NM State travels to El Paso as trip to NCAA Tournament hangs in the balance.
Source: NMSU Athletics
Article and Photo By Matthew Knope for NMSU: Courtesy
EL PASO, TEXAS – The postseason has arrived for NM State Volleyball. The Aggies don’t have to travel far for this year’s Conference USA Championship as UTEP will host all seven matches across three days. For Head Coach Mike Jordan‘s squad, the action begins on Friday at approximately 7:00 PM with a battle against Sam Houston. The Aggies look to advance to the CUSA Championship match for the second straight season and secure an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Who: [6] Sam Houston (13-16, 8-10 CUSA) vs. [3] NM State (17-13, 11-7 CUSA)
Where: Memorial Gym – El Paso, Texas
When: Friday, Nov. 22 (approx. 7:00 PM MT)
What: CUSA Championship (Friday, Nov. 22-Sunday, Nov. 24)
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Statistics: nmstatestats.com/SIDEARM (UTEP)
All-Time Record vs. Sam Houston: 6-3
Last Meeting: NM State 0 at Sam Houston 3 – Oct. 13, 2024
QUICK HITS
– Three Aggies were named to All-CUSA teams on Wednesday (Sharp, Williams and Markham).
– Sharp and Williams were each named to the First Team, with Markham on the Second Team.
– Sam Houston and NM State met in Huntsville, Texas earlier this season, splitting the series.
– NM State has played 17 series against CUSA opponents; including at least one against each league member, with a 21-11 record.
– The Aggies hold a 9-8 record in series openers, but are 13-4 in finales spanning their two years in the league.
– The Crimson & White bucked the trend earlier this season when they took the series opener against the Bearkats on the road.
– Makayla Martinez has recorded 20 service aces over the past 10 matches (0.61 per set), taking the team lead at 28 this season.
– Reese leads the Aggies in assists (607), assists per set (5.62) and is second on the team in service aces (23) this season.
– Nicole Briggs paces all Aggies with 0.90 blocks per set and has been involved in 39.8% of all Aggie blocks this season (86/216).
– Last month, Kacia Brown was named CUSA Defensive Player of the Week, earning the award on Monday, Oct. 21.
– On Oct. 7, Nellie Reese became the first Aggie to ever be named CUSA Setter of the Week.
– Yasso Amin was named Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week on Monday, Sept. 16.
– Starr Williams was named Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week on Monday, Sept. 2.
LAST TIME OUT
The Aggies visited Middle Tennessee last weekend as they wrapped up the 51st regular season in program history. NM State fell in a sweep on Friday, but responded in a thriller on Saturday. The visitors eventually came out on top in a match that saw 28 ties, 11 lead changes, three sets decided by two points, two sets extend past regulation and nearly three hours of action.
Starr Williams was remarkable, landing a career-high 26 kills on her career-high 48 attempts. Kacia Brown’s efficient 17 kills (.571) were supplemented by seven blocks (tied season high), three aces (tied season high) and four digs. The setting duo of Nellie Reese (35) and Rilen Garcia (27) each established 2024 bests in assists as the team hit .315. The five-set victory granted the Aggies the No. 3 seed in this weekend’s CUSA Championship, keeping them ahead of both MTSU and Kennesaw State.
THIS YEAR’S MATCHUP SUMMARY
On Oct. 12-13, NM State visited Sam Houston for the final pair of six matches in a 10-day span. The Aggies took down the Bearkats in four sets in the opener behind 16 kills from Starr Williamsand 21 digs from Starr Williams. The home team responded with a sweep on Sunday to earn a split. The Crimson & White tallied 17 blocks in what was their highest team total across a CUSA regular-season series this season.
THE BEST TWO DO IT
Brenda Gray and Mike Jordan are two living legends for their respective programs. For Gray, she’s been in Huntsville for 41 seasons, amassing 776 wins and two trips to the NCAA Tournament. Jordan is in his 27th campaign as head of the Aggies, racking up 582 victories, 10 Coach of the Year awards and 11 NCAA Tournament appearances. Gray and Jordan rank sixth and 18th among all Division I active coaches, respectively.
SCOUTING THE BEARKATS
Brenda Gray is in her 41st year at the helm, holding a 776-589 record in her time at Sam Houston. This season, the program has won 13 of 29 matches, winning half of its four neutral matches on the campaign. With a record of 8-10, the Bearkats finished with the sixth-best record in the league. Last time out, Sam Houston visited FIU as the Panthers took all six sets for a pair of sweeps in Miami.
Earlier this week, Hannah Baker joined NM State’s own Darian Markham on the All-CUSA Second Team. Like Markham in 2023, Baker earned the league’s Libero of the Year award, setting up a clash between two of the best defenders in Conference USA.
A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
Earlier this week, Conference USA recognized stellar volleyball athletes with the unveiling of its all-conference teams. Three Aggies earned individual postseason honors; Mari Sharp, Starr Williams and Darian Markham. Sharp and Williams excelled as outside hitters all season en route to becoming First-Team selections. Markham rounded out the headlines for the Aggies with her second consecutive selection to the All-CUSA Second Team.
This season, the trio combined of Sharp, Williams and Markham combined for 656 kills, 1,701 attempts, 733 digs, 91 blocks and a grand total of 735 points. The three stars accounted for 46.0% of all kills, 45.8% of attempts, 46.4% of digs, 42.1% of blocks and 45.5% of all points for NM State this season.
