SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The season is underway for New Mexico State Volleyball. UC Santa Barbara got the best of the Aggies in a 3-0 sweep on Friday, beginning The Thunderdome Classic. NM State (0-1) will now turn to North Florida on Saturday at 5:00 PM MDT. UCSB is now 1-0 and will look to continue their success against Denver. 

Set-by-set: NM State loses 0-3 (26-28, 17-25, 22-25)

Head Coach Mike Jordan reflected on the evening, noting "UCSB has a veteran team and it showed. We had quite a few people playing their first Division I match, and they (UCSB) were playing at a tempo that's a little too fast for us right now. Two of the three games were competitive and we had chances to win, but didn't execute. We will learn from it and play better tomorrow."

The first point of the 2023 season went to the Aggies on a Sidney McIntosh kill, assisted by Darian Markham. Markham returned after being absent due to injury in the exhibition win over Western New Mexico six days prior. After the opening point, the Gauchos went on a tear, quickly pulling out to an 11-3 lead. The lead reached its largest when UCSB was doubling the Aggies 20-10. 

However, the visitors fought back, thanks in large part to a streak of three consecutive Bianca Perez aces, which gave the Aggies set point at 24-23. They would also reach a set point at 26-25, before falling to three consecutive Gaucho kills.

The second set was a much different story. The Aggies carried their momentum from the end of the first set, taking a 6-5 lead after a kill from Long Beach State transfer Starr Williams. The home team then went on to take 15 of the next 23 points, including 11 kills, three coming from senior Michelle Ohwobete. 

Following the 20-14 Gaucho lead, coach Jordan was forced to call a timeout. The Aggies, who only mustered up five kills in the set, tallied just one following the timeout, coming off the right hand of redshirt sophomore Ryleigh Whitekettle, who finished with a team-best seven kills. The Gauchos went on to take the set 25-17.

The final set was much more productive offensively, with 12 kills, setting an early season-high for a set. Kacia Brown notched four in the third, also landing her atop the early leaderboard for kills in a set. One of those kills put the squad up 12-8, appearing to build some momentum. UCSB responded with six consecutive points, including four kills by Tasia Farmer, who finished with a match-high 14. The Gauchos earned their final three point victories on NM State errors, including two service attempts.
 

Notable Stats/Leaders

• Mari Sharp, as in the exhibition, led the team with 23 attacks. Whitekettle and Williams came in second and third, respectively. 
• While Whitekettle led with seven kills, Sidney McIntosh earned six of her own on just 11 swings, giving her a .545 hitting percentage, leading the team. 
• Bianca Perez repeated her exhibition performance and solidified herself as the night's assists leader. Her 11 assists came on a night when the team had just 24, and nobody else had more than six.
• Redshirt freshman Alexandria Connatser was credited with three block assists, with Sharp and Kacia Brown each tallying two. 

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