LAS CRUCES – The Aggies are WAC champions once again. After dismantling Chicago State in four sets on Senior Day, the Aggies claimed their third straight WAC Regular Season Title, finishing atop the West Division. This also marks the eighth time that the Aggies have earned the title of WAC Regular Season Champions. 
 
In the victory, Katie Birtcil paced the Aggies in kills for the second-straight match, recording 19 terminations. She was also big on the defensive side, tallying eight digs and four blocks. Senior Cat Kelly posted 15 kills on just 20 swings. She also had eight digs and four blocks, while fellow senior Shaney Lipscomb finished the match third on the team with 13 kills. Additionally, Darian Markham turned in 14 digs while Carly Aigner-Swesey totaled 46 assists.
 
SET ONE | Chicago State 25, NM State 21
The opening set was full of scoring runs for both squads. Early on, Lia Mosher and Birtcil combined for a block that capped off a five-point Aggie run to give them a 6-3 lead. However, the NM State offense stalled in the middle of the set as Chicago State scored nine unanswered points to take a 16-10 lead. The Aggies responded on a five-point run that included a Cat Kelly solo block and a kill to put NM State within two. Despite an Aggie hitting percentage of .340 for the set, the Cougars lead proved to be too large as they took set one, 25-21.
 
SET TWO | NM State 25, Chicago State 17
The crimson and white attackers started to flex their muscles in the second set. Birtcil's six kills in the second led the way for the Aggies, while Lipscomb recorded four, Kelly notched three and Lia Mosher added a pair. A three-point run to put the Aggies up 10-7 seemed to be the turning point as the Aggies outscored Chicago State 18-11 to close out the set with a 25-17 win.
 
SET THREE | NM State 25, Chicago State 19
The train continued to roll down the tracks in set three as the Aggies put together a six-point run to lead 10-7 early in the third. The point streak was highlighted by four combined kills for seniors Kelly and Lipscomb. Kelly added a service ace in the third set to put the Aggies up 16-12. Aigner-Swesey had a hand in the final two kills of the set as she recorded an ace and setup a Lipscomb kill for set point, giving NM State a 25-19 win.
 
SET FOUR | NM State 25, Chicago State 15
The deciding set in the Pan American Center was all Aggies as Chicago State combined for nine errors in the fourth. After being knotted up at 7-7, the Aggies outscored the Cougars 11-4 over the next 15 points. Senior Day saw the final three points go to both Kelly and Lipscomb as Kelly recorded her 592^nd kill of her career to secure the WAC West Division regular season crown. Mari Sharp also tallied two kills, two assists and a block in the last set.
 
COMING UP NEXT
The win over Chicago State closed out the regular season stretch for the Aggies as the head into the WAC Tournament. Beginning on Thursday, NM State will play host to the WAC Tournament. The Aggies seed and opponent is still yet to be determined as play around the conference finish up on Saturday evening. New Mexico State is guaranteed either the No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the tournament and will kick-off its quest for a championship at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Pan Am.