First Serve
• NM State picked up a much-needed win to stay alive in the WAC Tournament hunt, defeating Seattle U in five sets on the road this past Saturday.
• As of Wednesday night, the Aggies are tied for seventh in the league standings with California Baptist – firmly in the hunt with three games to go.
• NM State is in a position in which it controls its own destiny as its final two final home matches come against teams currently below them in the WAC standings in Tarleton and Abilene Christian.
Last Time Out | NM State 3, Tarleton 0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-18)
• NM State (14-11, 6-7 WAC) utilized one of its most efficient hitting nights of the season to take down visiting Tarleton (12-16, 4-9 WAC) in three sets (25-16, 25-16, 25-19) on Thursday night inside the Pan American Center.
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Molly Johnson paced the Aggies in kills for the third-straight match as she finished with 16 kills while hitting a blistering .375 percentage.
• Meanwhile,
Taylor Snow wreaked havoc at the net defensively – finishing the night with six of the Aggies' nine total blocks, including three of which came with no help.
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Darian Markham also continued to prove why she is one of the elite Liberos in the conference as she finished with 20 digs to post her seventh match of 20-plus digs on the year.
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Rylee Fay played a big part in the win as well as she managed three aces on the night. With the three added to her season total, she now sits in a tie for fifth all-time in program history for aces in a season (48).
• The Aggies' combined hitting percentage of .292 marks the fourth-best team outing of the season.
Cream of the Conference Crop
• Currently,
Rylee Fay is among the best in the WAC in a pair of categories as she paces the league in service aces per set (0.51) while ranking ninth in assists per set (6.39).
• Meanwhile, Mosher ranks second in the conference in hitting percentage (.356).
• The attack of
Katie Birtcil has also been one of the most effective in the league this season as she ranks fifth in kills per set at 3.24 across 85 sets on the season. The do-it-all outside hitter also ranks seventh in points per set (3.57).
• Leading the Aggies' defense,
Darian Markham tallies the fourth-most digs among league Liberos at 4.30 per set.
• As a team, the Aggies are currently holding opponents to a .188 combined hitting percentage - a mark that is good for third-best in the conference.
• Also, the Aggies rank fourth in the league in assists (12.02) and kills (12.97) as a team.
Leaderboard Lia
• In addition to her dominance this season,
Lia Mosher continues to move up the all-time ranks in program history. The sixth-year senior currently sits in fifth all-time in Aggie history in both total blocks (458) and fourth in block assists (380) while she ranks ninth in solo blocks (78). She also ranks second all-time in career hitting percentage at .348.
Johnson Breaks 30-Year-Old Record
In Saturday's contest against Seattle U,
Molly Johnson posted 37 total kills to surpass a single-match program record for kill in a match. Previously, Vanessa White held the record with 35 kills in five sets against UTEP on August 31, 1991.
Markham Better Than Most
Now in her third season with the Crimson & White,
Darian Markham has tallied 1020 digs across 248 sets to average 4.11 digs per set with the Aggies. With that, the junior from McKinney, Texas, currently sits in second all-time in digs per set in Aggie history.
The 'A' in Fay Stands for Ace
• The sophomore setter from Iowa City, Iowa is quickly putting together one of the best seasons in program history from the service line. She is currently responsible for 48 of the Aggies' 137 aces on the season - a mark that is currently tied for fifth all-time in the Aggie record books for aces in a single season.
• From an individual match perspective, Fay put together two of the best performances by anyone to wear the Crimson & White. On Sept. 2, Fay recorded seven aces in a four-set win over North Carolina A&T to put herself in a tie for the most by any Aggie in a four-set match.
• Later in the season, Fay would equal that feat by notching seven aces in a four-set win over Southern Utah. With that seven-ace outing against the Trailblazers, Fay is the only server in the country to achieve seven or more aces in multiple four-set contests.
• Fay also prides herself as one of the most consistent servers in the country as she ranks 12th among all Division I servers in aces per set at 0.54.
Defending Our Side in Riverside
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Taylor Snow's 11-block outing against the Lancers put her in elite company as the single-match total places her in a tie for second-most in program history in a four-set match. The last time an Aggie recorded such numbers? Julianna Salanoa on Oct. 7, 2019, who also engineered an 11-block performance on the road against the Lancers.
• The dominant defensive showing from the Aggies also produced the most blocks by any Aggie team since NM State traveled to Riverside and collected 17 blocks against the Lancers in October of 2019.
Keep Up with the Aggies
Fans looking to tune in to this weekend's matches will be able to do so via wacinternational.tv.
Live stats will also be available to fans this weekend via StatBroadcast at this link: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=418505.
Up Next
Depending on the outcome on Saturday, the Aggies will either be prepping for the WAC Tournament next weekend or they will be getting ready to conclude their season with a final road match against UTEP on Nov. 23.
