Veteran Head Coach Mike Jordan brings in nine new Aggies.
Source: NMSU Athletics (Photo & Story by Matthew Knope)
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The NM State Volleyball program successfully reloaded over the 2023-24 offseason. Twenty-seventh year Head Coach Mike Jordan scoured the country for nine key additions to build on a strong 2023 campaign. Four true freshmen and five transfer student-athletes will don the Crimson & White in 2024, joining an Aggie squad that is almost entirely the same as last year’s edition.
Three incoming transfers were announced after the conclusion of last season. In late December, it was revealed that 2023 CUSA First-Team selection Yasso Amin would join the program ahead of the Fall 2024 semester for her final season. Additionally, setters Claudia Rossi and Nellie Reese joined the Aggies for Spring 2024 action from Texas Tech and Montana State, respectively. Recently, Jordan added two Arizona transfers in Nicole Briggs and Tess Fuqua. The incoming true freshman class consists of Mia Fox, Jacqueline Corcoran, Makayla Martinez and Mia Abalos.
Nellie Reese | Jr. | Setter | 5-10 | Montana State (2022-23) | Lake City HS | Hayden, Idaho
After two seasons at Montana State, Nellie Reese made her way to Las Cruces ahead of 2024. The setter spent the spring with the program, participating in practices and spring matches. The Hayden, Idaho native produced 188 assists for MSU, including 170 as part of a 6-2 offense in 2022. Her 5.48 assists per set landed her just outside the top 10 among all Big Sky members for the season.
Claudia Rossi | R-Fr. | Setter | 5-8 | Texas Tech (2023) | Eaglecrest HS | Denver, Colo.
After redshirting at Texas Tech during the Fall 2023 semester, Claudia Rossi transferred to NM State ahead of the Spring 2024 semester. The Denver native joined Nellie Reese as incoming setters that debuted for the Crimson & White in spring practices and matches. In high school, Rossi earned Honorable Mention All-State her senior season when she tallied 388 assists, 132 kills, a .276 hitting clip, 125 digs and 21 aces.
Yasso Amin | Gr. | RS | 6-1 | FIU (2022-23), UTEP (2021), Florida SW State (2019-20) | Future 18 HS | Cairo, Egypt
Yasso Amin will throw on the Crimson & White in 2024 after her most recent two-year stop at FIU. The sixth-year outside hitter joins the program with one year of collegiate eligibility remaining, as she will look to build on a stellar 2023 campaign. The Cairo, Egypt native earned a spot on Conference USA’s First Team in November after leading the Panthers in service aces and finishing with an impressive .265 hitting percentage.
Amin is very familiar with CUSA, as she is entering her fourth season and third team in the conference. While she did miss 2022 due to injury, she has already played in 51 matches, racking up 438 kills on a .259 hitting percentage in her two seasons of CUSA action. Last year, her 43 aces led the team, while 0.47 aces per set ranked second in the conference.
Nicole Briggs | Sr. | MB | 6-2 | Arizona (2021-23) | Don Antonio Lugo HS | Chino, Calif.
After three years at Arizona, Nicole Briggs joins the Crimson & White for the Fall 2024 campaign. As a 6-foot-2-inch middle blocker, she played in and started 31 matches last season. Briggs appeared in 107 sets and led all Wildcats with 82.0 blocks, including 9.0 at Utah on Oct. 22.
As a junior, she ranked among the top five on the team in matches played (31), matches started (31), total points (141.0), points per set (1.32), kills (97), total attempts (248), hitting percentage (.226), solo blocks (six), block assists (led team with 76) and blocks per set (led team with 0.76).
Tess Fuqua | R-Fr. | OH | 6-0 | Arizona (2023) | Centennial HS | Las Cruces, N.M.
