Match Fifteen
NM State (11-3, 2-0 WAC) vs. Seattle U (3-9, 0-1 WAC)
Thursday, Sept. 30 | 6:00 p.m. | Pan American Center | Las Cruces, N.M.
Watch | Live Stats | NM State Match Notes | Seattle U Match Notes

THE FIRST SERVE
• Back in the city of Las Cruces for the first time in nearly one full month, the NM State volleyball team hopes to keep its perfect WAC record intact as the Aggies brace for a battle with Seattle U Thursday evening. The 19th all-time meeting between the two programs is set to begin at 6:00 p.m. inside the Pan American Center.
• Bally Sports Arizona Plus, Bally Sports Southwest, Bally Sports West, Comcast New Mexico and ESPN+ are all set to televise the action between the Aggies and Redhawks. On the call are Adam Young and former NM State volleyball libero (2008-11) Kelsi Meredith.

SERIES HISTORY
Overall vs. Seattle U | 17-1 (.944)
In Las Cruces, N.M. | 8-0 (1.000)
In Seattle, Wash. | 7-1 (.875)
At neutral sites | 2-0 (1.000)
Streak | NM State won 13
Last five matches | 5-0 (1.000)
Last 10 matches | 10-0 (1.000)
In three-set matches | 8-0 (1.000)
In four-set matches | 5-1 (.833)
In five-set matches | 4-0 (1.000)
Jordan vs. Seattle U | 17-1 (.944)
Cole vs. NM State | 0-2 (.000)
Last meeting | NM State 3, vs. Seattle U 0 (Thursday, March 4, 2021 • match played in El Paso, Texas)
• On a 13-match winning streak against their league foes from the Pacific Northwest, the Aggies have won their last 18 sets against the Redhawks dating back to Sept. 27, 2018.
• In the last four matches between the two programs, NM State has allowed Seattle U to reach or exceed the 20-point mark just once in 12 total sets.

LAST TIME OUT | NM State 3, at Dixie State 1 (Sept. 25, 2021)
• Dixie State won the first set of the match but NM State recovered and won the last three in order to become the only WAC team with a 2-0 record in league play.
• Katie Birtcil led a quartet of Aggies in double-digit kill territory by posting a match-high 14 in the victory. Mari Sharp (12), Shaney Lipscomb (11) and Lia Mosher (10) each finished with 10 or more terminations in a balanced offensive effort.
• Carly Aigner-Swesey put her floor defense abilities on display in a major way by diving for a match and career-high 20 digs. NM State's primary setter completed her team-leading seventh double-double of the season by going for a match-best 39 assists, too.
• The service line played a big part in the Aggies' victory, too, as NM State registered a total of 16 points by way of service aces or Dixie State service errors.
• Cat Kelly put forth a solid all-around showing by finishing with six kills, a career-best 19 digs and three of NM State's nine service aces.
• Aigner-Swesey added three service aces, too, as NM State improved to 3-0 all-time against Dixie State.
• The win was NM State's fourth consecutive true road victory which is the longest active streak among all WAC teams and the 14th-longest when stacked up against all other NCAA Division I clubs.

WAC ATTACK
• A new-look Western Athletic Conference is making its debut season in the 2021-22 season, and the Aggies are hoping to continue their dominance in the league.
• Now in his 24th season in charge at NM State, head coach Mike Jordan has been nothing short of masterful in league action throughout his tenure. The Aggies' bench boss owns an impressive 281-65 (.812) mark in regular-season WAC showdowns as well as a 30-12 (.714) record in WAC Tournament bouts.
• NM State has been especially effective in racking up all manner of WAC hardware through the last seven seasons. In that span, the Aggies are 83-8 (.912) against league opposition in regular-season tilts and have claimed five regular-season WAC crowns as well as a trio of WAC Tournament titles.
• Since joining the WAC in 2005, NM State has secured seven regular-season titles. All told, Jordan has claimed 11 conference titles since his run in Las Cruces began in 1998.
• NM State has won its last 13 WAC regular-season matches at home dating back to the 2018 season.

ABOUT THE AGGIES
• Heading into Thursday evening's match, NM State possesses the highest number of total wins among all WAC teams (11) and is the only WAC squad with two league wins on its record.
• NM State is riding an eight-match winning streak. That's the longest active winning streak in the WAC as well as the eighth-longest among all NCAA Division I volleyball teams.
• The Aggies continue to lead the WAC in both hitting percentage (.254) and opponent hitting percentage (.149). On the national scene, the team's opponent hitting percentage figure ranks 23rd among all NCAA Division I volleyball teams.
• Junior outside hitter Katie Birtcil earned the first WAC Offensive Player of the Week citation of her collegiate career Monday morning after averaging 4.75 kills per set to lead the Aggies to 3-1 WAC wins at both Utah Valley and Dixie State last week.
• Against Utah Valley last Thursday night, Birtcil hammered home a career-high 24 kills. Those 24 terminations were the most by an Aggie since Tatyana Battle finished with 27 in a five-set WAC victory over Kansas City on Nov. 15, 2018.
• The most efficient offensive player in the WAC continues to be redshirt senior middle blocker Lia Mosher. The Ruidoso, N.M., product possesses a hitting percentage of .444 which tops the WAC charts and is the seventh-best among all NCAA Division I volleyball players in the land.
• Carly Aigner-Swesey ranks sixth in the WAC in assists per set. Her team-leading average of 6.83 has shot up since generating 10.75 assists per set in the Aggies' two WAC wins last week.

SCOUTING SEATTLE U | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• In search of its first WAC triumph since March 8, 2021, Seattle U begins its first WAC road trip of the season by traveling to Las Cruces where it hopes to secure its first victory over NM State since Oct. 4, 2014.
• Spearheading the Redhawks' efforts on offense are the trio of Sierra Bartley, Amaris Carter and Eve Kerschenbaum. Bartley (2.39 kills/set) and Kerschenbaum (2.44 kills/set) top the team's charts with 105 total kills this season, but it's Cartis who possesses the squad's highest kills per set average (3.03).
• Setting up the Redhawks' offense are Darian Goins and Ezgi Ozkan who average 5.18 and 4.14 assists per set respectively.
• Freshman libero Katlyn Sipes is the only member of the team with over 100 digs thus far in the season. Her 136 are the most on the team and that figure works out to an average of 3.49 per set.
• Thursday evening, the Redhawks will be going in search of their first true road victory in nearly two full years. Seattle U's last true road win came on Nov. 17, 2019 when it took down California Baptist by a 3-1 score. Since then, the Redhawks have dropped 12 consecutive true road matches.

COMING UP NEXT
• Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m., NM State starts its stretch of eight matches in the month of October by playing host to California Baptist inside the Pan American Center. Like Thursday evening's clash, Bally Sports Arizona Plus, Comcast New Mexico and ESPN+ will televise the action from the Aggies' home venue.

++NM State++