NM State topples Sun Belt Champions; sets sights on #14 Georgia Tech.
Source: NMSU Athletics (Photo by Matthew Knope: Courtesy)
Starting 1-0 is always ideal, but it’s even sweeter against a defending champion. NM State Volleyball opened its 2024 regular season with a resounding win over the defending Sun Belt Champion Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. NM State took down the 22-win squad that advanced to the NCAA Tournament a year ago, setting up a monumental Sunday matchup with No. 14 Georgia Tech.
Set-by-set: NM State wins 3-1 (25-16, 22-25, 25-17, 25-19)
FIRST SET
NM State got out to a hot start, opening its season with a block from Nicole Briggs and Yasso Amin. The Crimson & White quickly pulled ahead 7-3 thanks to three early Mari Sharp kills as the fifth-year Aggie finished the opening frame with four. Williams joined Sharp with four opening-set kills, including one to put NM State up 20-14 and stop a 4-1 Coastal Carolina run. The Aggies finished the set on a 5-1 run that was capped off with a Yasso Amin kill and a Coastal Carolina attack error.
SECOND SET
The Chanticleers answered in the second frame, taking the set 25-22. A 7-2 run for CCU put them ahead by five points early. The Aggies built momentum, clawing back to a 22-24 deficit that forced Coastal Carolina into a failed challenge and immediate timeout. However, an Aggie service error on the ensuing point ended the frame and set up a best-of-three with the two sides knotted at one.
THIRD SET
The third frame belonged to the tallest Aggie on the floor. After the two sides built a 10-10 draw, NM State peeled off an 8-0 run, kickstarted by a Starr Williams kill. Yasso Amin poured in two consecutive kills of her own, before Williams added a massive solo block to enter the media timeout up by five points. The redshirt junior came out of the timeout with another kill before a Chanticleer attack error. With a 7-0 run secured, the Aggies landed one final kill to effectively secure the set, thanks, of course, to none other than Starr Williams. The Ontario, Calif. native made herself at home on the east coast, posting five kills and a block in the third set, fittingly including the set-clinching kill at 25-17.
FOURTH SET
The Aggies closed out the Chanticleers while avoiding a fifth set, despite trailing 9-6 early on. Back-to-back Nicole Briggs kills and a Nellie Reese ace tied things back up, and the two teams remained within a point through 13-13. A 5-1 Aggie run ensued, thanks to three kills from three separate Aggies. The Crimson & White never relinquished the lead, and capped off a 25-19 set and match win with a kill from Yasso Amin.
FROM THE FLOOR
Head Coach Mike Jordan, on the win: “I was really happy with the way we attacked the ball today. We had a lot of people scoring at a good clip. We handled the ball well enough to give ourselves pretty good opportunities. Defensively, we can improve, especially at the block, but all in all, it was a pretty good performance. Of course, that’s a good opponent; they’re old, they won 20-plus matches last year and they’ll do it again this year.”
Redshirt junior outside hitter Starr Williams, on her mindset heading into the day: “I was feeling great. We’ve been practicing well, the setting has been good and I’ve been connecting with Nellie [Reese] pretty well. We’ve been doing that in practice a lot. My goals were no errors and to be aggressive. That worked out, so the main focus becomes blocking now. Other than that, the kills were there, so I’m pretty excited.”
Junior outside hitter Ashley Herman, on the win: “I feel like our defense was great today. We did a good job of getting the setters good balls to locate and the setters continued to locate them. That’s what gives us opportunities to score. Our energy was way up and that made it even more fun. The old group is meshing with the new players really well. We’re all very close and we were just excited to come back for the first match of the season.”
NUMBERS OF NOTE
- Ashley Herman set a career high with a .667 hitting percentage in the win, posting 12 kills with no errors on 18 attempts
- Starr Williams was perfect, tallying zero errors while putting up 14 kills on 25 swings (.560)
- Herman and Williams combined for 26 kills on 43 swings with zero errors (.604)
- Darian Markham led the way from the back row, as usual, posting 16 digs to pace both teams
- Five Aggies made their official NM State regular-season debut: Yasso Amin, Nicole Briggs, Makayla Martinez, Nellie Reeseand Claudia Rossi
- The two additions to the front row (Amin and Briggs) were as impressive as advertised, posting a combined 18 kills with a .400 hitting percentage.
- Nellie Reese was once again the first setter on the floor, earning her first official start, following up her 25-assist exhibition with exactly 25 more on Friday.
- Claudia Rossi made her Crimson & White debut, earning a large spot in the 6-2 rotation and tallying 23 assists.
- Last season, NM State was 17-1 when winning the second set, but just 4-9 when failing to do so.
- The Aggies hit .394 as a team; a mark they only surpassed three times in 2023
UP NEXT
The Aggies will stay in Atlanta for their second and final match of the Georgia Tech Invitational. NM State will take on the hosting Yellow Jackets in a bout with the No. 14 team in the nation on Sunday, Sept. 1 at 2:00 PM MT. The battle between the Aggies and Yellow Jackets will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra and available to follow via StatBroadcast.
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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