LAS CRUCES, N.M. – New Mexico State volleyball took on Grambling State in the team's home opener at the Pan American Center on Tuesday night. The Aggies swept the Tigers 25-15, 25-17, 25-13 for the home-court victory.
"I was happy we got almost everyone into the match tonight," head coach Mike Jordan said. "It's very important for young players to have success. Many people got that opportunity tonight and some capitalized on it."
How it Happened
NM State (5-2) came out hot when a four-point run put the Aggies ahead of GSU (0-7) 9-5. A seven-point swing continued to favor the New Mexico State with a service error ending the rally the expanded the advantage to 10. The Aggies scored three straight to close out the opening set and a ball-handling error by the Tigers closed out the 25-15 first set victory for New Mexico State.
In the second set, the offense for the Aggies continued to dominate with the team scoring six in-a-row to pull ahead 7-2. The lead held and after a three-point run by NM State that included a block by Lindsay Blakey and Savannah Davison, New Mexico State was ahead of Grambling State 17-10. The Aggies closed out the set on a three-point run and an ace by Tatyana Battle sealed the 25-17 victory.
The Aggies jumped ahead 3-0 early and a rally with Krysten Garrison serve gave NM State the 12-6 advantage. New Mexico State continued to dominate and the Aggies notched a five-point run with Battle behind the service line late in the set to take the 17-8 lead. Another five-point swing favored New Mexico State before the end of the set and Garrison closed out the match with a kill off an assist from Natalie Mikels to complete the 25-13 victory and the sweep of Grambling State.
By the Numbers
As a team, the Aggies posted 47 kills with a .343 hitting clip during the match. Cat Kelly led all player with 13 kills while also posting a .526 hitting percentage. Briana Ainsworth notched 17 assists and Battle had eight digs on the day.
NM State hosts the annual Springhill Suites Invitational and the squad faces off against Montana on Friday, Sept. 7, at 7 p.m. MT before taking on Arizona on Saturday, Sept. 8 at noon. New Mexico State closes the weekend at UTEP on Sunday, Sept. 9 at 1 p.m.
