TULSA, Okla. – NM State Volleyball wrapped up its 13-match non-conference slate on Saturday, falling at the hands of Oral Roberts in four sets. The Aggies took a lengthy second set, but came up just short in the others, due in large part to 27 attack errors. The Crimson & White fell to 7-6, suffering their first three-match losing skid of the year ahead of next weekend's Conference USA opener. 
 
Set-by-set: NM State loses 1-3 (23-25, 31-29, 24-26, 22-25) 
 
FIRST SET
The Aggies' second ace of the morning came early from Makayla Martinez as they took a quick four-point lead. Neither squad won more than a pair of rallies in a row until a Golden Eagle block capped off a 3-0 run to knot the affair at 15 all. While Jaelynn Kohli started the match with four kills on as many swings, Maggie Lightheart poured in her third ace to help gather a 23-20 edge. From there, ORU ripped off five straight points, including four kills, to take set one by a 25-23 score.
 
SECOND SET
Mia Fox landed a kill to put her squad in front 6-1 early in the frame before Claudia Rossi contributed an ace of her own. Lightheart followed up with her fourth perfect serve of the contest amid a 3-0 run that extended the Aggie lead to its largest margin (14-8). ORU responded by taking seven of the next nine rallies, entering a tight stretch late in the frame. Zoe Ziegler kept NM State in the fight with a pair of kills before the two sides traded service errors on three straight attempts. Down 29-28, Kate Sinclair reached up for a tying kill before two straight Golden Eagle attack errors ended the frame at 31-29, tying the affair at one set apiece. 
 
THIRD SET
Jacqueline Corcoran commanded a 5-0 run at the service line, adding an ace amid a stretch that pushed the Crimson & White ahead 9-4. In a blink, the frame was even at 10 points each, beginning a back-and-forth stretch that summarized the 11-tie set. Eventually, Mia Fox posted two of her four third-set kills and a block in short order, stretching the Aggie edge to 20-15. ORU roared back, though, taking 11 of the next 15 points despite a pair of Bella Castro aces. The Golden Eagles took the lead back after squeaking out a 26-24 set victory. 
 
FOURTH SET
Four quick smashes from Jaelynn Kohli supplemented a 7-0 Aggie burst as they marched out to a commanding 12-3 lead. The Golden Eagles immediately matched the spurt, winning seven straight rallies of their own. Three straight ORU attack errors made it 19-13 in favor of NM State, but the Aggies' luck ran out there. The opposition embarked on their last long run of the match, taking 12 of the final 15 points, aided by a trio of miscues from Mike Jordan's group. ORU took set four by a score of 25-22, picking up its first win of 2025.  
 
NUMBERS OF NOTE

• With 11 rejections on Saturday, the Aggies have now notched eight or more blocks in 11 of 13 matches this season. In 2024, NM State did so in just 16 of 33 matches. 
• On the day, Kate Sinclair amassed six total blocks, improving her team-high mark to 54 on the young season. The freshman now has 34 total rejections in her past six outings.
• The Canadian was named to the Tulsa Volleyball Invitational All-Tournament Team after her three-match showing of 15 kills (.294) and 19 blocks.
• With two aces in the loss, Claudia Rossi matched her career high, which has now been set three times. 
• Zoe Ziegler established her new season and Division I best with six blocks versus Oral Roberts.
• NM State now has an all-time mark of 5-3 against Oral Roberts. 
• Maggie Lightheart's fourth ace of the day came in set two, pushing her total to 31, past last year's team-high mark of 30 (Makayla Martinez).

• Jaelynn Kohli's 45 attempts were the most in a single match thus far in her young career, surpassing her previous high of 38. 

 
FROM THE FLOOR
Head Coach Mike Jordan, on the loss: "With Ashley [Herman] out, it's going to be really difficult when if people have to sit out with injury or illness. Unfortunately, when Tess head to leave, nobody picked up the slack offensively. We had set points in the third, but couldn't make serves or get stops. We won't win many games hitting the ball or blocking like this. We need to toughen up and improve at practice. 
 
UP NEXT
The Aggies are set to officially begin their third season of Conference USA play next weekend. NM State will face one of the league's two new members, making the 2,099-mile trek to Delaware for a pair of matches will the Fighting Blue Hens. Both contests will be streamed live on ESPN+ and available to follow via nmstatesports.com/stats.
 
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