Ruston, La. - New Mexico State quickly took care of business in their first-ever Conference USA road match. The Aggies swept Louisiana Tech on Friday in the first half of a two-match weekend. NM State is now 3-0 to start their first season in CUSA, and is 10-4 overall. LA Tech has now lost five in a row, and has been swept in all five. The Bulldogs are 5-10 overall and 0-3 since conference play began.

Set-by-set: NM State wins 3-0 (25-16, 25-11, 25-22)

The first set belonged to Mari Sharp, who had six kills and five digs. Sharp took command early on in the night, and eventually collected 10 kills and 10 digs, finishing with her second double-double of the season. Fellow senior Darian Markham joined Sharp with five digs and an assist of her own in the frame that ended 25-16 in favor of the road team. 

Starr Williams kept the momentum rolling for the Aggies early on in the second set. Williams earned a kill on three consecutive points as part of a scorching 15-5 start. The set ended up being the best of 2023 so far, with NM State taking it 25-11. Five Aggies had at least five kills after the first two sets; Brown, Herman, Sharp, Whitekettle and Williams. 

The third set got out to a much rockier start for the Aggies, who found themselves in a timeout facing an 11-6 deficit after a pair of Bulldog aces. Instead of a productive response, it was mostly Bulldog errors that got NM State back in the set. LA Tech finished with 26 attack errors on the night, and had a collective hitting percentage of -0.087, by far the worst mark of any opponent this season. After going down 22-19, the Aggies closed out the match with six straight points, capped off by a Maggie Lightheart ace.


Notable Stats

• Maggie Lightheart recorded her first career kill, and won the match's final point with a service ace.

• The Aggies have won two consecutive matches with a service ace on the final point. 

• Ashley Herman set three new career highs on the night. Her two solo blocks, four total blocks, and six digs all are the best ever for the sophomore outside hitter. 

• While Ashley Herman did not break this career high (nine), her eight kills on just 18 swings (.272) continued her recent hot streak.

• LA Tech only collected 17 kills as a team, which is the new low for any Aggie opponent this season. 

• LA Tech is the only opponent to have a hitting percentage below .000 this season, hitting -0.087 in the loss.

• NM State (.243) hit .330 higher than LA Tech, which is the second largest margin of the season (.360 at Illinois State)

From the Floor

Head Coach Mike Jordan, on senior Mari Sharp: "Mariana Sharp is one of three people on our team who have all of the following things that teams need to be successful: investment in the team, skill and experience. The fact that she's a great athlete is the cherry on top. I went out on a limb four years ago and signed her, and now I love her. I root for her to be a champion and go to the NCAA Tournament like so many great players here before her."

Mike Jordan, on the team's performance: "We were really good for two games, but sloppy and not ready to play in the third. I'd be really happy if people stopped making the same mistakes over and over again and raised the standard."

Up Next
NM State is set to return to the Thomas Assembly Center on Saturday for the second and final match of the weekend. The Aggies will look to start the CUSA campaign 4-0 at 1:00 PM MT, scheduled for ESPN+.

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