LAS VEGAS – NM State continued its fall season this weekend as they traveled to Las Vegas where they dueled with host UNLV and Kansas City. In their two-day road trip, the Aggies were able to pick up a win over the Roos following a loss to a tough Rebel team.
 
MATCH ONE | NM State 0, UNLV 7
The duo of Anna Pinaieva and Natsuki Nishimura showed their strength alongside one another as they knocked of Hanna Vinahradava and Zita Kovacs by a commanding score of 6-0 to begin the day on a high not. However, this would be the lone match that the Aggies would win in their weekend opener as the Runnin' Rebels swept in singles action following wins in doubles at No. 2 and No. 3.
 
Despite defeat, both Valeriia Ivanovskaia and Anna Pinaieva did not show a lack of fight as they both pushed their opponents to a tiebreak set.
 
MATCH TWO | NM State 5, Kansas City 2
NM State bounced back nicely on Saturday afternoon as they defeated former conference rival Kansas City for the third consecutive time as they met for the first time since the Aggies knocked off the Roos in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament in 2019.
 
Fans at the Fertitta Center first saw the Aggies clinch the doubles point via wins on courts No. 1 and No. 2. The team of Valeriia Ivanovskaia and Lisa Zhu earned the teams first match win with a 6-2 score over Ana Timofeyeva. Natsuki Nishimura and Anna Pinaieva then turned in a 6-4 victory over Joana Cardona and Maria Bylina to tally their third straight doubles win.
 
Ivanovskaia and Pinaieva also claimed wins in singles action as Ivanovskaia won 6-0, 6-3 before Pinaieva claimed a 6-3, 6-2 win. This paved the way for Natsuki Nishimura and Lisa Zhu to help the Aggies pick up the match victory with wins at No. 3 and No. 2 respectively. Both Nishimura and Zhu dropped their first sets before fighting all the way beck to manage a three-set victory.
 
UP NEXT
After th weekend in Las Vegas, the Aggies will travel to Texas where they will face off with Texas State on Feb. 23 before trekking to San Antonio to battle with Incarnate Word on Feb. 25.
 
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