New Mexico State University Athletics

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – NM State Volleyball completed the weekend sweep of Jacksonville State on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Gamecocks 3-0 for the second straight match. The Aggies controlled play throughout the contest, hitting .280 as a team while limiting Jacksonville St. to a .033 attacking percentage, the lowest opponent hitting percentage allowed by NM State this season. 

Set-by-set: NM State def. Jacksonville State 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-15) 

FIRST SET 

NM State jumped out to a 7-1 lead and never looked back. Tess Fuqua recorded seven kills in the frame, while Maggie Lightheart added five, with Jaelynn Kohli tallying three kills along with a solo block. While the visitors attempted to rally and close the gap in frame one, the Aggies hit .359 as a team and closed the set on a 4-1 run to secure a 25-18 victory. 

SECOND SET 

The Gamecocks grabbed an early advantage with a 7-4 lead early in set two, though NM State responded with a surge that shifted control of the set back to the Aggies. Tess Fuqua posted three kills in the frame, while Kohli and Herman added three of their own – including a kill by the Bakersfield, Calif., native that put NM State back on top 14-13. A late 11-4 NM State run helped the Aggies pull away for a 25-17 win and a 2-0 match advantage. 

THIRD SET 

NM State delivered its most efficient set of the afternoon in the final frame, hitting .400 while limiting Jacksonville State to a .156 mark, while posting a match best three blocks in the third stanza. Kohli paced the offense with three kills, while Lightheart and Herman each added two. Katrina Catalan sparked the Aggies with a pair of service aces and Ashley Herman sealed the sweep with a match-ending ace in a 25-15 victory. 

NUMBERS OF NOTE 

• Saturday's victory completed NM State's two-match series sweep of Jacksonville State and extended the Aggies' sweep streak to three consecutive matches, improving the Aggies to 11-10 overall and 4-4 in Conference USA play. 

• Tess Fuqua led all players with 12 kills while hitting .308, chipping in six digs. 

• Jaelynn Kohli recorded nine kills and hit .389, finishing with four total blocks (one block solo, three block assists). 

• Ashley Herman finished with seven kills while hitting .312 and recorded the match-clinching service ace – her fourth of the season.  

• Makayla Martinez tallied 10 digs, reaching double digits in digs for the 20th time this season. 

• Paige Nelson dished out a match-high 20 assists, her highest total in a three-set match this season. 

• Katrina Catalan contributed 8 assists, three service aces and eight digs. 

• NM State held advantages in kills (41-22), digs (45-29) and hitting percentage (.280-.033). 

QUOTEABLES 

Head Coach Mike Jordan, on the home sweep against Jax State:  

"I'm very pleased we got a sweep. Other than set 2 when we were high error, we were pretty efficient. I'm glad that I was able to get everybody in that hadn't played yet this weekend, they work hard and they're good young people. They have a future if they keep developing, so it's just nice to get them out there, and get a little bit of the nerves out of them. Emmy [Nicholas] did a great job, she hit the serves where she was supposed to hit them and as she gets older and better, she'll learn to hit them tougher." 

UP NEXT 

NM State will hit the road next weekend, taking on CUSA foe against Middle Tennessee in Murfreesboro. First serve for the series opener is scheduled for 5 p.m. MT on Friday, Oct. 23, inside the Alumni Memorial Gymnasium.  The match will be streamed live on ESPN+, and live stats available at nmstatesports.com/stats.  

For complete coverage of NM State Volleyball, follow us on Twitter (@NMStateVBall), Instagram (@NMStateVBall) and like us on Facebook (NM State Volleyball). You can also follow along with Aggie Volleyball via NMStateSports.com.  

##NM State##