EL PASO, Texas – Despite an early exit from the WAC Tournament, the season was anything but over for the Aggies. On Wednesday morning, the Aggies took a trip down Interstate 10 to battle UTEP in the final match of the season. NM State handled business in five sets to end the season on a high note against the Miners.
 
Once again, Rylee Fay was commanding storylines for the Aggies. With a trio of service aces, Fay moved into third place on NM State's single-season aces list. The Iowa native finishes the season with 52 aces on the season.
 
When asked about his team's play in El Paso, head coach Mike Jordan was pleased. "I'm proud of the effort today. This was a good win on the road versus a good UTEP team," stated Jordan. "We played a horrible third set after being up 2-0 and then blew a lead in the fourth before finally fighting and executing decently in the fifth."
 
 
SET ONE
Ryleigh Whitekettle used two early kills to help put the Aggies in front 7-1, forcing UTEP Head Coach Ben Wallis to call timeout. Much like Whitekettle, Molly Johnson used a pair of early kills as her second termination pushed the NM State lead to seven (12-5).
 
The story of Rylee Fay's magical season at the service line continued in West Texas. In the opening set, Fay would record her 51st ace of the season, putting her in a tie for fourth in a single-season among Aggies.
 
UTEP showed resilience and a refusal to quit in the opening set. The Miners rattled off a three-point run before the Aggies responded with a four-point run of their own. Johnson and Whitekettle highlighted the run with kills, giving NM State a 22-13 advantage.
 
The nine-point cushion proved to be necessary as the Miners went on a red-hot 8-2 run. Trailing by three, UTEP was threatening a monumental comeback against NM State but a service error ended the Miners dreams, allowing NM State to escape with a 25-21 set victory.
 
SET TWO
After checking in off the bench, Jayde Shelton recorded her second kill of the match to give the Aggies an 8-5 lead. UTEP responded by using a 5-1 run to take a 10-9 lead. After a Miner error from the service line evened the score at 10, UTEP rattled off five unanswered points to go ahead 15-10.
 
The Aggies answered with a five-point burst to reel the Miners in and retie the score at 15. Shortly after, a Katie Birtcil kill from the left side gives the Aggies their first lead (21-20) since being ahead 9-8. Birtcil scores four of the Aggies' final seven points to lead NM State to a 25-23 win in the second frame.

SET THREE
Within a set of leaving El Paso with a sweep, the Aggies quickly fell behind in the third round. The Miners jumped out to a 4-1 lead with NM State's lone point coming from a service error.
 
Back-to-back kills from Shelton and Whitekettle brought the Aggies within one (9-8). The Miners immediately responded with a 5-1 run of their own, featuring a pair of service aces.
 
Following a kill by Whitekettle, Taylor Snow lifted the Aggies to a 3-0 run with a service ace and a kill from Mosher. The Miners refused to go down quietly on their home floor, using a 6-1 burst to go up 21-13.
 
Fay moved into third place on the NM State aces list with the Aggies' backs against the wall. The ace from Fay pushed the score to 24-17 before UTEP put the set away on the following serve.
 
SET FOUR
The two sides traded blows in the early portion of the fourth set before the Aggies went up 4-2 back-to-back points from Birtcil. Following a kill, Birtcil paired with Snow for a block and the early lead. The Aggies would maintain the lead until the 7-7 mark when a UTEP service ace knotted the score.
 
With the aforementioned ace, the Miners would use a 4-0 to jump in front and never truly look back. From that point, the Aggies were playing from behind and merely battling to tie the Miners. Shelton tied the set at 21 with a kill but the Miners closed the fourth set in dramatic 4-0 run fashion.
 
SET FIVE
The race for 15 was officially on just down Interstate 10. The Aggies dominated the early portion of the fifth set by jumping out to a 5-2 lead. NM State saw kills from Whitekettle and Mosher in the early going. NM State would continue with a 4-0 run with a pair of kills from Shelton and a service ace from Darian Markham.
 
Up 13-8, the Aggies appeared to be comfortably in the drivers seat in the final set. Once again showing no quit, the Miners rattled off four straight points, bringing the set within just one point.
 
Johnson decided to take a swing and end the UTEP run off of an assist by Fay. With match point on the line, UTEP hit into the blocking duo of Shelton and Mosher to fall to NM State.

MATCH NOTABLES

• After being out for much of the season due to injury, Bianca Perez returned to the court for the first time since Sept. 24. Perez dished out 20 assists in the match, adding seven digs along the way.
• Lia Mosher hit a team-high .500 against the Miners, racking up eight kills.
• Ryleigh Whitekettle and Jayde Shelton both finished with double-digit kills, tallying 13 and 12, respectively.
• Much like Perez, Rylee Fay finished with 20+ assists to go along with three service aces. The setter finished Wednesday's match with 21 assists.
• Per usual, Darian Markham led the way for NM State in the dig category. The junior from McKinney, Texas had 23 digs en route to the win.