LAS CRUCES, N.M. –The New Mexico State women's volleyball team was able to put away Robert Morris University in three sets Friday dominating from the start while also rotating in more players.
 
NM State (6-3) swept 25-16, 25-11 and 25-15 over the Colonials of the Northeast Conference.
 
Setting the tone for the late morning match, middle blocker Sash-Lee Thomas, a sophomore from Pottsville, Pa., with a series of kills that gave the Aggies a early solid lead that the Colonials (5-3) were never able regain momentum.  She would provide a similar charge for the second set, as well.
 
Coach Mike Jordan said Thomas' strong start was important to keeping the match energy up after a five-set loss to Oklahoma the night before in the Pan American Center.
 
"Sasha is our own little energizer bunny," Jordan said. "And that's saying something because she just came off ACL surgery and was only recently cleared to play."
 
Thomas would finish the match with a total of 8 kills.
 
But the spotlight was on senior Gwen Murphy of Elfrida, Ariz./Valley Union. She stood out with 14 kills of 15 attempts, racking up an amazing .933 hitting percentage
 
Freshman Tatyana Battle of Albuquerque, N.M./Cibola continued her strong play with nine kills and a .615 hitting percentage.
 
Several other players, however, got the opportunity to rack up points with Jordan Abalos of Safford, Ariz./Safford  with four kills, Andrea Tauai of New Zealand/Hillsborough and Bryn Popovich of Sierra Vista, Ariz./Buena getting three kills each and Nathali Castellanos of Vado, N.M./Gadsden landing two kills.
 
Also, the Aggies racked up five serve aces, which they hadn't been able to make happen than the night before against Oklahoma. The Colonials were on the other side of that equation with only one serve ace, provided by junior Arden Fisher, who also earned seven kills, the most on the team.
 
In the end, the Colonials were outscored by a nearly 3-1 ratio.
 
Jordan said the strength of this year's team is the willingness of the five senior players to share with the younger players made up of freshmen and sophomores. While the match against the Colonials gave more team members time on the court, Jordan said he wasn't intentionally saving players for the evening match that evening against Brown University, nor Denver the following evening  in the Borderland Classic, which has teams playing at both NM State and the UTEP.
 
"We're not good enough to disregard anybody," Jordan said. "Our philosophy is that we give every opponent the same respect."
 
Just the same, Jordan said getting the quick three-set win was what he hoped the team would be able to accomplish for "trap game" – a morning match between two evening matches.
 
NM State returns to the Pan Am Center at 7 p.m. Friday to face Brown. On Saturday, the Aggies will finish the Borderland Classic in a match against Denver at the Pan Am Center at noon.
  
 
Remaining Borderland Classic Schedule
Friday, Sept. 11
4:00 p.m.            Denver vs. Oklahoma (at the Pan American Center)
7:00 p.m.            Brown at NM State
 
7:00 p.m.            Robert Morris at UTEP
 
Saturday, Sept. 12
12 Noon              Denver at NM State
2:30 p.m.            Robert Morris vs. Brown (at the Pan American Center)
7:00 p.m.            Brown vs. Denver (at the Pan American Center)
 
12 Noon              Oklahoma at UTEP