LYNCHBURG, Va. - In its first season as Conference USA members, NM State not only qualified for the tournament, but earned the second highest seed. Following a 19-9 season that included an 11-5 mark in conference play, the Aggies will now return to Liberty Arena for the second time in six weeks. This time around, their goal is greater - a conference championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. The first team that stands in their way is the No. 7 seed LA Tech Bulldogs.
2023 CUSA Volleyball Tournament Quarterfinals - Friday, Nov. 17 at 2:00 PM MT
(7) LA Tech vs. (2) NM State
Scouting the Bulldogs
LA Tech is under the direction of Head Coach Amber McCray in her fifth season. McCray has a 42-91 career record, all of which coming with the Bulldogs. LA Tech is 8-20 overall this season, and earned the seventh-seed tiebreaker over Jax State with a 3-13 CUSA record.
Junior libero McKenzie Johnson is the Bulldogs' engine from the back row. Johnson is third in the conference in digs per set (4.34) and ninth in service aces per set (0.35). In September, Johnson tallied 34 digs in just six sets against the Aggies in Ruston.
Sydney Jackwin paces LA Tech with 2.54 kills per set, and owns a .132 hitting percentage. Ashley Taylor is the best blocker on the Bulldogs' side, with 87 blocks on the season, well ahead of her next closest teammate, who has 50.
LA Tech entered the final weekend of the season with just one win in CUSA play, and needed to win at least one match to earn a trip to Lynchburg. They took care of business in both matches, sweeping Jax State twice, and earned the seventh seed.
In the Last Meeting
The Bulldogs and Aggies met earlier this season, back in September. LA Tech was just the second CUSA opponent on NM State's schedule, and their first on the road. In six sets at the Thomas Assembly Center, the Aggies played some of their most dominant volleyball of the season to this point.
In both matches against LA Tech, NM State held the Bulldogs to a hitting percentage below .000. Those two matches (Sept. 29-30) are still the only occurrences this season of a team hitting in the negative; either the Aggies or their opponents. In fact, it was the first time an opponent finished with a negative hitting percentage since Sept. 14, 2019, when Grambling hit -.012.
Consistency is Key
In their first match against FIU, the Aggies earned 10-plus wins in conference play for the 22nd time in 23 years. Mike Jordan has led his program to a winning record in 23 consecutive seasons since finishing 15-17 in 2000.
Dig This
Earlier this season, senior Darian Markham became the fourth Aggie to ever collect 1,500 career digs. The McKinney, Texas, native ranks second in CUSA with 4.60 digs per set, and leads the team with 264 consecutive sets played.
No Problems November
NM State is undefeated in November with a 4-0 record, currently on a six-match winning streak. Their last loss came at Jax State, a five-set heartbreaker marked by 18 service errors from the Aggies.
Top of the Conference
NM State ranks in among the top three CUSA teams in many categories, including kills per set, assists per set, blocks per set, digs per set, opponent aces, opponent kills per set, opponent assists and opponent hitting percentage.
Conference of the Week winners
The Aggies earned All-CUSA weekly honors three times in the 2023 regular season. Darian Markham won Defensive Player of the Week honors twice (Aug. 27 and Sept. 18). Starr Williams was named All-CUSA Offensive Player of the Week once, on Sept. 11.
Rackin' Up the Hardware
Five Aggies won CUSA Postseason Awards. Darian Markham was named Libero of The Year in the conference, and was named to the All-CUSA Second Team. Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Ryleigh Whitekettle earned a spot on the All-CUSA First Team. Mari Sharp and Kacia Brown joined Markham on the Second Team, while Maggie Lightheart was named to the All-Conference Freshman Team.
How to Follow
All seven matches of the 2023 Conference USA Volleyball Tournament will be streamed live on ESPN+. NM State's matches will also be available to follow live via StatBroadcast. Those links are attached to this page, and can be found at nmstatesports.com.
For complete coverage of NM State Volleyball, follow us on Twitter (@NMStateVBall), Instagram (@NMStateVBall) and like us on Facebook (NM State Volleyball). You can also follow along with Aggie Volleyball via NMStateSports.com.
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