Match Fourteen
NM State (10-3, 1-0 WAC) at Dixie State (2-7, 1-0 WAC)
Saturday, Sept. 25 | Noon | Burns Arena | St. George, Utah
Watch | Live Stats | Tickets | NM State Match Notes
THE FIRST SERVE
• Armed with the nation's 13th-longest active winning streak, the NM State volleyball team seeks its third consecutive 2-0 start in WAC play as the Aggies make a first-time trip to St. George, Utah, in order to tangle with Dixie State inside Burns Arena Saturday at noon.
• ESPN+ and the ESPN app is set to carry the third clash between the Aggies and Trailblazers.
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 281-65 (.812) 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 83-8 (.912) 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.
LET'S GO STREAKING
• NM State is riding a seven-match winning streak which ranks as the longest active winning run among all WAC programs at the moment.
• In their four-set victory at Utah Valley Thursday night, NM State saw its run of 19-straight set wins come to an end. After suffering a loss in the fifth and final set against longtime Texas rival UTEP back on Sept. 5, NM State reeled off 19 consecutive set victories. That streak was snapped when Utah Valley won set two of Thursday night's WAC opener by a 25-20 score.
• Dating back to the spring 2021 season, NM State has won six consecutive WAC regular-season showdowns.
AROUND THE ROTATION
• Installed as the Aggies' libero for Thursday night's tilt with Utah Valley, sophomore Lauryn Taylor played well in the first start of her collegiate career. Taylor turned in a line of 12 digs, one assist and one service ace during the Aggies' win.
• NM State continues to lead the WAC in both hitting percentage (.252, 52nd nationally) and opponent hitting percentage (.146, 27th nationally).
• Lia Mosher leads the WAC and ranks seventh nationally with a hitting percentage of .458. In her last match, Mosher generated just three kills and picked up three attack errors, too, to finish with an attack percentage of .000. It marked the Ruidoso, N.M., product's lowest single-match attack percentage since Dec. 6, 2019, when she hit .000 in a first-round NCAA Tournament tilt at BYU.
• Carly Aigner-Swesey has moved up to sixth in the WAC in terms of assists per set (6.63).
SERIES HISTORY
Overall vs. Dixie State | 2-0 (1.000)
In Las Cruces, N.M. | 0-0
In St. George, Utah | 0-0
At neutral sites | 2-0 (1.000)
Streak | NM State won two
Last five matches | 2-0 (1.000)
Last 10 matches | 2-0 (1.000)
In three-set matches | 0-0
In four-set matches | 2-0 (1.000)
In five-set matches | 0-0
Jordan vs. Dixie State | 2-0 (1.000)
Hafoka vs. NM State | 0-0
Last meeting | NM State 3, vs. Dixie State 1 (Jan. 26, 2021 • played in Phoenix, Ariz.)
• Saturday's matchup between the Aggies and Trailblazers represents the third showdown ever between the two programs.
• A newcomer to both the NCAA Division I and WAC ranks last season, Dixie State was defeated in four sets twice by NM State last January to begin league action.
LAST TIME OUT | NM State 3, at Utah Valley 1 (9/23/21)
• Outmanned in enemy territory and facing off against the squad which bested it in the spring 2021 WAC Tournament title bout, the NM State volleyball team exacted its revenge on Utah Valley by receiving a monstrous 24-kill performance from junior outside hitter Katie Birtcil in a 3-1 victory over the Wolverines.
• Birtcil's 24 terminations represented both a career-high for the Tucson, Ariz., product as well as the most kills by an Aggie thus far in the season. The 24 kills posted by Birtcil represented the highest total by an Aggie since Tatyana Battle hammered down 27 in a five-set WAC victory over Kansas City back on Nov. 15, 2018.
• Birtcil put the finishing touches on her first double-double of the season by scooping up a career-high 11 digs. Showing off her service prowess, too, Birtcil recorded three of the Aggies' six services aces.
• NM State's highly-effective second option on the attack was sophomore Mari Sharp. She finished with a career-high 14 kills while hitting a team-best .371.
• Setting their usual 6-2 system to the side, NM State moved into a 5-1 which let Carly Aigner-Swesey dictate things on offense for the entire night. As a result, the Aggies' setter racked up a career-best 49 assists and finished off her team-leading sixth double-double of the season with a team-best 13 digs.
• Leading the way in terms of front-row defense for the Aggies was Shaney Lipscomb. Her nine kills were accentuated by a team and season-best six (one solo, five assists) blocks. The San Diego, Calif., product showed off her floor defense, too, by totaling a season and career-high 10 digs.
• Birtcil's 24 kills represented the second-highest total by a WAC player in a four-set match this season. Additionally, those 24 kills rank as the 19th-most by an NCAA Division I player in a four-set match this season.
• With the win, the Aggies have captured victories in each of their last three WAC openers. Dating back to the start of the 2018 season, NM State has won 47 of its last 51 matches against WAC opposition.
• Thursday night's victory was the 10th of the season for NM State, making the Aggies the first WAC program to reach double-digit victories so far this season. Other WAC programs who are closing in on the 10-win mark include SFA (9-3) and Chicago State (9-4).
SCOUTING DIXIE STATE | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• In the last week, the Trailblazers have accumulated more wins (two) than they posted in their first three weeks of the 2021 season. In the midst of their longest home stretch of the 2021 season (three matches), Dixie State has recorded back-to-back victories against Southern Utah (3-1 on Saturday, Sept. 18) and against Grand Canyon (3-0 on Thursday, Sept. 23).
• The Trailblazers' victory over GCU in the WAC opener for both teams Thursday night helped them put an end to a six-match losing skid against the Lopes dating back to 2011.
• Offensively, Hannah Howard has been handling the majority of the swings for the Trailblazers. She is one of three Dixie State regulars who are averaging north of 2.00 kills per set and her team-leading figure stands at 2.31.
• In addition to Howard, both Whittnee Nihpali (2.30 kills/set) and Megan Treanor (2.21 kills/set) are solid options on the outside for Dixie State.
• Four players have handled setting up the Trailblazers' offense this season, and the most utilized individual in that role is Lauren Mena. Her 137 assists (5.48) top the team charts and she is one of four Dixie State players who have served up a team-best six aces.
• Dixie State's back-row defensive effort is helmed by Mykenna Nelson and her WAC-leading 5.06 digs per set. Standing tall at the front of the net for Dixie State are Kate Hardy and Lizzy Clark. The former's 0.94 blocks per set represent the most on the team and are one of the top-ten averages among all WAC players while clark has helped out by chipping in 0.81 rejections per frame.
COMING UP NEXT
• Back home for the first time in almost one full month, NM State continued WAC action by playing host to a pair of league squads next week. Inside the Pan American Center at 6:00 p.m. Thursday evening, the Aggies will face off against the Redhawks of Seattle U. Bally Sports Arizona Plus and ESPN+ will televise the WAC showdown.
++NM State++
