First Serve
• The Aggies will take the court in the Pan American Center for the first time this regular season as they welcome UC Santa Barbara on back-to-back days this weekend.
 
• NM State enters the weekend with a 5-1 record after going 3-0 in Davidson, N.C., at the Wildcat Classic last weekend.
 
Weekend Notes
• While at the Wildcat Classic, the Aggies picked up wins over Division I newcomer Lindenwood (3-0), North Carolina A&T (3-1) and host Davidson (3-1).
 
• Currently, four different Aggies rank among the top five in the WAC across six major statistical categories. Lia Mosher's hitting percentage of .388 is good for tops in the conference while she also ranks second in the league in blocks per set (1.20) and fourth in total blocks (120).
 
• Meanwhile, Darian Markham ranks third in digs per set (4.65) and Molly Johnson sits in third in hitting percentage (.350).
 
• Setter Rylee Fay has not only been among the best in the WAC as she ranks first in aces per set (0.80) and total aces (16), but she has also been among the best servers in the country as her aces per set mark ranks 10th among Division I servers and her total aces on the season are good for ninth in the nation.
 
• Fay's seven-ace outing against North Carolina A&T is tied second-most aces in a four-set match this season among all D-I programs.
 
• As a team, the Aggies have limited to opponents to a lower hitting percentage than any other squad in the WAC with teams facing the Aggies hitting a mere .144 across 14 sets. This mark is also good for 34th-best in the nation.
 
• The defense has also been strong on the back end as the Aggies rank third in the WAC and 45th among D-I programs in digs per set (15.80).
 
• The Aggies won their third-straight WAC Regular Season Championship during the Fall 2021 season and sixth in the last seven years behind a 10-4 regular season league record.
 
• Both Mosher and Birtcil also began the year on the heels of First Team All-WAC selections for their play in Fall 2021.
 
Keep Up with the Aggies
Fans will be able to watch both matches featuring the Aggies and Gauchos this weekend on ESPN+, Bally Sports Arizona Extra and Comcast New Mexico. Additionally, fans wanting to watch from outside the United States can do so for free via WACinternational.tv.
 
Fans around the world can also keep up with match stats via this live stats link.
 
Scouting UC Santa Barbara
• Despite boasting a 1-5 record on the season, the Gauchos early season schedule has been one of the toughest in the country with matches coming against opponents including powers like ninth-ranked Baylor, Pepperdine, Colorado State and North Carolina.
 
• At the net, UCSB is led by junior outside hitter Michelle Ohwobete who tallies 2.36 kills per set to pace the Gauchos. Meanwhile, Grace Wuischpard is the Aggies' opponent's top blocker - recording 2.00 blocks per set.
 
• Elsewhere, the Gauchos are led by Libero Macall Peed in digs per set (3.14) while Mehana Ma'a leads the team in assists per set.
 
Up Next
Following the Aggies' first home matches of the season, they will travel to the City of Angels for the Trojan Invitational hosted by Southern California on Sept. 15-17. While there, the Aggies will open the weekend with a match against USC before taking on a pair of tough squads in San Jose State and UW-Milwaukee.