LAS CRUCES, N.M. – NM State Volleyball returned to action on Friday night, playing its second match in a two-part series with Kennesaw State. The contest signaled the end of the 2025 regular season for both squads, with the Aggies celebrating its seven graduating seniors afterward. The Owls picked up their second straight four-set win, dropping NM State to 14-15 overall with a 7-9 mark in Conference USA play. Next week, both teams will compete at the eight-team CUSA Championship in Miami. 
 
Set-by-set: NM State loses 1-3 (23-25, 25-20, 18-25, 17-25)
 
FIRST SET
The match began much how Thursday's contest ended, with both teams engaging in a tight bout during the early goings. Maggie Lightheart tallied her first ace of the night to give NM State a 6-4 lead. The serve set an individual milestone, standing as the tie-breaking touch that put the Las Cruces native into sole possession of the second-most aces (56) across a single season in program history (one past Jackie Choi in 2006). From there, an 11-5 surge from the Owls quickly gave the visitors a lead they did not relinquish. Despite posting their best offensive performance of the night (.306 hitting percentage and 15 kills), the hosts dropped the opening set by a score of 25-23.
 
SECOND SET
The Owls quickly swarmed out to a 5-0 lead, forcing a timeout and carrying all the momentum from the set prior. A quintet of KSU errors would bring the hosts back within two, though, setting a margin that held after Lightheart's second ace of the evening (11-9). Shortly following, Katie Funk posted her first ace of the season as part of a six-point swing that saw the Crimson & White take a 15-13 advantage. Holding the lead, Mia Fox and Tess Fuqua powered the Aggies down the stretch, collecting four of their team's final five points to give the Aggies the set at 25-20.
 
THIRD SET
In a reversal from frame two, NM State jumped out to a 5-1 lead powered by a trio of KSU errors. Nellie Reese notched a point at the service line, helping break a 7-2 run by the opposition to put the Aggies at a deficit of 8-7. After rebuilding a two-point cushion, the Aggies allowed four straight Owl points and played from behind the rest of the set – including six straight rallies in favor of Kennesaw to end the third stanza with a 25-18 score. 
 
FOURTH SET
The shortest game of the night coincided with the Aggies' lowest hitting percentage in a set across the series (.033), exacerbated by six attack errors. Battling back from a 4-1 deficit, the Aggies forced a KSU timeout while holding an 8-7 advantage. NM State would stay in the fight with a score of 14-13, though an extended 9-0 run saw five Aggie miscues, handing the match to the Owls at 25-17. 
 
NUMBERS OF NOTE

• NM State now holds an all-time record of 1-3 against Kennesaw State, with all four meetings coming since KSU joined CUSA in 2024. 
• Peyton Castillo recorded her first Division I action in 811 days, stepping onto the Pan American Center floor amid a regular-season match for her first time ever. The third-year Aggie made her first appearance since suffering a torn ACL on Aug. 27, 2023, while playing Denver in Santa Barbara, Calif. 
• On her special night, the senior setter notched an assist and a dig, doing so in front of her family who celebrated her career after the match. 
• Katie Funk's ace in the second set was her first of the season, thus marking her first in NCAA Division I action. 
• Bianca Perez notched an ace for the second straight day. After not recording one since 2023, the senior has now landed three aces in her past four outings. 
• The Aggies tallied seven aces during the match, picking up.    a rare loss when recording five or more on the season (13-3).
• NM State was led by a 16-kill performance by Maggie Lightheart, who paced the team for the 14^th time this season
• The Aggies tallied a .186 hitting percentage in Friday night's loss, dropping their record to 6-10 with a clip below .200.
• Mia Fox finished the regular season with the best offensive showing of her career, landing a new high with 13 kills on a stellar .522 hitting percentage.
• Claudia Rossi earned the fourth start of her career on Friday, notching 17 assists on her special night. 
• Fellow soon-to-be graduate Nellie Reese led the way with 22 assists, pacing the squad for the 19^th time this year. 
• Makayla Martinez led the way with 18 digs in the loss, marking the 18^th occasion of the sophomore with a team-high total this fall.  
• NM State's two reception errors were its fewest in a CUSA match this year. 

• After posting 43 service errors over their past three outings, the Crimson & White only added four on Friday.

 
Head Coach Mike Jordan, on the match: "Kennesaw State has a good team. We had good moments, but our blocking as of late has been awful. We couldn't get stops even when we had them out of system."
 
Head Coach Mike Jordan, on the seven 2025 seniors: "I'm proud of this senior class. They all had varying careers, but they're great young women. The four (Bianca Perez, Rilen Garcia, Kaylee Peterson and Ashley Herman) who spent all four years here handled themselves with grace and class their entire careers. They're all great teammates who allowed us to coach them. They won a lot of games but contributed to every part of our program. Volunteering in the community, recruiting, togetherness. I love them all."
 
Senior setter Rilen Garcia, on being the captain of the squad: "I think this team is just a group full of people that want to do it for each other and are trying to find ways to give everything they possibly can. When the moments get low, the people we look for are literally the girls next to us. That's kind of how we've been the whole year. I think it's all about making plays and being there for each other. Tonight was unforgettable. Seeing how many people support us and the program was surreal to take in. Playing in the Pan Am is just a moment where you look around and you soak it all in. It's a beautiful place and this is a beautiful program. 
 
UP NEXT
The regular season is in the rear view for the Aggies, who now turn their attention to the CUSA Championship. The three-day tournament will begin on Friday, Nov. 21, from FIU's Ocean Bank Convocation Center, ending with the title match on Sunday, Nov. 23. Seeding for the eight-team bracket will be determined after the final league matches conclude this Saturday. All seven single-elimination matches from Miami will be streamed live on ESPN+ and available to follow via nmstatesports.com/stats. 
 
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