LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Utah Valley won the first set.
NM State, however, won the match.
Keeping pace with Grand Canyon atop the WAC's West Division standings, NM State received 12 or more kills from four individuals - a match-best 19 of which were hammered home by Katie Birtcil - in order to dispatch Utah Valley by a 3-1 tally Saturday afternoon inside the Pan American Center.
The win - NM State's third in a row - helped the Aggies remain tied with Grand Canyon for the top spot in the league's West Division standings with one regular season WAC match remaining. California Baptist slipped into a tie with Chicago State for third place on the WAC's West Division list. Both the Lancers and Cougars trail NM State and Grand Canyon by one match for the division lead.
SET ONE | Utah Valley 26, NM State 24
• Hoping to salvage a season split with NM State, Utah Valley showed off both its impressive front-row defense and its strong offense in the early stages of the opening frame. Jules Fink pounded down a pair of kills and added two block assists through the Wolverines' 7-2 run to start the match.
• NM State recovered from its slow start by going on an 8-2 run culminating with a Carly Aigner-Swesey service ace. Her winner from the service line handed the hosts their first lead of the match, 11-10.
• No team could get much separation from the other for the rest of the frame as 12 deadlocks highlighted the back-and-forth battle.
• The last of those ties came when Mari Sharp's first kill of the set knotted matters at 24-all. Though they staved off the Wolverines' first set point try with that kill, Utah Valley received a termination from Kazna Tanuvasa as well as a block courtesy of Kristen Bell and Sadie Hamson to earn a 26-24 win in the frame.
• That rejection to win the frame was the last of four for Utah Valley through the set. Utah Valley's offense attacked at a .361 clip and while the Aggies' attack percentage of .389 was quite good, NM State made much better use of its defense the rest of the way.
SET TWO | NM State 25, Utah Valley 19
• Back-and-forth play again dominated the first half of the second set before the Aggies' offensive prowess moved to the forefront.
• With things deadlocked at 14-all, Lia Mosher pounded down consecutive kills which kick-started a 4-1 NM State run. From there, the Aggies never trailed the rest of the way.
• Though Utah Valley cut NM State's lead to 20-19 after Birtcil committed an attack error, NM State's 5-0 surge to conclude the frame was the difference. Birtcil, Sharp and Cat Kelly combined for four terminations through that span while Shaney Lipscomb and Kelly added the last of NM State's two blocks in the set to even things up.
• The Aggies' offense remained nearly as efficient as it was in the opening set, hitting .343. It was NM State's defense, though, which allowed the hosts to tie things up. NM State limited Utah Valley to an attacking clip of .182.
SET THREE | NM State 25, Utah Valley 18
• Utah Valley's last lead of the third frame came when the first of three NM State service errors in the set allowed the visitors to move ahead 4-3.
• After that, Lipscomb and Sharp submitted two kills apiece while Birtcil served up back-to-back ace to power a 6-0 Aggie run which made matters 9-4.
• Again Utah Valley battled back, using a 3-1 run to pull within 12-11. As they did previously, though, NM State used a sizable run to put some distance between it and the Wolverines. Birtcil and Kelly contributed two kills each and Aigner-Swesey served up another ace to put the wraps on a 7-0 NM State surge that pushed the hosts' lead to 19-11.
• Utah Valley never recovered from that NM State run and the Aggies' lead grew to as many as nine points as they took a 2-1 lead.
• NM State gave the WAC's best blocking team a taste of its own medicine by racking up a trio of rejections in the third frame.The Aggies again held the Wolverines to a hitting percentage of .182.
SET FOUR | NM State 25, Utah Valley 17
• Poised to send things to a fifth set, Utah Valley made use of a 4-1 run to put the hosts at a 17-16 disadvantage. Kendra Nock concluded that run with back-to-back terminations, but NM State made sure the Wolverines would not be taking part in a fifth set Saturday afternoon after that.
• It was Kelly who shut down Utah Valley's dreams of a fifth set, leading a match-clinching 9-0 NM State run with four kills and a block assist.
• NM State didn't let its foot off the gas on offense, hitting .333. Three blocks by the Aggies coupled with four unforced attacking errors by the visiting team limited Utah Valley's effectiveness on offense as the Wolverines hit just .125 in the deciding frame.
KEY PERFORMERS/STATISTICS OF NOTE
• Birtcil finished off a double-double effort by complimenting her 19 kills with a match-high 14 digs. Kelly enjoyed a great match on offense, pounding down 15 terminations on a sparkling .393 attack percentage.
• Sharp added 12 kills and turned in a double-double of her own by adding 14 digs.
• NM State posted a 9-8 edge in blocks over Utah Valley with Birtcil, Lipscomb and Mosher each finishing with four.
• Aigner-Swesey and Birtcil struck for two aces apiece, helping somewhat offset 11 NM State service errors.
• Tanuvasa racked up a team-high 16 kills for Utah Valley but was the only Wolverine who generated a double-digit kill total on the afternoon.
QUOTABLE | HEAD COACH MIKE JORDAN
"We were pretty good offensively today. Carly set a good match and our hitters made pretty solid attack choices. We beat a solid team and we scored a lot of points on our own. That's a good sign as we head down the home stretch of the regular-season schedule."
COMING UP NEXT
• Though it will have no bearing on their final spot in the WAC standings, the Aggies' match against UTEP Wednesday evening could give them a measure of revenge against their longtime Borderland foes. NM State and UTEP are set for a 6:00 p.m. first serve inside the Pan American Center that evening with the Aggies looking to even the season series against the Miners at one match apiece.
++NM State++
