Sports Pacific and Eleven Sports. NM State's match against Chicago State can be viewed on the WAC Digital Network.

WHERE IN THE WAC
Overall, the Aggies lead the league in opponent hitting percentage (.164) and the clip also ranks 31st nationally. New Mexico State's own .226 hitting percentage ranks second in the conference while the 2.32 blocks is good for third. In WAC play alone, the squad leads the conference in hitting percentage (.237) and opponent hitting percentage (.160). NM State also places second among league teams in assists (12.77) and kills (13.57) while also ranking third in blocks (2.55), and aces (1.45).

Individually, Megan Hart posts a .371 hitting clip and 1.07 blocks, which puts the redshirt junior in second and sixth in the respective categories. Julianna Salanoa posts 1.08 blocks per set to rank fifth, just ahead of Hart. Battle ranks fifth in kills (3.33), sixth in points (3.78), and 10th in digs (3.05) and Natalie Mikels  posts 0.35 service aces, putting the sophomore third in the WAC.

In league play alone, Hart (.410) and Salanoa (.383) rank first and third, respectively, for hitting percentage. Both middle blockers also rank in the top-10 for blocks with Salanoa placing fourth (1.22) and Hart sitting in fifth (1.18). Battle ranks in fourth in kills (3.46), fifth in points (3.96) and 10th in digs (3.18). Setters Ainsworth (5.48) and Mikels (5.48) place ninth and 10th, respectively, in the conference for assists and Mikels sits in third for aces (0.34). Outside hitter Savannah Davison also ranks among the best in the league with her 3.28 points putting her in 10^th.

Seniors Ainsworth and Battle joined elite company in the NM State record books. Ainsworth currently ranks seventh all-time with 2,647 career assists. Meanwhile, Battle sits in fourth with 3,778 career attempts and 1,312 kills.

LAST TIME OUT
The Aggies went 2-0 during conference play last week, which included New Mexico State knocking off Grand Canyon 3-1 in the Lopes final home match of the season. NM State tallied 63 kills on hitting .360 for the contest. Salanoa posted a career-high 13 kills and her .722 hitting clip puts her first all-time for a four-set match. Leading the Aggies in kills was Hart with 14 and the middle also had six blocks in the win. Battle posted a double-double when she recorded 12 digs and 11 kills and Ainsworth also had a double-double when the senior tallied 27 assists and 11 digs.

When New Mexico State took down California Baptist in a four-set match at the Pan American Center on Saturday, the team reached the 20-win mark for the 15^th time in the last 17 seasons. In the victory, NM State tallied 51 kills on hitting .290 for the match. Davison led all players with 14 kills and posted a double-double when she added 12 digs in the win. Battle led the NM State squad with 20 digs and her 13 kills gave her the 17th double-double of her senior campaign. Mikels led the team with 23 assists and four aces while Brigette Lowe had a squad-best three blocks.

LOOKING AT THE ROOS
Kansas City comes into the week at 20-8 overall and 11-3 in league play. The Roos are tied with UT Rio Grande Valley for first in the conference standings. As a team, UMKC posts a league-best .164 hitting clip, 12.84 assists and 13.64 kills. Individually, Tyrecia Lukes posts a WAC-best .417 hitting percentage ranking the senior fifth nationally for the mark.

In the first meeting between the squads, NM State came away with the 3-0 sweep in Kansas City, Mo. Melanie Brecka led UMKC with 10 kills and had the team's lone ace in the match. Alli Schomers guided the Kansas City offense with 17 assists. New Mexico State's Salanoa had a match-high nine blocks in the Aggies' victory.



SCOUTING THE COUGARS
Chicago State is 9-22 on the season with a 3-11 mark in WAC play. The Cougars are coming off a week where the team went 1-1 with the victory coming as a sweep of Seattle U. Megan Klavitter leads the conference with 5.68 digs per set, which also is good for eighth nationally. The junior also ranks fifth in the nation for total digs with 642 so far this season.

When the teams faced off in Chicago, New Mexico State swept CSU to claim the win. Lacee Adams powered the Cougars offense with 18 assists for Chicago State. Libero Klavitter posted 13 digs while Lauryn Dela Cruz tallied a squad-best 10 kills. NM State's Battle had 14 kills and 16 digs for the Aggies in the match.

COMING UP: TOURNEY TIME
NM State gets set for the 2018 WAC Volleyball Tournament, which takes place Nov. 22-24, at the Icardo Center in Bakersfield, Calif. The conference tournament features the top six eligible teams from the regular-season standings.