Tess Fuqua joins the Aggies with four years of eligibility remaining after redshirting at Arizona in the Fall 2023 semester. The outside hitter returns to her hometown after attending Centennial High School, and will now be reunited with high school teammate Bella Castro, who also graduated from Centennial in 2022-23. Additionally, Fuqua will stay alongside Nicole Briggs, after the two shared spots on the 2023 Wildcat roster.
Fuqua was a two-time New Mexico Gatorade Player of the Year and a two-time First Team All-State performer. The Las Cruces native, in tandem with now-fellow Aggie Bella Castro, highlighted the 2020-21 New Mexico 5A State Championship roster for the Hawks.
Mia Fox | Fr. | MB | 6-2 | Circle HS | Augusta, Kan.
After signing a National Letter of Intent in March, Mia Fox will join Mike Jordan‘s roster for the Fall 2024 semester as a true freshman. The Kansas product excelled in high school, posting 302 kills and a staggering team-high .449 hitting percentage in her 2023 senior campaign. The lone member of the 2024 class to sign an NLI was remarkably efficient with her swings, notching kills on 58.4% of attacks.
On the block, Fox’s numbers led her team by a healthy margin. As a senior, the middle blocker posted 70 total blocks, including 11 of the solo variety. Her 1.8 blocks per match and 0.8 blocks per set each paced the team.
Jacqueline Corcoran | Fr. | OH | 5-10 | Circle HS | Wichita, Kan.
Alongside Mia Fox was fellow Circle High School teammate Jacqueline Corcoran. During her senior season, the Wichita native led the Thunderbirds in kills (364), kills per set (4.09), digs (307), digs per set (3.45) and service receptions (525).
In her final three years on varsity, Corcoran tallied 1,185 kills and 908 digs, hitting over .300 each of the past two seasons. For her career, she has never posted fewer than 4.1 kills per set.
Makayla Martinez | Fr. | Libero/DS | 5-5 | Cibola HS | Albuquerque, N.M.
Coming to Las Cruces from north along I-25 is Makayla Martinez out of Cibola High School. As a four-year varsity member, the libero racked up 1,623 career digs, including 5.9 per set in each of her final two seasons. Her junior season (2022), Martinez averaged a career high 21.2 digs per match.
Additionally, Martinez was exceptional at the serve, averaging 0.7 service aces per set for her career as she racked up 188 aces across less than 300 sets played. Her production was instrumental in leading the Cougars to back-to-back semi-final berths in the New Mexico 5A State Playoffs, and a 2023 Championship Game berth.
Mia Abalos | Fr. | DS/S | 5-9 | Safford HS | Safford, Ariz.
Doing a little bit of everything, Mia Abalos brings a diverse skill set into collegiate play. In three seasons with Safford High School, she tallied 654 kills, 529 digs, 604 assists, 143 assists, 60 total blocks, 352 serve receptions. Her senior year alone, Abalos hit .244 to amass 366 kills (3.4 per set), 362 assists (3.4 per set), 297 digs (2.8 per set), 95 aces, 203 receptions and 42 blocks.
A staggering 21.1% of Abalos’ serves were aces in 2023, as her 95 aces ranked fifth among all Arizona seniors and accounted for nearly a third of her 289 points in her senior campaign. Mia is the younger sister of former Aggie Jordan Abalos, who played four seasons under Mike Jordan from 2014-17.
Who They Join
NM State went 21-10 a year ago, advancing to the CUSA Championship Game. The Aggies fell to conference undefeated, top-seeded Western Kentucky, which later moved on to the NCAA Tournament Round of 32. The Crimson & White returned 16 members from the 2023 roster, including 88.88% (16 of 18) of members who saw action last season. The roster is loaded with experience from top to bottom, returning 97.66% of its points and boasting all 13 Aggies who started at least one match a season ago. NM State now holds five 2023 All-CUSA Team members (Amin, Brown, Lightheart, Sharp, Whitekettle) and the Libero of the Year (Markham), not including last year’s CUSA All-Freshman Team member Maggie Lightheart.
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