LAS CRUCES, N.M. - For the first time since the opening match of the season, NM State went down in straight sets. The culprit: Western Kentucky (17-4, 7-0), who remained undefeated in CUSA play. The Aggies fell to 6-3 in conference action and 13-7 on the season. WKU continued their impressive winning streak in regular-season conference matches. The program last fell in  Oct. 2018 to North Texas, and have amassed 65 consecutive CUSA wins since, the longest such streak in the nation. 

Set-by-set: NM State loses 0-3 (20-25, 23-25, 19-25)

NM State got out to a hot start in the first set, taking a quick 2-0 lead. WKU answered with a run that included five consecutive points, forcing an Aggie timeout at 10-6. The Aggies couldn't muster up much offense the rest of the way, totaling just six kills before switching sides. Kaylee Cox singlehandedly matched NM State, putting up six kills of her own in the first. As a team, NM State's hitting percentage was -.080, setting the stage that WKU's defense would be tough to crack. 

In an impressive response, Ryleigh Whitekettle put up one of her best sets of the season in the second. The redshirt sophomore outside hitter put up six kills on 10 attempts, and blocked WKU twice, including one solo. Following a tie at 13, WKU conducted their second 5-0 run of the match, forcing a timeout from Mike Jordan, and eventually taking a 19-13 lead. The end of the set showed promise for the Aggies, as Morgan Stewart stepped back to serve. The sophomore sparked a 5-0 run that included a pair of kills and a solo block from Whitekettle. The Aggies suddenly found themselves back in it, only down 24-23. The set came to an anticlimactic close after the ball went off the jumbotron and forced an error from Darian Markham, sealing the 25-23 win for WKU. 

The third set got away from the Aggies quickly, finding themselves facing a 7-2 deficit after another 5-0 run by WKU. Starr Williams did her best to keep her squad in the mix, posting four kills on just seven swings, and adding two blocks in the final frame. The match concluded with an unusual twist, coming from a challenge call. Travis Hudson threw up the green card after one of his Hilltoppers was initially called for a net violation. Upon review, the net moved after contact from an Aggie, granting WKU the point, set and match. 

NM State had their third-lowest hitting percentage of the season at .106. While the Hilltoppers did hit substantially below their .296 average (.228), the home team couldn't put together enough offense to hang around with the unanimous CUSA preseason poll first-place vote-getters. WKU's defense was stout, holding the Aggies to zero service aces for the first time since Feb. 9, 2021 (at UTRGV). 

Head Coach Mike Jordan, on the loss: "Great job by Western Kentucky. They executed at a really high level. We were bad defensively and missed a lot of assignments. We've got to get that corrected before we play tomorrow. Our hitting percentage is a product of our ball control and our setting. I thought we passed the best pretty well for stretches, but we set it terribly, and we didn't attack it much better. We can't hit .106 and beat them. We held them 70 points below their average (hitting percentage), which is pretty good, but we can't be that inept at setting it and attacking. We've got to do a better job tomorrow, and hopefully we will."

Up Next

Saturday will be a rematch of Friday night, with the two teams battling one final time for the weekend. The match will begin at 12:00 PM MT, streamed live on ESPN+, and available to follow via Stat Broadcast. Those links can be found at nmstatesports.com.

For complete coverage of NM State Volleyball, follow us on Twitter (@NMStateVBall), Instagram (@NMStateVBall) and like us on Facebook (NM State Volleyball). You can also follow along with Aggie Volleyball via NMStateSports.com.

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