LYNCHBURG, Va.  - In their first-ever postseason match as CUSA members, NM State swiftly took down LA Tech in straight sets, advancing to the Semifinals on Saturday. On the back of 15 kills from Starr Williams, the Aggies amassed a .330 team hitting percentage. While posting 10 blocks, the Aggies held the Bulldogs to just one. NM State earned their 20th win of the season, improving to 20-9. LA Tech finished their season with a record of 8-21. 

Set-by-set: NM State wins 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-12)

First Set

The match began closer than the Aggies would've preferred, as the first media timeout came with just a 15-14 lead for the two-seed. Three straight Bulldog points immediately followed, forcing a timeout from Head Coach Mike Jordan. Starr Williams landed six of her 15 kills in the opening set, while hitting .600. Ryleigh Whitekettle, Kacia Brown and Ashley Herman all tallied three kills of their own, highlighting a 17-kill frame in which the team hit .366. The Aggies found themselves facing a 20-20 tie, but answered with five straight points. Each of the five points were finished by Kacia Brown or Starr Williams, including a block and four kills. 

Second Set

Riding a 5-0 run, the Aggies carried their momentum into the second set. NM State rode their usual hot hands, and found themselves ahead 12-3 quickly. From that point on, LA Tech never cut the lead any closer than seven. While only five Aggies collected kills in the middle set, they combined for 18, their most of any set on the day. Kacia Brown led the bunch with five, adding two of her three blocks in the frame. A 3-0 Bulldog run cut it to 24-17, before a Mari Sharp kill granted NM State a 2-0 set lead. 

Third Set

The third set was one of the best the team has played all season, winning 25-12. A Bulldog kill nearly knotted things up at 6-5, before NM State went on a 19-7 run. The best stretch of the match came when the Aggies won five straight points, highlighted by a unique Darian Markham kill. The senior libero did not leave the ground, and wound up on a ball that eventually painted the line for a kill. NM State stuffed the LA Tech for four of their ten blocks in the frame, including two from redshirt freshman Alexandria Connatser. The set was never within striking distance for the Bulldogs, and NM State rolled to a comfortable 13-point victory, ending LA Tech's hopes for an extended season.

Head Coach Mike Jordan, on the victory over LA Tech: "I thought LA Tech played exceptionally well offensively in the first set. They moved it well, they were quick off the floor, they used the block well and they did a lot of good things. We had a physical advantage obviously, and that took over eventually. Credit to them for playing well in that first set and pressing us. All in all, pretty good effort."

Head Coach Mike Jordan, on if the level of volleyball is improving: "Sure, yeah, absolutely. We played clean. There are times when we have trouble keeping those errors low when we play against just a net, let alone blockers and diggers. For us to minimize errors the way we did, and set the ball better than we have, those things were great."

Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Ryleigh Whitekettle, on her performance: "I'm really happy with myself for not making any errors. That was my personal goal for the day. I think I could've executed a little better, but overall, not bad. We picked up the win, we picked up our energy, and it was pretty good!"

Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Ryleigh Whitekettle, on the importance of blocks in the match: "We went into today knowing it was a very energetic team, and we were going to have to get those plays to outwork them and take our momentum. I think we executed that very well. We made our blocks, we kept our energy, we didn't let ourselves get down, and it just went well. I'm proud of our performance at the net."

Redshirt junior outside hitter Kacia Brown, on her individual and team performance: "Individually, I think there were a couple mistakes I could've cleaned up, but I'm happy with my overall performance. Obviously, I hope it keeps continuing to get better. As a team, the first set was a little closer than we wanted it to be, but I think we just kept getting better each set. We kept cleaning things up as we went."

Redshirt junior outside hitter Kacia Brown, on how the team dominated at the net: "It's just a lot of communication. We know our routes, what people are doing, what our jobs are and what needs to be done. Talking and making sure everyone's in the loop, and staying in tune with each other, that's the key."

Numbers of Note

• The Aggies' .330 hitting percentage was the sixth-best combined hitting percentage by the team this season while their 48 kills in three sets is tied for the second-most by the 2023 Aggie squad. 

• Starr Williams' hitting percentage of .500 was the third best by an Aggie individual with at least 12 kills in a match this season. Her 15 kills on Friday also ranks tied for second most by an NM State attacker in a three-set match. 

• Rilen Garcia finished the match with 24 assists – a mark that is tied for second most by an Aggie setter in a three-set match this season. 

• The Aggies' 10 attack errors were the fewest since Sept. 8 when they committed just nine errors against Miami (OH). 

• Friday's sweep of the Bulldogs marked the 22nd time that an Aggie team has swept its opponent in postseason play during Mike Jordan's tenure.

Scouting the Panthers

FIU is under the direction of Head Coach Cristina Robertson in her second season. The team owns a 13-18 record, and placed sixth in CUSA with an even 8-8 mark. Robertson has a combined record of 21-39 in her two seasons with FIU, and a 65-90 career record as head coach. 

The Panthers narrowly took down a tough MTSU squad on Friday. After taking a surprising 2-0 lead and hitting .518 in the first two sets, it appeared as though the Blue Raiders were going to respond with a reverse sweep. MTSU took each of the next two sets without much resistance, forcing a decisive fifth set. Three MTSU attack errors in the first six points gave the Panthers a 5-1 lead early in the fifth. That deficit would prove to be too much to overcome, as FIU went on to win 15-9. 

Four players accounted for 52 of FIU's 53 kills in the match, hitting .307 collectively. Meanwhile, Savannah Cook tallied 41 of the 42 Panther assists, quarterbacking the offense as she has all season. Cook is nearing 800 assists in 2023 alone, far more than any other teammate. 

FIU landed two student-athletes on the All-CUSA First Team: Yasso Amin and Jade Sadeiko. The duo combine for nearly 6.70 points per set, while averaging a .238 cumulative hitting percentage. 

Up Next

The CUSA Tournament Semifinals take place tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 18. The Aggies will take on Florida International at 11:30 AM MT (1:30 ET). The Panthers took down Middle Tennessee in five sets on Friday. The match between FIU and NM State will be streamed live on ESPN+, and available to follow via StatBroadcast. Those links are attached to this page, and can be found at nmstatesports.com. 

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