LAS CRUCES, N.M. – NM State Volleyball earned its first victory of the 2026 season on Saturday evening, defeating California Baptist in straight sets at the NMSU Volleyball Jamboree. Taking the match in straight sets, this became the first three-set victory for the Crimson & White since Sept. 27, 2025 (at Delaware), and the first inside the Pan American Center since Sept. 13, 2025, against New Haven.
With the win, NM State moves to 1-1 on the season, finishing its opening weekend on Sunday night, with a visit to the newly renovated Memorial Gym and the UTEP Miners in El Paso.
Set-by-set: NM State defeats California Baptist 3-0 (26-24, 25-23, 25-19)
FIRST SET
The Aggies welcomed California Baptist on Friday night, with the Lancers coming off a 3-1 victory over the New Mexico Lobos on Friday night in Albuquerque. NM State got off to a hot start, tallying a quick 5-1 advantage in set one with a trio of kills and a pair of aces – the Aggies tallied just two aces throughout the entirety of Thursday's season-opening matchup with Tulsa. CBU battled back throughout the first set, featuring six ties and four lead changes in total. Facing a 24-24 tie, senior
Maggie Lightheart tallied a solo block to put the Aggies ahead, before ultimately taking the opening frame 26-24.
SECOND SET
A rebuke of the opening game, California Baptist took the early lead in set two, punctuating an 8-4 lead with their first service ace of the night. Powered by an offensive attack spearheaded by upperclassmen such as
Ashley Herman,
Tess Fuqua and
Mia Fox, NM State's offense found its rhythm in the second set, posting 15 kills while hitting .286 – the highest in any set of the night. Despite another tightly contested set, NM State remained composed in the closing moments, tallying three straight kills and securing a 25-23 victory.
THIRD SET
Totaling 10 ties and seven lead changes in the first two sets, the third and final saw 13 ties and six lead changes, with neither team holding a lead larger than four points until an 8-1 Aggie run saw the home side take a 23-17 edge. Back-to-back kills by sophomore outside hitter
Jaelynn Kohli put the finishing touches on the first win of the 2026 season for NM State.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
- The Aggies moved to 1-1 on the season with the win over the Lancers, while longtime head coach Mike Jordan now sits at 599 career wins.
- NM State held CBU to a .075 hitting percentage in Saturday night's sweep, the lowest by an opposing team since Oct. 4, 2025 (at Sam Houston). In 2025, the Aggies held opponents below a .075 mark just four times – all Crimson & White victories.
- Jaelynn Kohli led the Aggies with 10 kills on the night, adding three block assists. Kohli has tallied double-digit kills in four of her last six contests dating back to last season.
- Making her second consecutive start, freshman Lilli Saldivar recorded six kills on a team-high .385 hitting percentage.
- A balanced offensive attack saw the Aggies finish with 39 kills, with five different players tallying at least six.
- Efficient swings saw Mia Fox record four kills with a .571 hitting percentage, also matching the team lead with four block assists.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Mike Jordan, on the season-opening win against California Baptist: "Wins are always good. 'Never look a gift horse in the mouth', I learned when I was young. We made our fair share of mistakes, we made serving look really hard. But you know we played better volleyball when we needed to late in sets – which we didn't do yesterday, the other team played better late. So I'll take that and be happy with it."
Fifth-year Ashley Herman, following Saturday night's contest: "It was so good, the energy was so high tonight. I felt like we fought really hard to win this match, everyone worked really hard, and it was awesome!"
Freshman setter Paige Nelson, on the feelings of getting her first win as an Aggie: "It was exactly what it was supposed to be. I'm so honored to be here with these girls and so grateful for this opportunity. I love this team."
UP NEXT
NM State wraps up opening weekend on Sunday, Aug. 30, when they travel down I-10 to face rival UTEP at Memorial Gym. This becomes the first non-conference competition between the Aggies and Miners since 2022 – NM State and UTEP were both members of Conference USA until the Miners departed to the Mountain West ahead of the 2026 season. The contest will serve as the Miners' home opener, while NM State looks to carry the momentum from its first win of the season into the Battle of I-10. First serve is set for 6 p.m. MT, with the match streamed live on MW+, with live stats available at nmstatesports.com/stats.
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