Three Aggies Garner All-CUSA Honors

Sharp, Williams and Markham earn league postseason honors.

Source: NMSU Athletics
Article and Photo By Matthew Knope for NMSU: Courtesy

DALLAS – Conference USA unveiled its 2024 Volleyball Postseason Awards on Wednesday, recognizing three Aggies. The league recognized Mari Sharp, Starr Williams and Darian Markham on the two, 11-member all-conference teams. Sharp and Williams each earned First-Team honors, while Darian Markham landed on the All-CUSA Second Team for the second consecutive season.

Sharp and Williams became the second and third Aggies to land on the league’s First Team, joining Ryleigh Whitekettle from a season ago. Sharp was named to the Second Team in 2023, alongside Kacia Brown and Darian Markham. The latter picked up the same honor as she did a year ago, making her and Sharp the only two Aggies to rack up two All-CUSA honors since NM State joined the league last summer.

#13 | Mari Sharp (Fifth), OH/RS – Albuquerque, N.M.

293 kills overall [second on team]
2.76 kills per set overall [second on team; 10th in CUSA]
192 kills in CUSA [second on team; ninth in CUSA]
3.10 kills per set in CUSA [second on team; eighth in CUSA]
261 digs overall (2.46 per set) [second on team]
158 digs in CUSA (2.55 per set) [second on team]
12 service aces [sixth on team]
33.0 blocks [sixth on team]
0.31 blocksper set [seventh on team]
Five solo blocks [tied for third on team]
25.0 blocks in CUSA [fifth on team]
0.40 blocks per set in CUSA [sixth on team]
Six double-doubles [leads team]
2024 All-CUSA Preseason Team selection
2023 All-CUSA Second Team selection

In her fifth year playing for the Crimson & White, Mari Sharp took another leap as the Aggies’ premier six-rotation star. Sharp led the team with six double-doubles, averaging 2.76 kills and 2.46 digs per set. She is one of just two Aggies averaging at least 1.00 per set in each metric, and is alone with over 2.00 per set of each. The 5-foot-9 outside hitter has appeared in every starting lineup this season, missing just two sets; both of which came in non-conference play. The Albuquerque native has seen action in 80 straight sets as she ranked second on the team in digs, digs per set, kills, kills per set and sets played. The La Cueva High School product’s best individual performance came against LA Tech when she posted 18 kills on a .333 hitting percentage in addition to eight digs and a block.

#28 | Starr Williams (R-Jr.), OH/RS – Ontario, Calif.

357 kills overall (3.31 per set) [leads team; sixth in CUSA]
203 kills in CUSA (3.15 per set) [leads team; sixth in CUSA]
.328 hitting percentage overall [leads team; fifth in CUSA]
.342 hitting percentage in CUSA [second on team; seventh in CUSA]
58.0 total blocks (34.0 in CUSA) [third on team]
One of two Aggies to appear in all 108 regular-season sets
Sept. 2 CUSA Offensive Player of the Week
2023 All-CUSA Tournament Team selection

All season, the Aggies’ first offensive option has been aptly-named Starr Williams. After making the CUSA All-Tournament Team in her first season, the redshirt junior has taken another leap, leading NM State in nearly every offensive category. The Ontario, Calif. native started every match and was one of two Aggies to appear in all 108 sets on the regular-season campaign.

Williams paces the Crimson & White in kills (357), kills per set (3.31) and hitting percentage (.328) while ranking second in total attempts (790). In CUSA matches, she still leads the pack with 203 kills and 3.15 kills per set, while ranking second with a .342 clip. Williams also took a step up in league matches, averaging 0.55 blocks per set.

This past weekend, Williams was electric in the series finale at Middle Tennessee. The redshirt junior tallied 26 kills on 48 swings for a .396 clip to go with two digs and an assist in a crucial five-set victory to wrap up the regular season. Her 26 kills and 48 attempts were each career highs.

#1 | Darian Markham (Fifth), Libero – McKinney, Texas

422 digs overall [leads team; sixth in CUSA; 94^th in the nation]

4.02 digs per set overall [leads team; fifth in CUSA; 131^st in the nation]
236 digs in CUSA (3.81 per set) [leads team; seventh in CUSA]
0.18 aces per set in CUSA [fifth on team]
1.19 assists per set in CUSA [fourth on team]
Broke all-time NM State record for career digs this season
Became first member of 2,000-dig club at NM State on Nov. 9 against Jax State
2024 All-CUSA Preseason Team selection
2023 CUSA Libero of the Year
2023 All-CUSA Second Team selection

The reigning Conference USA Libero of the Year led the way for the Crimson & White once again as Darian Markham excelled from the back row. In CUSA play, she led NM State in digs (236) and digs per set (3.81), while finishing as one of three Aggies with more than one assist per set (1.19). This season, Markham broke the all-time program record for digs in a career and has since become the first member of the 2,000-dig club at NM State. She already holds three of the 10 best seasons in program history in terms of digs per set, sitting just 45 digs away from a second season on the top-10 list for total digs in a season. She recently became the first Aggie in five seasons to amass over 100 service aces, with 17 coming thus far in 2024. Her best performance of the season came when she put up 31 digs and six assists at Sacramento State.

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.

2024 CUSA Volleyball Superlative Awards
Player of the Year: Kaylee Cox, WKU
Defensive Player of the Year: Kaya Weaver, UTEP
Libero of the Year: Hannah Baker, Sam Houston
Setter of the Year: Callie Bauer, WKU
Freshman of the Year: Andi Spies, MTSU
Coach of the Year: Travis Hudson, WKU

All-CUSA First Team:
Manu Johnsen, Kennesaw State
Kate Gammer, Liberty
Adri Rhoda, MTSU
Mari Sharp, NM State
Starr Williams, NM State
Ema Uskokovic, UTEP
Kaya Weaver, UTEP
Callie Bauer, WKU
Kenadee Coyle, WKU
Kaylee Cox, WKU
Izzy Van De Wiele, WKU

All-CUSA Second Team:
Kayla Williams, Jax State
Madison Blane, Liberty
Kiera Booth, MTSU
Laure Jansen, MTSU
Andi Spies, MTSU
Darian Markham, NM State
Hannah Baker, Sam Houston
Kalia Kohler, UTEP
Torrance Lovesee, UTEP
Danika Washington, UTEP
Alivia Skidmore, WKU

CUSA All-Freshman Team:
Jillian Huckabey, FIU
Rori Gray, LA Tech
Emma Nilson, MTSU
Andi Spies, MTSU
Landry Braziel, UTEP
Lauren Perry, UTEP
Alivia Skidmore, WKU
Faith Young, WKU

Sharp, Williams and Markham will lead the Aggies into the postseason this weekend from Memorial Gym in El Paso, Texas. UTEP will host all seven matches of the 2024 CUSA Volleyball Championship with all the action streamed live on ESPN+. Every NM State match will be available on nmstatestats.com, with the remainder on UTEP’s SIDEARM page.

The No. 3-seed Aggies will enter the tournament with a bout against sixth-seeded Sam Houston on Friday at approximately 7:00 PM MT. Last season, in Lynchburg, Va., the second-place Crimson & White extended their winning streak to eight matches and advanced to Sunday’s championship match, falling short at the hands of Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers are the top seed once again in 2024 after claiming their sixth straight regular-season league title.

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Levi Gwaltney

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