Box Score LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The Borderland Invitational began with a thrilling five-set win for NM State. The Aggies improved to 3-1, while San Francisco fell to 2-3. Mike Jordan's squad has now won three in a row, and nine of their last 11 sets.
Set-by-set: NM State wins 3-2 (18-25, 25-14, 22-25, 25-22, 15-9)
Coach Jordan had praise for his team after fighting back against the Dons, "I think at the end of the day, we've got some toughness in us. You've got to believe that you can come back and win. You've got to believe that you can turn the switch at one point and start playing well. You've got to stay engaged with your team and give good energy. I think we're better at that than we were a year ago, so hopefully we'll just keep getting better."
Not only was this the first comeback of the season, but the first match that went more than three sets. The word of the day from the team and coaches: resiliency. After finding themselves in a 2-1 hole, the veterans stepped up in a big way. The Aggies won the last two sets by a total of 40-31, led by five stellar individual performances. A few of those came from the likely suspects; Darian Markham, Mari Sharp and Ryleigh Whitekettle. Starr Williams did also manage to set a career high in kills and hitting percentage.
However, possibly the most noteworthy statline belongs to Bianca Perez. To say Perez notched a double-double would be correct, and a massive understatement. The sophomore from Arizona assisted a fellow Aggie 40 times and picked up 14 digs. Perez's 40 assists are more than the entire team had collected in two of their first three matches, with the previous high coming against North Florida with 45. The Aggies have not had a member pass 40 assists in a single night since 2021, when Carly Aigner-Swesey did so 10 times, including a season-high 58 (10/02/21).
The 5'11" setter was asked about what she saw as the leader of the offense in the match, noting "It's early in the season, and we're going to have our ups and downs. We saw that for sure. Our team chemistry is really good, and when we compete together, that's our best that we've been so far this season."
Perez also commented on the team's determination and mental toughness after overcoming a 2-1 deficit, adding "Next point. It's always the next point. We have to have our eyes forward. That's what we want every day. We're going to make mistakes. It's part of the game. No one's perfect. MJ always tells us to think about 'how can we help the team and not stay on ourselves?'. That's really where that selflessness and resiliency comes from."
The atmosphere was intense all night, with over 1,100 in the stands for the home-opener. The back-and-forth match was even more amplified with a key review in the third set. After the Dons took a 23-22 lead in the frame, Crystal Galaviz collected one of her six kills on the evening to go up 24-22. Mike Jordan challenged the call, claiming USF committed a four hits violation. After a lengthy review, the call stood, keeping the Dons on set point, where they would close it out 25-22.
Fortunately for the Aggies, that was not the final momentum shift of the night. As mentioned, Whitekettle, Williams, Sharp, and Markham led the surge to take back the match. The two redshirt sophomores each set career highs in kills, as Whitekettle tallied 20 and Williams added 18. Both hit over .340 en route to 38 kills on just 75 swings. Whitekettle continued her hot streak, now having broken a career mark that was set just six days prior against North Florida.
While seniors Markham and Sharp didn't set any career highs, their performances provided relief at the most opportune times. Markham entered the match as the nation's leader with 6.33 digs per set. She added 19 more to her total, along with five assists. Sharp dropped a relatively unsuspecting double-double for her standards, with 10 kills and 16 assists.
Up Next:
Arizona State @ NM State
Sunday, Sept. 3 - 1:00 PM MT
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