RUSTON, La. – On Saturday, NM State Volleyball rounded its stay in Ruston, La. The Aggies took on the hosting Bulldogs in Scotty Robertson Memorial Gymnasium, changing locations from the day prior. LA Tech cruised to a three-set victory, earning its first Conference USA win of 2025. The loss snapped a three-match winning streak for Head Coach Mike Jordan's group, dropping them to 14-11 overall and 7-5 in league play.
 
Set-by-set: NM State loses 0-3 (14-25, 21-25, 23-25)
 
FIRST SET
After controlling much of the four-set match on Friday, NM State struggled out of the gate on Saturday. LA Tech utilized a pair of aces and three errors from the visitors to quickly pull ahead 10-3. While Tess Fuqua strung together two kills during a three-point run, the Bulldogs responded by taking nine of the ensuing 12 rallies. The hosts hit .429 and cruised to a 25-14 opening set win.
 
SECOND SET
Three different Aggies landed kills before Rilen Garcia's first of two aces in the frame helped guide NM State to an 8-5 lead. In the set, 12 ties and two lead changes would pass, with the two squads exchanging blows before the final deadlock at 18-18. A string of errors on both sides of the net left the Aggies down just one after Mia Fox's kill (22-21), but two more miscues secured the Bulldogs's second straight stanza at 25-21.
 
THIRD SET
Jaelynn Kohli's second kill of the early stages established a 7-7 mark before Claudia Rossi's ace highlighted a 3-0 burst that forced Scott Mattera's only timeout of the day (10-9). Makayla Martinez later did the same with an ace of her own amid a 4-1 run, aided by kills from Maggie Lightheart and Tess Fuqua. After building a 15-14 edge, NM State gave the lead right back on a four-point skid, calling for time down 18-15. Jacqueline Corcoran notched her second kill of the day before her high school teammate Mia Fox kept it close at 19-18. Kate Sinclair poured in two kills and a block on three consecutive points to tie things up at 22 all, but NM State never took control back. LA Tech prevailed in a sweep, taking the final frame by a score of 25-23. 
 
NUMBERS OF NOTE

• NM State now holds an all-time record of 23-2 against LA Tech, falling to 6-1 against the Bulldogs since joining CUSA in 2023. 
• After recording a season-best .336 hitting percentage on Friday, NM State hit .104 in the loss, posting its third-worst mark of the season.
• For just the second time this season (at Tulsa), the Aggies' leader in kills failed to notch double digits, tying the previous low mark of seven (Fuqua and Lightheart).
• Claudia Rossi picked up her third start of the season, leading the team with 13 assists while adding four digs and an ace.
• Makayla Martinez led the way with eight digs in the loss, pacing her club for the 14^th time this season. 
• NM State's two blocks tied a single-match season low previously set on Sept. 12 versus New Haven.
• The visitors' 30 kills and 32 digs were both their second-fewest outputs in a contest this season.

• LA Tech hit .376 on the day, posting a new team-best mark in 2025.

 
Head Coach Mike Jordan, on the loss: "We got killed. Everyone who played, played poorly. We took turns making mistakes and our first, second and third contacts, as well as our blocking, were an embarrassment. We couldn't stop a toddler on a big wheel today."
 
UP NEXT
The Aggies will stay on the road next weekend, making the trip to Jacksonville, Ala. NM State is set to visit Jax State for its final road series of the regular season, doing so on Thursday, Nov. 6, and Friday, Nov. 7. The Gamecocks were one of two teams to miss last year's CUSA Championship, but now find themselves occupying seventh place at 5-7 in league play this season. the Crimson & White hope to build on their 7-5 record and further climb the CUSA ranks as the postseason approaches. Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+ and available to follow via nmstatesports.com/stats.

 
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