First Serve
• Coming off a weekend in which the Aggies split their first two WAC contests, NM State enters Thursday after capturing its fourth sweep of the season to move to 8-5 overall and 1-1 in WAC play.
• This will be the Aggies' third straight home match as they begin the back half of their four-match home stretch to begin league play.
• Saturday's win over California Baptist came as a result of one of the most dominating performances the Aggies have had this season as they recorded 49 total kills to eclipse their three-set total for the season.
Weekend Notes
• In the victory over the weekend, NM State was led by the duo of
Katie Birtcil and
Mari Sharp who each recorded a double-double. Birtcil posted 14 kills while adding 10 digs while Sharp finished the match with 12 kills and 11 digs.
• As she has done all season, freshman
Taylor Snow played a vital piece in the Aggies' defensive attack as she recorded a pair of blocks. With that performance, Snow has now notched at least one block in 12 of the 13 matches on the season.
• Last week, Libero
Darian Markham was one of the Aggies' most consistent pieces as she averaged a team-high 4.67 digs per set across six sets while helping propel the Aggies to their first WAC win of the season.
• Currently, both
Lia Mosher and
Rylee Fay are among some of the best in the WAC as Mosher leads the conference in hitting percentage (.377) and Fay paces the league in service aces per set (0.57). Fay also ranks 19th in the country in aces per set.
• Meanwhile,
Katie Birtcil's mark of 3.39 kills per set is good for third in the WAC and
Darian Markham's 4.48 digs per set average also ranks behind just two other WAC athletes.
• As a team, the Aggies are currently holding opponents to a .176 combined hitting percentage - a mark that is good for third in the conference.
• Fay's seven-ace outing against North Carolina A&T on Sept. 2 ties her for fifth-most aces in a four-set match this season among all D-I programs and is also tied for most in a four-set match in program history.
• In 2022, the Aggies have stepped up their defensive play at the net compared to this time last season. Through 13 matches this season the Aggies are averaging 2.23 blocks per set - nearly a half-block better than last year's mark of 1.78 per set during their 12-game pre-WAC slate a season ago.
Keep Up with the Aggies
Fans looking to tune in to this weekend's matches will be able to do so for free via WAC International at WACInternational.tv. Play-by-play announcer
Adam Young will be on the call for the Aggies on Thursday. Fans can also tune in to 91.5 FM KRUX to listen to Young's call on the radio. The radio broadcast will also be available online at this link: https://kruxstream.nmsu.edu/KRUX.
Live stats will also be available to fans this weekend via StatBroadcast at this link: https://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?gid=nmst.
Scouting Southern Utah
• In year two under Head Coach Kacey Nady and year one in the WAC, Southern Utah has compiled a 2-9 overall record and a 1-1 record against conference opponents. Despite the early struggles, the Thunderbirds have won two of their last three after beginning the season on an eight-game losing streak.
• Most recently, SUU picked up a win over its rival and conference foe Utah Tech - defeating the Trailblazers 3-1 (20-25, 26-24, 25-22 25-23). In the win, Southern Utah was led by 12 kills from Rylee Achtzehn and five blocks from Carissa Richie.
• Achtzehn is a part of the Thunderbirds' two-headed approach up front as she leads the squad with 2.42 kills per set and is followed closely behind by Makenzie Templeton who posts 2.29 kills per set.
• On the other hand, Carissa will be the defender that will give the Aggies' the most trouble at the net as she averages a team-best 0.75 blocks per set. On the back end, Calli Johnson enters Thursday's match leading SUU in digs per set (3.63).
• Thursday night will mark just the third meeting between the two programs with the last matchup coming in 2013 when the Aggies knocked off Southern Utah 3-1 during the NM State Tournament in Las Cruces. Prior to 2013, the two sides had previously met in 1988. This meeting resulted in a 3-0 win for the Aggies.
Up Next
Following the Aggies' third WAC match of the season, they will wrap up their home stretch with a match against another Utah-based program in Utah Tech. The Aggies and Trailblazers will meet on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Fans can purchase tickets to Saturday's match via Ticketmaster at this link.
