EDINBURG, Texas – The Aggies' (15-12, 7-7 WAC) postseason hopes came to a close in south Texas on Thursday morning as they fell in three sets (31-29, 25-20, 25-20) to third-seeded Grand Canyon (17-9, 10-4 WAC).
 
NM State was led on the offensive side by a pair of first-year Aggies as both Molly Johnson and Jayde Shelton finished the match with nine kills. Shelton was also one of four Aggies to finish the match with two block assists – joined by Taylor Snow, Lia Mosher and Ryleigh Whitekettle.
 
Darian Markham led the Aggies on the back row, finishing with 19 digs. Johnson also reached double-digit dig territory as she posted 10 digs.
 
The Aggies did manage to out-block and out-dig the Lopes in the match, however, NM State finished the set hitting a .188 clip while GCU posted a .238 hitting percentage.
 
SET ONE
After coming off the bench, Jayde Shelton immediately got going as she scored a pair of early kills as the Aggies took a 9-8 lead.
 
NM State's quarterfinal opponent turned in the third-highest hitting percentage in the conference during the regular season, but it was the Lopes' errors that put the Aggies in the driver's seat in the first set. In fact, six of the Aggies' first 15 points came on behalf of Grand Canyon mistakes.
 
Later, the Aggies would take a three-point advantage (19-16) as Lia Mosher and Ryleigh Whitekettle combined to stuff the attack of First Team All-WAC member Tatum Parrott. Although, Grand Canyon would then rattle off five consecutive points to flip the set on its head and take a 21-19 lead.
 
Down 22-20, a pair of GCU errors then pulled the Aggies back to even. The Aggies would eventually work their way to three set points at 24-23, 26-25 and 29-28, but Grand Canyon would ultimately win the marathon set, 31-29. The ever-important first set is especially crucial for the Aggies as they entered the match with a 12-0 record in matches in which they won the first set, while they were 3-11 when dropping the first set this season.
 
Despite dropping set, the Aggies out-hit the Lopes, .209 to .148 in the first frame.
 
SET TWO
Following the disappointing finish to the opening set, the Aggies would jump out to a 3-1 lead at the start of the second game. However, Grand Canyon would go on a four-point run to claim a two-point lead.
 
NM State would later find itself down five points (10-5) before a GCU error was followed by a Taylor Snow ace to cut the lead to three. The deficit would then grow back to five (12-7) and would stay at four or five until a Jayde Shelton kill would reduce the gap back to three at 23-20.
 
During the middle of the game, the Aggies struggled to defend Klaire Mitchell's dump set attack as she tallied three kills for the Lopes. Grand Canyon would later take a two-set lead as they finished off the set with a 25-20 score. Unlike the first set when they racked up 17 hitting errors, the Lopes finished the second game with only three attack errors.
 
SET THREE
As they did in the second set, the Aggies jumped out to an early 5-2 lead highlighted by a combo block involving Mosher and Whitekettle.
 
Eventually, Grand Canyon used a run to tie the game at seven points before Taylor Snow ended the scoring burst with a kill down the middle. The Aggies then went straight back to the same play, only this time using senior Lia Mosher as they took a 9-7 lead.
 
A few moments later, Molly Johnson would have two chances at recording a kill as her first swing of the point resulted in an overpass that she sent right back to the floor on the GCU side – giving the Aggies a 13-10 advantage.
 
Grand Canyon would claw its way back to even the set at 17 apiece. The Lopes then scored the next five points to take control of the set before finishing off the match with a 25-20 set victory.
 
MATCH NOTABLES

• For just the third time this season, NM State finished without at least one hitter reaching double-digit kills.
• The Aggies had their fair share of opportunity on Thursday morning, finishing with a season-high in attacks during a three-set match at 128.
• Mike Jordan's squad also defended fairly well, posting the second-most digs in a three-set match this season
• NM State did most of its damage on first-ball attacks as 25 of its 42 kills came with no return.
• The opening set of was not only the longest set the Aggies have played in all season, but it was the longest set in the WAC Tournament since 2007 when sets were still played to 30 points.

 
UP NEXT
Although the Aggies' hopes for a sixth WAC Tournament title came to a close on Thursday, NM State still has one match remaining on its schedule.
 
The Aggies will travel to El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday, Nov. 23, to take on I-10 rival UTEP at Noon. The Miners are led by former NM State assistant coach Ben Wallis.
 
Wednesday's matchup will also mark the only meeting between the Aggies and one of their rivals this season as they have yet to play UTEP or New Mexico this season.