JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – NM State Volleyball played its final road match of the 2025 regular season on Friday, taking on Jacksonville State in Pete Mathews Coliseum. The Aggies kept it close in each of the first three sets before falling in the fourth frame. With its defeat, NM State's losing streak increased to three matches, dropping the Crimson & White to 14-13 overall with a 7-7 Conference USA mark. 
 
The Aggies have just two matches left to improve on their seventh-place standing in the league. If Delaware loses at least one match at WKU this weekend, NM State will secure a spot in the eight-team CUSA Championship later this month (Nov. 21-23).
 
Set-by-set: NM State loses 1-3 (23-25, 21-25, 25-23, 19-25)
 
FIRST SET
Jax State took control early in the match, utilizing four kills to pull ahead 8-4 before Maggie Lightheart's 53^rd ace of the season headlined a tying four-point run at eight all. Following three more ties, Lightheart's first two kills came on back-to-back points to make it 15-12. Nine ties and four lead changes ensued in the frame, including a Gamecock ace to pull in front 17-16. Three straight rallies pushed the hosts ahead 20-18 shortly after, prompting Mike Jordan's final timeout. Mia Fox's tying kill at 22 all was not enough as a failed Aggie challenge ended the frame at 25-23.
 
SECOND SET
When the first Aggie timeout was called, the hosts already led 5-0. At the second stoppage, the lead had ballooned to 16-6. At 19-8, the set seemed all but decided, however NM State showed signs of life. Jacqueline Corcoran notched an ace and a block alongside two kills from Tess Fuqua amid a flurry that cut the deficit to 20-14. While Jax State quickly pulled back ahead 23-14, the Crimson & White did not go down quietly. A three-point run saw a kill and two blocks from Maggie Lightheart before Jaelynn Kohli and Kate Sinclair each notched their second block of the stanza. Kohli's solo stuff cut the deficit to three at 24-21, but Derek Schroeder's squad ended any hopes of a comeback on the ensuing rally.
 
THIRD SET
A 5-1 deficit quickly turned into a 16-9 hole for Mike Jordan's bunch. Mia Fox and Fuqua both landed kills before four Gamecock miscues helped cut the margin to two. Jaelynn Kohli pushed her side ahead with two kills and a solo block amid a five-point stretch before NM State called for time down 22-20. Lightheart came up big with a block and an ace on consecutive rallies before Fuqua capped off a 3-0 push with two kills to win the set 25-23. 
 
FOURTH SET
The third and final tie of the fourth set came at just 3-3. Unfortunately for the visitors, no lead change came to pass after Jax State pulled ahead by three. Two Gamecock aces highlighted a 6-0 run as their edge swelled to 19-11, leaving little room for a comeback. Despite four errors from the hosts down the stretch, NM State failed to ever pull within five, falling 25-19.
 
NUMBERS OF NOTE

• NM State now holds an all-time record of 4-3 against Jax State, falling to 3-3 against the Gamecocks since joining CUSA in 2023. 
• For the 13^th time this season, Maggie Lightheart paced NM State in aces, tallying three for her 11^th showing of the fall with at least that many.
• The junior now holds a tie for the second-most aces in a single season (55) by any Aggie, matching Jackie Choi's mark from 2006. Lightheart has some work to do before catching the program record holder as Kim Bevington's 1982 total of 71 still reigns supreme.
• Setter Claudia Rossi tallied 19 assists in the loss, pacing her team for the sixth time this season while adding eight digs.
• Makayla Martinez finished with a team-high 12 digs on Friday, leading the club for the 16^th time this season and the seventh consecutive outing.
• NM State's 12 attack errors in the loss were its fewest in any match this season, coming in below Thursday's mark of 14, the previous 2025 low.
• The Aggies tallied just five aces during the match, falling to 1-11 in contests when finishing with five or less.
• Tess Fuqua's team-high 14 kills came on 29 error-free swings, resulting in a new career-best .483 hitting percentage.
• Jaelynn Kohli rounded out a solid week with 12 efficient kills (.321) and three total blocks. 
• Over the series, the freshman finished with 20 kills and six blocks on a .341 hitting percentage. Of the Aggies' four solo blocks at Jax State, the El Paso native tallied three, including a pair on Friday.
• Kohli has now climbed to a team-best 0.78 blocks per set in CUSA play with 42 of her 59 rejections coming since the start of conference play.

• Jax State is now the only CUSA foe to both be swept by NM State (2024) and sweep NM State (2025) across a two-match league series.

 
Head Coach Mike Jordan, on the loss: "We got out-served and out-passed by a wide margin. Normally, hitting errors are an issue, but not this weekend. We replaced them with serve and pass errors and marginal defense."
 
UP NEXT
Next week, NM State returns home for its final matches of 2025 in the Pan American Center. The Aggies will host Kennesaw State on Thursday, Nov. 13, before holding their Senior Day festivities on Friday, Nov. 14. The series opener will be streamed on ESPN+ and both matches will be available to follow via nmstatesports.com/stats.
 
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