JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – As the regular season comes to a close, the stakes continue to raise for NM State Volleyball. This week, the Aggies hit the road one last time, trekking to the Cotton State for two contests with Jax State. The Gamecocks enter the duel with a 5-7 mark in Conference USA play, hosting an Aggie squad that hopes to improve on its 7-5 league record.
 
WHAT TO KNOW
Who: NM State (14-11, 7-5 CUSA) at Jax State (11-13, 5-7 CUSA)
Where: Pete Mathews Coliseum – Jacksonville, Ala.
When: Thursday, Nov. 6 at 5:00 PM MT / Friday, Nov. 7 at 1:00 PM MT
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Statistics: nmstatesports.com/stats
All-Time Record vs. Jax State: 4-1
Last Meeting: Jax State 1 at NM State 3 – Nov. 9, 2024
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Aggies earned a split at LA Tech over the weekend, holding steady at fifth place in the CUSA standings. NM State took a four-frame win in the opener before falling in straight sets on Saturday. The loss was the Aggies' first to the Bulldogs since joining CUSA and handed LA Tech its first league win of the season. Maggie Lightheart led the way with 25 total kills and five aces on the weekend. Meanwhile, Katie Funk picked up the first two starts of her Division I career in a return to her home state, pacing the team with a season-best six blocks on Friday. 
 
NOTHING LIGHTHEARTED ABOUT HER
Since 2023, Maggie Lightheart has blossomed from a walk-on to a star six-rotation player with multiple league awards. Over the past two series, the junior has notched 67 kills and 33 digs, averaging 4.67 kills per set on a .331 hitting percentage. After posting a 2025 single-match team-high 23 kills against Middle Tennessee, she was named CUSA Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 27.
 
So far in 2025, the Las Cruces native has started 24 of 25 matches, only missing the opener at Missouri State. The junior has the most Aggie kills (289) this season and has led the group in 11 matches thus far. Her 236 digs also place her second on the team leaderboard, only behind libero Makayla Martinez. In total, her 4.00 points per set rank fourth highest in the league.
 
Additionally, Lightheart paces CUSA with 49 aces on the campaign, placing her seventh across all of NCAA Division I and well ahead of last year's program leader (30, Martinez). The third-year Aggie has landed three or more aces in nine contests this year, staking her claim as one of the nation's elite at the service line. 
 
AGENT ZERO
Coming out of Las Cruces, Tess Fuqua committed to Arizona in the fall of 2023. The outside hitter suffered a pair of ACL injuries that led her back home for a 2024 season on the Aggie bench. This fall, Fuqua finally got her long-awaited collegiate debut, and she has not disappointed. 
 
The two-time New Mexico Gatorade Player of the Year has averaged 2.96 kills per set this season, in addition to 173 total digs as a regular starter for NM State. With four more aces over the weekend at LA Tech, Fuqua increased her season total to 27 for a mark that sits second on team.
 
WOAH, NELLIE
In the offseason, only one starter returned from the 2024 squad. Nellie Reese, who appeared in every set last year, was the starting setter in all but one match a season ago as she led her team with 678 total assists (5.60 per set). 
 
The Montana State transfer is now amid her senior season in her second campaign as an Aggie. This fall, Reese has started 18 of 25 matches, leading the way with 465 assists thus far on an average of 5.22 per set. The Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, native also holds 22 aces in 2025, ranking fourth on the team. 
 
TINY BUT MIGHTY
Makayla Martinez has emerged as a consistent starting libero in her sophomore season with Mike Jordan's group. The second-year Aggie already has more digs in 2025 than her entire freshman campaign, leading the team with 287. Both her total and average per set (3.54) rank inside CUSA's top 10, despite missing three September matches with an injury. 
 
The Albuquerque native has led the team in digs 14 times this year, including 12 of the past 16 matches. She has surpassed 20 digs twice in 2025, with her most coming against Little Rock (27). The sophomore has also racked up 94 assists and 25 service aces this year, ranking fourth and third on the team, respectively. 
 
FEELIN' FOXY
Among the Aggies' 13 returners, few took a leap quite as large as Mia Fox. After notching just 17 kills and six blocks as a freshman, the middle blocker has started every match, accepting a much heavier load in 2025 as the lone returner at her position.
 
This year, Fox has amassed 154 kills and 72 blocks while being the only Aggie to start all 25 outings and not miss a set of action. The sophomore has led the squad in denials on 10 occasions, including five times in CUSA contests. In 12 league bouts, she has totaled 74 kills and 33 blocks from the front row. 
 
SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS
Jax State is under the direction of Derek Schroeder, who holds a 26-56 record in his three years with the program. The Gamecocks missed the eight-team CUSA Championship a year ago after a 3-15 finish, but are out to a 5-7 start in league play this fall. The squad is still in search of its first CUSA win this year, most recently dropping both contests at FIU a week ago. 
 
The squad is led on the floor by Kayla Williams, who paces all of CUSA with 4.18 kills per set. The senior gets a majority of her opportunities from the shot caller of Schroeder's 5-1 system – setter Charlee Solomon – the owner of 9.12 assists and 2.44 digs per set this season. Luci Wilkinson is the lone Gamecock with a higher average dig tally, topping the conference with 4.40 per frame.  
 
In 2024, NM State hosted Jax State for its senior weekend. The Crimson & White took six of seven sets across the series, highlighted by a Friday night sweep in which they hit .460 and held the visitors to 36 total points. Since both programs joined CUSA two summers ago, the Aggies are 3-1 against the Gamecocks, only falling in a five-set collapse on Oct. 20, 2023.
 
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