Match Seventeen
NM State (12-4, 3-1 WAC) at Chicago State (10-6, 2-2 WAC)
Thursday, Oct. 7 | 5:00 p.m. | Jones Convocation Center | Chicago, Ill.
Watch | Live Stats | Tickets | NM State Match Notes
THE FIRST SERVE
• On a quest to return to the win column, the NM State volleyball team heads north to the Windy City for a Thursday evening WAC battle with Chicago State.
• ESPN+ and the ESPN app will carry every point of the 18th all-time meeting between the Aggies and Cougars once the action begins at 5:00 p.m. MT.
SERIES HISTORY
Overall vs. Chicago State | 17-0 (1.000)
In Las Cruces, N.M. | 7-0 (1.000)
In Chicago, Ill. | 9-0 (1.000)
At neutral sites | 1-0 (1.000)
Streak | NM State won 17
Last five matches | 5-0 (1.000)
Last 10 matches | 10-0 (1.000)
In three-set matches | 14-0 (1.000)
In four-set matches | 2-0 (1.000)
In five-set matches | 1-0 (1.000)
Jordan vs. Chicago State | 17-0 (1.000)
Trifonov vs. NM State | 0-3 (.000)
• Since the series between the two teams began in 2013, the Aggies have never lost to the Cougars.
• NM State played Chicago State three times last year, including in the WAC Tournament semifinals. The Aggies handled the Cougars in three sets in that that showdown, knocking Chicago State out of the WAC Tournament just 24 hours after it had posted its first WAC Tournament victory in program history.
LAST TIME OUT | California Baptist 3, at NM State 2 | Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021
• It looked as though the Aggies were well on their way to a 10th-consecutive victory, but visiting California Baptist had other plans as the Lancers battled back from a 2-0 deficit and shocked all in attendance at the Pan American Center by exiting with a 3-2 triumph.
• With the match knotted at two sets apiece, the Aggies looked to have fully recovered after starting the fifth and final frame on a 6-2 run. The Lancers, however, used their service game to battle back. CBU served up a pair of aces during a 9-2 run which put the Aggies at an 11-7 disadvantage.
• Though NM State countered with a 7-3 surge to knot matters at 14-all, the Lancers posted the final two points of the match to complete the comeback.
• NM State fell to 5-2 all-time against California Baptist with the loss and saw its five-match winning streak against the Lancers come to an end.
• The loss was the first WAC setback of the season for NM State and also put an end on the team's nine-match winning streak.
• Looming large was the serve/receive game as California Baptist totaled eight service winners. Coupled with nine Aggie service errors, that facet of the game gave the Lancers 17
total points.
• Katie Birtcil (19 kills, 14 assists), Cat Kelly (11 kills, 14 digs) and Carly Aigner-Swesey (career-high 58 assists, 12 digs) contributed double-doubles for NM State in their first setback since Sept. 5.
ABOUT THE AGGIES
• NM State sits in a tie for first place in the WAC's West Division with four league matches under its belt.
• The Aggies currently lead the WAC in five statistical categories including assists per set (12.27), hitting percentage (.255), opponent hitting percentage (.154), total assists (736) and total kills (804).
• NM State ranks 35th nationally in hitting percentage and 23rd in the land in opponent hitting percentage.
• Two of the five most efficient offensive players in the WAC sport NM State uniforms. Middle blocker Lia Mosher leads the league and ranks sixth nationally with a hitting percentage of .454. Right side Shaney Lipscomb, meanwhile, possesses a .328 attack percentage which ranks fifth among all WAC players.
• Since joining the WAC in 2005, NM State has dropped back-to-back regular season league matches just six times. The Aggies have never lost more than two consecutive matches in league play in that same span and haven't fallen in back-to-back WAC regular season matches since 2018.
• Libero Darian Markham gives the Aggies a solid back-row defensive option as she averaged a team-leading 4.26 digs per set.
• Over her last five matches, outside hitter Katie Birtcil has never failed to hit the double-digit kill mark. Through that five-match span, the Tucson, Ariz., product is averaging 4.12 kills per set and hasn't hit below .260 in a match.
• Shaney Lipscomb has gone on a tear over her last two matches, too, hitting above .410 in each of them while hammering down double-digit kills. The San Diego, Calif., product matched her career-high with 17 kills in the Aggies' five-set loss to California Baptist last Saturday and hit an impressive .412 in the match.
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 282-66 (.810) 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 84-9 (.903) 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.
SCOUTING CHICAGO STATE | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• On the heels of a history-making spring for his program, head coach Tony Trifonov has the Cougars in the midst of one of their best seasons in program history.
• Heading into the campaign, the Cougars reached double-digit wins in a season just one time since 2007. Sixteen matches in, Chicago State has matched the program's highest win total in that span (10 matches) and like NM State has a victory over a Big Ten program this season - a 3-0 triumph at Indiana on Sept. 17.
• Boasting the WAC's leader in kills per set, the Cougars are likely to set up Yanlis Feliz early and often. Feliz pounds down kills at a league-leading rate of 4.89 per set which ranks as the seventh-highest rate of any NCAA Division I volleyball player this season. A threat from the service line as well, Feliz leads the squad with 15 service aces. She also chips in 0.52 blocks per set, putting per points per set total at a WAC-best 5.44
• Alongside Feliz, Berenice Almeyda (2.94 kills/set) and Naliah Jones (2.68 kills/set) round out the three major offensive contributors for the Cougars.
• Shoring up the Cougars' front-row defense is Mesalina Severino. Her 0.98 blocks per set lead the team and represent the fifth-highest average in the WAC.
• Completing her role as a six-rotation threat, Feliz scoops up digs at a rage of 3.34 per set. That's second only to libero Andrea Calderon who tops the team charts in digs at 4.09 per frame.
COMING UP NEXT
• Following their only match of the week, the Aggies return to Las Cruces to prepare for two matches in the span of three days. Thursday night inside the Pan American Center, NM State is set to tangle with Arizona-based foe Grand Canyon at 6:00 p.m. That match will be the first of two meetings between the Aggies and Lopes in 72 hours.
++NM State++