THE MARK OF A CHAMPION
Darian Markham is currently 133rd in the nation with an average of 4.02 digs per set this season. In October, the star libero passed Krystal Torres for first place on the all-time NM State dig list, when she recorded her 1,943rd of her career. On Senior Day, the McKinney, Texas native became the first Aggie to surpass 2,000 career digs. The two-time WAC Champion has been named CUSA Defensive Player of the Week twice and was the CUSA Libero of the Year in 2023.
WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?
After making the All-CUSA Second Team a year ago, Kacia Brown racked up some more hardware last month. The redshirt senior middle blocker was named CUSA Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, Oct. 21. Brown became the first Aggie to win the award this season and joined Darian Markham (twice in 2023) as the only members to ever earn the honor for NM State in CUSA.
Since NM State’s match versus Incarnate Word on Sept. 21 (19 matches), Brown has amassed 112 kills (5.89 per match), 59 blocks, 10 solo blocks, 53 digs and 17 aces. The redshirt senior has now earned 18 consecutive starts entering the weekend and has surpasssed Nicole Briggs for the team-lead in solo blocks on the season (12). Over this span, she leads her squad with an impressive .391 hitting percentage and 0.89 blocks per set.
GOT FIVE ON IT
Makayla Martinez recorded the first seven starts of her young career over the past 10 matches, including four in a row. Across the five series, the true freshman posted 77 digs and a team-high 20 service aces (0.61 per set). In 2024, she now ranks fourth on the team with 149 digs and third with 1.71 digs per set. In CUSA play, she paces all Aggies with 21 aces and 0.45 per set. During that span, the Cibola High School product sits third on the team posting 2.02 digs per set.
STARR POWER
All season, the Aggies’ first offensive option has been aptly-named Starr Williams. The redshirt junior has taken another leap, leading NM State in nearly every offensive category. The Ontario, Calif. native has started every match and is one of two Aggies to appear in all 100 sets this campaign, alongside Nellie Reese. Williams paces the Crimson & White in kills (357), kills per set (3.31) and hitting percentage (.328) while ranking second in total attempts (790).
The duo of Reese and Williams has appeared together in all but one starting lineup this season (29 of 30). The former leads the team in assists (607) and assists per set (5.62), while ranking second on the team to Makayla Martinez with 23 aces. Each have won CUSA Weekly Awards – Reese, Setter of the Week (Oct. 7); Williams, Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 2).
GIVING IT 200 PERCENT
The Aggies are third among CUSA institutions in hitting percentage (.246), behind only WKU and UTEP. NM State is 17-3 this season when posting a team mark above .200, but 0-10 when hitting .199 or worse. Additionally, when opponents hit below .200, NM State is 14-1 this season, but have just three wins in 15 tries when opponents post at least a .200 mark.
When out-hitting their opponents, the Aggies are 17-1 this season. Conversely, the Crimson & White have yet to win a match in which their opponents have a higher hitting percentage (0-12).
EARNING HARDWARE
Kacia Brown’s Defensive Player of the Week award last month made her the fourth Aggie to earn league weekly honors this season. On Oct. 7, Nellie Reese became the first Aggie to ever win a conference setter of the week award after tallying a highly efficient 57 assists versus LA Tech. NM State also claimed two of the season’s first three Offensive Player of the Week Awards. Starr Williams picked up league recognition after the first week of the campaign, when she put up 30 kills on a staggering .560 hitting percentage versus two 2023 NCAA Tournament representatives. Yasso Amin followed suit with an exceptional Borderland Invitational, posting 37 kills on a .388 hitting percentage to win her first CUSA Weekly Award on Sept. 16.
TAKING NOTICE
Conference USA unveiled its 2024 volleyball preseason awards on Thursday, Aug. 22, which included both a head coaches’ poll and a 13-member All-CUSA Preseason Team. The Aggies received two first-place votes en route to finishing second in the poll, behind five-time defending regular-season champion Western Kentucky. Four Aggies (Yasso Amin, Darian Markham, Mari Sharp and Ryleigh Whitekettle) were named to the preseason team, giving NM State the most representatives in the 10-member league.
LEGENDS ON THE BENCH
Entering 2024, Mike Jordan already amassed 565 wins, 12 regular-season conference titles and seven conference tournament championships. Before the season, Jordan added two of his greatest former players to his coaching staff. In February, Operations Director Tatyana Battle was elevated to assistant coach. In July, Jordan brought Lia Mosher back to Las Cruces after playing last season professionally overseas. Battle and Mosher played a combined 10 seasons for the Crimson & White, including two as teammates (2017-18). The duo combined for a 97-17 (.851) WAC record, six regular-season titles and three trips to the NCAA Tournament. Battle and Mosher tallied 262 matches played, 2,154 kills, 1,145 digs and 617 blocks.
FIFTH-YEAR AGGIES
Darian Markham and Mari Sharp each came to Las Cruces in the fall of 2020, making their Aggie debut in Spring 2021. Each have won multiple individual awards and a pair of WAC titles, and both are in their fifth season with the Crimson & White in 2024. Both Markham and Sharp were named to the All-CUSA Preseason Team in August after a 2023 campaign in which they were named CUSA Libero of the Year and All-CUSA Second Team selection, respectively.
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