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Aggies, Oh Aggies!
Mari Kill Post UTEP
2
UTEP UTEP 11-6,3-3 CUSA
3
Winner New Mexico St. NMSU 12-5,5-1 CUSA
UTEP UTEP
11-6,3-3 CUSA
2
Final
3
New Mexico St. NMSU
12-5,5-1 CUSA
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
UTEP UTEP 27 22 25 25 12 (2)
New Mexico St. NMSU 29 25 18 18 15 (3)

Game Recap: Volleyball | | NM State Athletics Media Relations

Career Night From Sharp Leads NM State to Win Over UTEP

Mari Sharp shines as Aggies avenge Tuesday's loss in five-set nail-biter.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – When the lights get brightest, coaches turn to the players they can trust. In a tense five-set match against their rivals from UTEP, Mike Jordan and the Aggies turned to senior outside hitter Mari Sharp. The Albuquerque native came up with a career-high 19 kills, along with eight digs, four blocks and a service ace. The Aggies took the match in the fifth set, moving to 5-1 in conference play and 12-5 overall. The Miners fell to 11-6 and 3-3 in Conference USA. 

Set-by-set: NM State wins 3-2 (29-27, 25-22, 18-25, 18-25, 15-12)

 

The first frame set the tone for the rest of the evening. The two teams exchanged leads seven times and were tied on 16 different occasions. Sharp came away with five kills and a service ace, and added two blocks (one solo). The rest of the team hit just .048 in the frame, and had just six kills. Darian Markham locked down the defense, hauling in six of her 17 digs by the first set break. 

 

The second set streak magically survived on Wednesday. The Aggies are now 12-0 in matches when winning the second set. They remain winless in the five occurrences of losing the set. Thanks in large part to Ryleigh Whitekettle, the Aggies claimed the all-important set. Whitekettle had an impressive five kills on just six attempts in the second, adding one of her two blocks on the night. After arriving at set point, Bianca Perez earned one of her 11 second-set assists, dialing up Starr Williams for a kill to close things out 25-22. Perez would finish the night with 38 assists, the second best mark of her career (40, vs. San Francisco).

 

The third and fourth sets each went UTEP's way by a score of 25-18. The Miners had four timely service aces in the third set. An Aggie block cut the lead to 17-14, before Kaya Weaver led a 3-0 run to largely put the set away. Weaver continued her hot streak from the night prior, and had a kill and an ace in the stretch that put UTEP ahead 20-14.

 

The fourth set got away from the Aggies quickly after a 4-4 tie. The Miners were soon ahead 11-5, and never looked back. The set never came within five points after that, and UTEP swiftly forced a decisive fifth frame. 

 

NM State played their third five-set match of the season, with all of them coming at home. Tonight moved the team's record to 3-0 in matches that go the distance. The set was back-and-forth, and a UTEP kill cut the Aggie lead to 12-11. Mari Sharp then had one of the most clutch moments of her career. She landed a kill to regain serve, and immediately followed it up with her third and final block solo. The Pan American Center let her hear their support as the electrifying block sent things to match point. Two points later, the match concluded with yet another kill from Sharp in an incredibly fitting finale. 

 

From The Floor

  • Head Coach Mike Jordan, on the win: "I'm proud of the effort, for the most part. We still need to be more consistent. I think we had some people step up in big moments; certainly in set five and set two. We need to do a better job of playing from behind, and we need people to mentally be in the moment. Any time you beat a really good team 24 hours after losing to them, that's really good."

 

  • Head Coach Mike Jordan, on what went better on Wednesday: "The setting was a little bit better. We went into the 5-1 more, and I think that helped certainly in stretches. I think defensively we were pretty good. We gave ourselves better transition opportunities with the smalls; Bella (Castro) and Morgan (Stewart) coming on the floor." 

   

  • Senior outside hitter Mari Sharp, on the significance of the rivalry win, and her career performance: "19 (kills) sounds like improvement! I've been waiting for that, so I'm happy with it. The win means a lot to me. Even though we split, I'm still so proud of my team, and I'm so proud of myself. I've worked so long for this, and it felt amazing. It feels really amazing."

 

  • Sophomore setter Bianca Perez, on her 38-assist performance: "I don't know how to feel, because it's what we're put out there to do. We're setters, and when we go into that 5-1 or whatever rotation we're in, we have a job to just get the ball to them. Being the setter, you have to just embrace every part of that position. Tonight was actually a big turnaround from last night. We did not have a very efficient offense (on Tuesday) and our sets were all over the place. I think (the difference) is just remembering to put our team first. We're there to give the hitters the ball. We're there to make sure they're in a position to get kills."

 

Up Next

The Aggies face a short turnaround following their midweek matchups with UTEP. They will travel to Lynchburg, Va. for a pair of matches with Liberty on Friday Oct. 7 and Saturday Oct. 8. The matches will be streamed live on ESPN+. 

 

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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