NACOGDOCHES, Texas – NM State (12-10, 4-6 WAC) suffered its third-straight loss after falling in three sets (25-14, 25-16, 25-21) to one of the top programs in the conference in Stephen F. Austin (21-3, 9-2).

"We passed it terribly and gave them too many easy opportunities," Head Coach Mike Jordan noted. "They make nine errors in three sets and we make 29. Can't win if you can't function."

For the second consecutive match, senior Katie Birtcil paced the Aggies in kills as she finished the day with 11 kills to serve as the lone Aggie to reach double-digit terminations. Lia Mosher ranked second in kills, finishing with seven on just 16 swings to turn in a .438 hitting percentage during the morning match.

On the defensive end, Mosher would tally a pair of blocks for Jordan's squad to lead the way at the net. Meanwhile, Darian Markham finished as the Aggies' top receiver by way of compiling 12 digs in the three-setter.

Despite entering the day limiting opponents to a combined .180 hitting percentage, Stephen F. Austin was able to conquer the Aggie defense as they put together a .340 clip – the best by any Aggie opponent this season.

SET ONE
The LadyJacks jumped out to an early 4-0 lead before a Katie Birtcil kill finally put NM State on the board. This started a quick three-point run by the Aggies that was finished with an ace by Darian Markham.

The two teams continued to trade scoring runs with Stephen F. Austin up 9-6, before play slowed down and became a back-and-forth affair, with NM State consistently hanging around.

Trailing 15-10 at the first break in the set, the Aggies came out struggling, allowing the lead to bloom (18-10) before a Mike Jordan timeout to regroup.

Mia Peterson came into the game and produced back-to-back kills to cut it down to a six-point game, but Stephen F. Austin was able to put the set away with relative ease, winning 25-14.

SET TWO
Attacking errors plagued the Aggies early and often in the second set, though a pair of kills by Katie Birtcil helped keep NM State in it (9-3).  A pair of Jayde Shelton kills and an ace by Mari Sharp 4-1 run by the Aggies put the game within three (10-7), but this is the closest the set would get.

Due in part to nine attacking errors in the set, the Aggies fell behind two sets to none after SFA earned the 25-16 win.

SET THREE
After falling behind 7-3, the Aggies showed life in the third set, using a 6-2 run to knot it up at nine apiece. Keeping it close with the Ladyjacks, the Aggies were able to string together a three-point run to head into the media timeout up 15-13.

The Aggies increased their lead to 18-14, however, NM State struggle down the stretch led to a timeout with the game tied at 21 all. The Ladyjacks were able to secure the win by rallying four straight points to end the match.
 
MATCH NOTABLES

• Katie Birtcil recorded 11 kills to turn in her 14^th game with double-digit kills on the season while registering as the team's leading killer for the 13^th time on the season
• Jayde Shelton tied her career high with six kills in the match – doing so on 12 swings.
• After starting the season with a perfect 7-0 record in matches in which they posted a hitting percentage of .200 or better, the Aggies dropped their third-straight tilt with a hitting percentage of at least .200.
• With the loss, the Aggies drop to eighth in the WAC standings – leaving them as the final team to qualify for the WAC Tournament had the season concluded today.

UP NEXT
Next week the Aggies will travel to Orem, Utah, to take on Utah Valley as they look to right the ship ahead of the postseason. NM State and Utah Valley will collide on Thursday, Nov. 3, with the match set to get underway at 6 p.m. MT.