EDINBURG, Texas – After not playing in a single five-set match through its first 16 matches, NM State (10-7, 3-3 WAC) played in its second five-set contest in just three days as UT Rio Grande Valley (17-4, 6-0 WAC) defeated the Aggies (25-17, 23-25, 22-25, 25-14, 15-9) on Monday night.
"When we were defending well in the back half of sets two and three, it fueled us offensively," noted Head Coach
Mike Jordan. "Unfortunately, we're not consistently doing that. The attack errors make it tough, but blowing simple defensive plays was a huge part of this loss. We'll keep closing the gap on them and focus on winning in November."
In what was the final match of the day across the country on a Monday in which only 18 teams were in action, the Aggies were led by
Molly Johnson against a UTRGV team who entered the night as the only WAC team undefeated in league play. Following a Saturday tilt that saw Johnson post career highs in kills, attempts, digs, blocks and assists, the graduate transfer finished the match with a team-high 15 kills and 18.5 points while managing a .289 hitting percentage.
Johnson also added five blocks to finish second in a category led by
Lia Mosher who concluded the night with six total blocks. Elsewhere, NM State was led in digs by
Darian Markham who finished with 25 to post her third-straight match with 20-plus digs. Johnson also chipped in 16 digs.
As a team, the Aggies finished with 54 kills but finished with a hitting percentage of just .120 as they tallied 33 attack errors.
SET ONE
The Aggies were able to jump out to a quick start in the opening set as they began on a 4-1 run, including a pair of kills from
Kacia Brown who made her first appearance in the starting lineup of the season.
Following back-to-back Aggie points in the form of a kill from
Ryleigh Whitekettle and an ace from
Rylee Fay to put the Aggies behind just one point (13-12), UTRGV strung together five-straight points to go ahead 18-12.
In total, the Aggies finished the first set with 12 costly attack errors as the Vaqueros went on to win the opening set, 25-17.
SET TWO
In a set that the Aggie defense flexed its muscles, NM State picked up a resounding early combo block from
Molly Johnson and
Lia Mosher to jump out front, 5-3.
The two sides then traded blows before UTRGV put together a three-point run to claim a 12-9 advantage, however, the Aggies would respond by scoring three of the next four points to pull back within one.
Trailing 17-12, the Aggies scored five out of the next six points to pull within one once again. The quick run was highlighted by back-to-back blocks from
Molly Johnson and
Ashley Herman.
The Aggie block continued to be the story in the second frame as Johnson rejected another Vaquero attack to tie the set at 21. Then Johnson was joined by Mosher at the net to pick up the Aggies' sixth block of the set and give the Aggies a 23-22 lead.
Ultimately, NM State would close out the set with a 25-23 win thanks to a kill from Herman and an error on behalf of the Vaquero setter. In total, the Aggies limited the UTRGV offense to a hitting percentage of just .086 in the second game.
SET THREE
Early in the third, the Aggies would find themselves in a 3-1 hole before going on a 7-1 run that was capped off by a
Rilen Garcia ace to take an 8-4 lead.
Eventually, the Vaqueros would battle back to even the score at 12, but the Aggies were up to the challenge as they rattled off five consecutive points to retake a five-point lead (18-13).
A second five-point run later in the set would give NM State seven chances at set point as they led 24-17. Although, UTRGV would go down swinging as they scored five straight to pull within two before Whitekettle finished off the third set with a kill.
SET FOUR
The beginning portion of the fourth set would feature a four-point Vaquero run as they grabbed onto an 8-3 lead.
The Aggies' Johnson would temporarily stop the attack with a kill before UTRGV put together a 9-2 run to take a 17-6 advantage. Eventually, UTRGV would take the set by a score of 25-14 to force a fifth and deciding set.
SET FIVE
The Aggies' attempt at upending the team at the top of the WAC standings looked promising after they began the fifth set on a 4-1 run. However, UTRGV would score six of the ensuing seven points to take a 6-5 lead and force
Mike Jordan to use a timeout.
NM State then settled in and would eventually find themselves trailing by one (10-9) following a kill from
Ryleigh Whitekettle later in the set.
Unfortunately, this would be the final point the Aggies would score in Edinburg as they fell 15-9 in the fifth to drop the match.
MATCH NOTABLES
- Molly Johnson led the Aggies in kills for the second straight match as she finished two kills shy of her career-high with 15 on the night. This also marks the sixth time this season that Johnson has finished with double-digit kills.
- Rylee Fay, who entered the tilt ranked eighth in the country in aces per set, posted her sixth straight match with at least one ace – finishing with two on the night to move her season total to 38. The Iowa City, Iowa, native now sits eight aces away from moving into a tie for ninth-most aces in a single season.
- With five block assists on the night, senior Lia Mosher moved into fourth all-time in block assists in program history with 363 block assists to her name.
- Darian Markham posted 25 digs to finish with at least 20 digs for the third-straight match and the fifth time on the season.
- Ashley Herman recorded the first block of her young Aggie career while matching her career-best mark of two kills.
- Kacia Brown notched the first start of her career as an Aggie. She would ultimately finish the match with a pair of kills and one dig.
- Rilen Garcia collected the first service ace of her career while finishing with double-digit assists for the fourth time since entering the rotation for an injured Bianca Perez.
UP NEXT
The Aggies now turn their attention to a home match on Wednesday night in which they will host former WAC foe Chicago State. The match against the Cougars is scheduled to get underway at 6 p.m.
Aggie fans interested in purchasing tickets to the non-conference collision can do so via this link or by calling the Pan American ticket office at (575) 646-1420. Meanwhile, those unable to attend can watch the match from home at wacinternational.tv or by listening to the radio broadcast on 91.5 FM KRUX.
++NM State++
