PEORIA, Ill. – NM State Volleyball opened play at the Bradley Invitational on Friday with a pair of matches inside Renaissance Coliseum, beginning the day against Lindenwood at 9 a.m. MT before battling host Bradley at 6 p.m. MT. The Aggies dropped their first contest in four sets before responding with a resilient five-set victory over the hosts to conclude the day with a 1-1 record.
Lindenwood def. NM State 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-20)
MATCH ONE
FIRST SET
Acting as the home team, Lindenwood tallied five of the first seven points. Battling back to take a 15-11 set lead, the Lions would not go quietly, later tying the match at 17 apiece. Ashley Herman and Maggie Lightheart would tally five kills late in the frame, helping NM State close on an 8-4 run as the Aggies secured a 25-21 set victory.
SECOND SET
NM State built a 22-17 advantage behind strong play from a trio of Mia Fox, Jacqueline Corcoran and Maggie Lightheart – each posting a trio of kills in the second set. However, Lindenwood responded with an 8-0 run to steal the set, 25-22, and even the match.
THIRD SET
Coming into the weekend with four career kills, freshman Sadie Ross delivered three kills in set number three, helping the Aggies tally their best hitting percentage in a single set against the Lions. However, Lindenwood used a late surge to claim a 25-22 victory and move ahead in the match, two sets to one.
FOURTH SET
Facing a seven-point deficit in the eventual deciding frame, a surging Aggie squad managed to pull within 22-20 late in the set. Despite the rally, Lindenwood held on for a 25-20 win to secure the match victory.
MATCH TWO
NM State def. Bradley 3-2 (18-25, 25-20, 19-25, 25-20, 15-12)
FIRST SET
Returning to the court at Renaissance Coliseum for the second time on Friday, NM State matched up with tournament host Bradley. Though the Aggies recorded a 3-0 run to take an early 4-3 lead in the opening frame, the Braves would lead for the majority of the match – making the most of their 24 total attacks, posting 13 kills while hitting .458 en route to a 25-11 set victory.
SECOND SET
In set two, the Aggies answered with 17 kills on a .424 hitting percentage, both single-set highs across a pair of Friday contests. Ashley Herman erupted for seven kills on eight swings, while Jaelynn Kohli added five kills as NM State evened the match with a 25-20 win.
THIRD SET
Posting the first two points in frame three, Bradley would lead the duration of the third set, never relinquishing the advantage. Despite four kills apiece from Tess Fuqua and Maggie Lightheart, the Braves emerged with a 25-19 victory.
FOURTH SET
Facing their second 2-1 set deficit on Friday, NM State changed their tune, holding Bradley to a .054 hitting percentage as Ashley Herman, Jaelynn Kohli and Tess Fuqua combined for 11 kills in the frame, pushing the contest into a decisive fifth set with a 25-20 victory.
FIFTH SET
A fifth and final set featuring seven ties and five lead changes saw both teams fighting to the final whistle before NM State seized control late. Back-to-back service aces from Ashley Herman highlighted a closeout 8-4 run, while Jaelynn Kohli supplied the match-winning kill, as the Aggies secured a 15-12 victory.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
-
First-year Aggie Paige Nelson recorded a career-high four service aces against Lindenwood, adding a fifth on the day against Bradley. The Pleasanton, Calif., native now leads the Aggies with 15 aces on the season.
-
Jacqueline Corcoran tallied a pair of block assists in the match with Lindenwood, posting five over her last two matches. In the Aggies' first eight games of the season, she totaled just one block assist.
-
Maggie Lightheart finished with 24 kills across both matches on Friday, including a team-high 11 in the first match of the day against the Lions, while hitting .440 with 13 kills in the five-set win over Bradley.
-
Libero Makayla Martinez totaled 18 digs against Lindenwood and 13 digs against Bradley. Through 12 matches this season, the Albuquerque, N.M., native has 10 or more digs in all but one contest (Sept. 5, v. Southern Utah [9]).
-
Freshman Sadie Ross earned the first start of her collegiate career in Friday night's victory over Bradley, following a match against Lindenwood that saw the Sherwood, Ore., native tie her single-match career high in kills (3).
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Mike Jordan, following the opening match against Lindenwood:
"We couldn't finish a 20-12 lead in the second set and it killed all of our momentum. We made bad hitting errors and got stuck in our rotations. We missed serves after opponent timeouts both times and didn't show that killer instinct. After that, they just pelted our block with their tempo. Our [outside hitter] play needs to improve, and Jaelynn [Kohli] out hurting didn't help."
Head Coach Mike Jordan, following the five-set rally against Bradley:
"I'm glad we came back after a terrible start. [It was a] good team win with lots of people involved. Kate Sinclair came up big with a few blocks to help us, in what was overall a really poor blocking effort. Road wins are good, and hopefully on a short turnaround we can find the energy to play well tomorrow."
UP NEXT
The Aggies will conclude play at the Bradley Invitational on Saturday morning when they face UTRGV at 10 a.m. MT inside Renaissance Coliseum. Fans can follow along with live stats 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##
