LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The Battle of I-10's 97
th installment took place in the Pan American Center on Friday night. The Miners took over early, snapping NM State's 15-match home winning streak. The home side kept it close in set two, but the rally fell short as the Aggies were swept for just the third time all season. With the win, UTEP improved to 15-2 overall with a 5-0 league record.
Mike Jordan's bunch fell to 11-7, suffering their first CUSA defeat (4-1).
Set-by-set: NM State loses 0-3 (11-25, 20-25, 18-25)
FIRST SET
From the jump, UTEP took control, roaring out to a rapid 7-2 start. The Aggies struggled in the opening frame, never leading and only securing one tie at 1-1. The home side managed just a .090 hitting percentage, posting seven errors while the Miners cruised to a 25-11 set victory.
SECOND SET
Despite losing the first set, the Aggies showed fight in the second stanza, jumping out to a quick 2-1 lead on a
Makayla Martinez service ace. The teams battled back and forth through the first 23 points, largely courtesy of
Maggie Lightheart and
Tess Fuqua keeping their side in the fight. The Aggies' final lead of the frame came at 12-11 before an ensuing 3-0 run from the Miners. The home attack improved in the second set, hitting .323 with just three errors, but the push wasn't enough as UTEP cruised late to a 25-20 victory.
THIRD SET
In a blink, UTEP pulled in front 6-2, before a pair of Lightheart kills supplemented by visiting errors drew the Aggies back within striking distance. The junior outside hitter followed up with two more kills in short order before
Jaelynn Kohli and setter
Nellie Reese each notched a kill of their own to knot the affair at 11-11. Two Miner aces highlighted what turned out to be an 11-1 run for Ben Wallis' group, extinguishing any hopes of a home comeback. The visitors claimed victory at 25-18 in the final set.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
- The Aggies moved to 68-28-1 all-time against the Miners.
- NM State's loss was its first at home since Sept. 19, 2024. Since that match against New Mexico, the program had amassed a 15-match winning streak in the Pan American Center.
- After notching 67 digs in Saturday's win, the Aggies posted their season-low with just 25 in the loss.
- The Aggies had not faced an opponent with a hitting percentage above .300, the exact mark set by Northwestern back in August. On Friday, UTEP hit .400.
- Nellie Reese returned to the starting lineup after Rilen Garcia earned the nod in three straight matches. The former finished with 13 assists and three digs in the loss.
- Tess Fuqua returned to the floor after going down early in the Aggies' first CUSA bout. The redshirt sophomore racked up five kills, two digs and an ace.
- Maggie Lightheart led the team in kills for the sixth time on the season, racking up 11 in three sets.
FROM THE FLOOR
Head Coach Mike Jordan, on the loss: "Our service pressure was terrible. We didn't get any good ones on them. It made it tough to stop them. They're too talented for us to serve that easy. We didn't dig driven balls well at all, and we have to do a lot better than holding them to .400 [hitting percentage]. Tomorrow's a new day, but we need to make some adjustments, including mentally. We need people to stop pouting and start playing."
UP NEXT
The Aggies will return for their final contest of a four-match homestand on Saturday at 4:00 PM. NM State looks to earn a split with its I-10 rival and avoid its second-ever two-match home sweep in CUSA. All the action in the Battle of I-10 finale will be streamed live on ESPN+ and available to follow via nmstatesports.com/stats.
For complete coverage of NM State Volleyball, follow us on Twitter (@NMStateVBall), Instagram (@NMStateVBall) and like us on Facebook (NM State Volleyball). You can also follow along with Aggie Volleyball via NMStateSports.com.
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