First Serve
• After playing on the road in nine of its first 11 matches of the season, the Aggies finally return to Las Cruces for an extended homestand to begin conference play.
• The Aggies will open WAC competition by hosting UT Rio Grande Valley on Thursday before welcoming California Baptist, Southern Utah and Utah Tech over the next nine days.
• Thursday's match will mark the fourth time in the Aggies' history that they will open WAC play with a contest against the Vaqueros as NM State also started the conference season against UTRGV in 2013, 2015 and 2017. In those matches, the Aggies are 2-1.
• Despite emerging from the Trojan Challenge with just one victory last weekend, the Aggies did finish on a high note as they defeated Milwaukee, 3-1 (25-23, 25-17, 20-25, 25-20) in their final match in Los Angeles.
Weekend Notes
• Last weekend's play was capped off with an impressive defensive performance against the Panthers in which the Aggies recorded season-high marks in digs (79) and blocks (13).
• In a season in which the Aggies have relied heavily on the attack of junior outside hitter
Katie Birtcil, Saturday's win was the most balanced attack NM State has posted all season as four different Aggies tallied double-digit kills. Birtcil led the way with 15 while
Mari Sharp finished with 13 and
Lia Mosher and
Molly Johnson each finished with 10 apiece.
• Mosher's 10-kill performance coupled with her play throughout the rest of the three-day event awarded her with a spot on the Trojan Challenge All-Tournament Team - marking her second non-conference all-tournament selection of the season (Davidson Classic).
• On the weekend, Mosher posted 21 total kills to average 2.10 kills per set while managing an impressive .514 hitting percentage on 35 swings. Mosher also finished the weekend with seven total blocks and posted 2.45 points per set.
• Currently, four different Aggies rank among the top five in the WAC across four major statistical categories.
Lia Mosher ranks second in the WAC in blocks per set at 1.11 while
Rylee Fay ranks second in the league in service aces per set at 0.58.
Darian Markham's average of 4.45 digs per set is good for third-best and Birtcil's mark of 3.42 kills per set also ranks third in the WAC.
• Additionally, Fay ranks 26th among all Division I servers with her aces per set average and 28th in total aces (22).
• As a team, the Aggies are currently holding opponents to a .178 combined hitting percentage - a mark that is good for third in the conference.
• Fay's seven-ace outing against North Carolina A&T on Sept. 2 ties her for fifth-most aces in a four-set match this season among all D-I programs and is also tied for most in a four-set match in program history.
• In 2022, the Aggies have stepped up their defensive play at the net compared to this time last season. Through 11 non-conference games this season the Aggies are averaging 2.29 blocks per set - more than a half-block better than last year's mark of 1.78 per set during their 12-game pre-WAC slate a season ago.
Keep Up with the Aggies
Fans looking to tune in to this weekend's matches will be able to do so for free via WAC International at
WACInternational.tv. Play-by-play announcer
Adam Young will be on the call for the Aggies on Thursday. Fans can also tune in to 91.5 FM KRUX to listen to Young's call on the radio. The radio broadcast will also be available online at this link:
https://kruxstream.nmsu.edu/KRUX.
Live stats will also be available to fans this weekend via StatBroadcast at this link:
https://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?gid=nmst.
Scouting UT Rio Grande Valley
• The Vaqueros enter Thursday's match on a three-match losing skid after starting the season 11-1. They are led by 20-year coaching veteran Todd Lowery who is in his eighth season with the program.
• UTRGV brings back a trio of its main contributors from last season in Luanna Emiliano, Sarah Cruz and Luisa Silva Dos Santos. Cruz, an outside hitter from the Czech Republic, leads the Vaqueros on the offensive side of the net as she averages a WAC-best 4.46 kills per set. Cruz also leads the nation in total kills (250) and total points (288.0) on the season.
• Meanwhile, Emiliano also plays a big part in the success of the Vaqueros as she is currently leading the WAC in assists per set at 10.70 which is also good for 14th-best among DI setters.
• The Aggies have gotten the best of the Vaqueros in the series history as NM State holds an all-time record of 20-3 against UT Rio Grande Valley. The Aggies are also currently riding a four-match win streak in the series with their last loss to the Vaqueros coming in October of 2018. During that stretch, the Aggies have yet to drop a single set to the Vaqueros - outscoring UTRGV 303-230 across 12 sets.
Up Next
Following Thursday night's contest against the Vaqueros, the Aggies will continue WAC play with a home tilt against California Baptist on Saturday, Sept. 24. The match against the Lancers is set to get underway at 1 p.m.
Fans can purchase tickets to Saturday's match via Ticketmaster at this link.
