Match Twenty-Three
NM State (15-7, 6-4 WAC) at Seattle U (4-17, 1-9 WAC)
Saturday, Oct. 30 | 4:00 p.m. MT | Redhawk Center | Seattle, Wash.
Watch | Live Stats | NM State Match Notes
THE FIRST SERVE
• Hoping to put an end to a two-match losing skid, the NM State volleyball team finishes up the road portion of its 2021 regular season schedule by paying a visit to the Pacific Northwest for a Saturday afternoon showdown at Seattle U.
• First serve inside the Redhawk Center is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. MT and ESPN+ will stream each and every second of the action.
SERIES HISTORY
Overall vs. Seattle U | 18-1 (.947)
In Las Cruces, N.M. | 9-0 (1.000)
In Seattle, Wash. | 7-1 (.875)
At neutral sites | 2-0 (1.000)
Streak | NM State won 14
Last five matches | 5-0 (1.000)
Last 10 matches | 10-0 (1.000)
In three-set matches | 9-0 (1.000)
In four-set matches | 5-1 (.833)
In five-set matches | 4-0 (1.000)
Jordan vs. Seattle U | 18-1 (.947)
Cole vs. NM State | 0-3 (.000)
Last meeting | Seattle U 0, at NM State 3 | Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021
• On a 14-match winning streak against their league foes from the Pacific Northwest, the Aggies have won their last 21 sets against the Redhawks dating back to Sept. 27, 2018.
WAC ATTACK
• A new-look Western Athletic Conference is making its debut season in the 2021-22 season, and the Aggies are hoping to continue their dominance in the league.
• Now in his 24th season in charge at NM State, head coach Mike Jordan has been nothing short of masterful in league action throughout his tenure. The Aggies' bench boss owns an impressive 285-69 (.805) mark in regular-season WAC showdowns as well as a 30-12 (.714) record in WAC Tournament bouts.
• NM State has been especially effective in racking up all manner of WAC hardware through the last seven seasons. In that span, the Aggies are 87-12 (.879) against league opposition in regular-season tilts and have claimed five regular-season WAC crowns as well as a trio of WAC Tournament titles.
• Since joining the WAC in 2005, NM State has secured seven regular-season titles. All told, Jordan has claimed 11 conference titles since his run in Las Cruces began in 1998.
LAST TIME OUT | NM State 1, at California Baptist 3 | Thursday, Oct. 28
• For the third time in the last four matches, junior outside hitter Katie Birtcil turned in an outing of over 20 kills by striking for a match-best 22, but NM State dropped a four-set battle in Riverside with California Baptist.
• Birtcil's 22 kills made her one of three NM State players with double-digit kills to their credit. Lia Mosher finished with 11 on a strong .579 attacking clip while Shaney Lipscomb added 10 on the strength of a .333 hitting percentage.
• Untimely errors, however, hurt the Aggies' chances at victory. Ten of NM State's 20 attack errors came in the second set, allowing CBU to tie the match at 1-1.
• Down the stretch, the strong service game of the Lancers played a role in the Aggies' setback as well. California Baptist piled up six of its 10 service aces in the fourth and final set.
• With the loss, NM State fell in back-to-back regular-season WAC matches for the first time sine 2018.
ABOUT THE AGGIES
• Following a four-set defeat to California Baptist in Riverside Thursday night, NM State slipped to fourth place in the WAC's West Division standings. The Aggies trail third-place Chicago State by a half-game and are a full game back of West Division co-leaders CBU and Grand Canyon with four league matches to go.
• Since joining the WAC ahead of the 2005 season, NM State has never dropped more than two consecutive regular-season league matches. In WAC matches directly following a league loss, NM State is 2-1 this season and 13-2 dating back to the 2014 campaign.
• The Aggies' go-to player on offense as of last has unquestionably been junior outside hitter Katie Birtcil. The Tucson, Ariz., product has posted 10 or more kills in 10 of her last 11 matches with four matches of 20+ terminations in that same span.
• Against Grand Canyon at SFA, Birtcil finished with 24 and 22 kills respectively. That made her the first Aggie to post 20 or more kills in back-to-back matches since Jordan Abalos did so in the 2016 season against Seattle U (21 kills on Sept. 22) and Utah Valley (22 kills on Sept 22).
• Birtcil has risen to seventh in the WAC in terms of kills per set, generating a team-leading figure of 3.41.
• Following a four-match stretch where she didn't hit above .333, senior middle blocker Lia Mosher returned to her usual ultra-efficient form Thursday night. Her 11 kills on 19 errorless swings allowed the Ruidoso, N.M., product to finish with an attack percentage of .579. That hiked her WAC-leading attack percentage to .420 - a mark which ranks 17th among all NCAA Division I volleyball players.
• In addition to Birtcil, Shaney Lipscomb also ranks among the WAC's top ten players in kills per set. Her average of 2.87 terminations per frame is second on the team and ninth among all league players.
• Darian Markham extended her streak of double-digit dig outings to seven by scooping up 19 against California Baptist Thursday night. Her mark of 4.42 per set leads the team and is the fourth-highest in the WAC.
• NM State tops the WAC in a number of statistical categories including assists per set (12.34, 60th nationally), hitting percentage (.251, 48th nationally) and total kills (1,136, 30th nationally). The Aggies rank second in the league in opponent hitting percentage .161 (30th nationally), too.
SCOUTING SEATTLE U | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• The Redhawks were denied consecutive WAC victories for the first time since 2019 after suffering a 3-0 defeat at the hands of WAC West Division co-leader Grand Canyon Thursday night.
• After being held to just a pair of terminations in a three-set loss at NM State back on Sept. 30, Sierra Bartley has been one of the Redhawks' primary kill generators since. Bartley leads the team and ranks 11th among all WAC players with 2.69 kills per set. Through her last seven matches, Bartley has finished with 13 or more kills on five occasions.
• Middle blocker Julia Queiroz has been a force at the front of the net for Seattle U through its last two matches. In that span, she has totaled 15 rejections to hike her team-leading blocks per set average to 0.83.
• Seattle U goes in search of its first home win of the season Saturday afternoon. The Redhawks have dropped each of their last six tilts at home dating back to March of 2021.
COMING UP NEXT
• Once Saturday's match concludes, NM State won't have to leave Las Cruces again unless it makes it to the NCAA Tournament. The Aggies begin a month-long stretch of home action by playing host to Dixie State Thursday evening at 6:00 p.m. That's one of four-consecutive home matches which will close out NM State's regular season and from there NM State will serve as the host site for the 2021 WAC Tournament from Nov. 18-20.
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