LAS CRUCES, N.M. - A new crop of Aggies made their Pan American Center debut in a 3-0 sweep on Saturday night. NM State comfortably took care of in-state foes Western New Mexico in their lone exhibition ahead of the regular-season opener on August 25th at UC Santa Barbara. 

Head Coach Mike Jordan, entering his 26th season, expanded on his team's performance, "I think we need to attack the ball better on the left than we did today… and I think our smalls did a solid job handling the ball. We learned a little bit today, so that's good."

Kacia Brown filled up the box score, tallying 12 kills and as many points, sparked by six kills on six swings in the opening moments. In fact, Brown had six of the first 16 points for the Aggies, while the Mustangs only had four in the same period. The junior was a large part in the 25-14 victory in the first set. Brown's 12 kills on 19 swings earned her a .579 hitting percentage, and her seven digs proved her value on both offense and defense.

Mari Sharp proved why she was a Preseason All-CUSA Team selection, collecting 11 kills in the three-set sweep. Her 32 swings led the team, as she lived above the net for most of the night. When she wasn't attacking the Mustangs, she was amassing her six digs, which was tied for second on the team. Sharp, a senior, was asked about her performance and leading the team, saying "It felt good. I felt like a senior, for sure. It was a little nerve-wracking in the beginning, but I got it together towards the end."

Brown and Sharp are among the many who can thank Bianca Perez for their production. Perez had 21 assists on the night, which is just shy of her career-high, coming when she had 25 against Davidson in 2022. 

Ryleigh Whitekettle also had a stellar offensive night, coming in third with eight kills on just 16 attempts. The redshirt sophomore led a stretch of six consecutive points won on her serves in the middle of the first set. Whitekettle was also one of the three Aggies to earn a block solo. 

The second set was the most competitive, with the Aggies pulling out a 25-23 win. The Mustangs led 17-15 at one point, forcing a timeout from Jordan. NM State went on to take 10 of the next 16 points, led by Mari Sharp. The outside hitter added two kills, an assist and a dig in that span, closing the door on a potential Mustang set victory. 

The "smalls", as referred to by Mike Jordan, had a solid defensive performance across the board. Senior standout Darian Markham did not play due to injury, but Morgan Stewart, Rilen Garcia and Bella Castro stepped up in her absence. Stewart got the nod as the first libero into the game, and tallied six digs along with three assists. Garcia finished with five digs and six assists. Bella Castro was one of several Aggies to make her debut in the Pan American Center, and the Las Cruces native had five digs as she appeared in all three sets, making her the lone freshman to do so. 

The final set was all Aggies, winning 25-15. The sweep is a repeat of last year's result between the same schools, also an exhibition in Las Cruces. NM State will now take their first road trip of the year, as they travel to Santa Barbara, California. The UC Santa Barbara Tournament will be the site for three matches, with the first being against the hosting Gauchos on Friday at 8:00 PM MDT. 

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