Week in Lone Star State Rolls on in Huntsville

Sam Houston welcomes NM State for Saturday and Sunday affairs.

Source: NMSU Athletics
Story and Photo by Matthew Knope for NMSU (Courtesy)

With two trips to Texas already behind them this week, the Aggies will head further east for a weekend in Huntsville. NM State (9-9, 3-3) is gearing up for a two-part clash with winners of five of their last seven matches; the Bearkats of Sam Houston. The Crimson & White fell short at UTEP on Tuesday and Wednesday and have their sights set on pulling back above .500. Last season, NM State took both matches over Sam Houston in five sets last year during the Aggies’ final homestand of 2023.

HOW TO FOLLOW
Who: NM State (9-9, 3-1 CUSA) at Sam Houston (9-8, 4-2 CUSA)
Where: Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum – Huntsville, Texas
When: Saturday, Oct. 12 (1:00 PM CT) / Sunday, Oct. 13 (1:00 PM CT)
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Statistics: nmstatestats.com
All-Time Record vs. Sam Houston: 5-2
Last Meeting: Sam Houston 2 at NM State 3 – Nov. 4, 2023

QUICK HITS
– NM State has now played 11 series against CUSA opponents; including at least one against each league member, with a 14-8 record
– The Aggies hold a 5-6 record in series openers, but are 9-2 in finales spanning their two years in the league
– Nellie Reese is the reigning CUSA Setter of the Week, earning the honor on Monday, Oct. 7
– Reese leads the Aggies in assists (401), assists per set (5.90) and service aces (12) on the season
– 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
– Darian Markham is currently 112th in the nation with an average of 4.08 digs per set
– Markham is also 62 digs away from breaking the all-time NM State record for career digs (Krystal Torres: 1,942)
– Nicole Briggs leads all Aggies with 0.89 blocks per set and has been involved in 45.9% of all Aggie blocks this season (56/122)

LAST TIME OUT
Earlier this week, NM State embarked on the battle of I-10, taking on UTEP for the 94^th and 95^th times in program history. The Miners came out on top in both meetings, improving their winning streak to nine. For the sixth time this season, NM State pulled back to .500, also landing at 3-3 in conference play. With the loss, the Aggies fell to fifth in the league standings with 12 matches left in the regular season.

DECADES OF SUCCESS
Mike Jordan has been at the helm for NM State since 1998 and is in his 27^th season. Despite nearly three decades and 574 wins on the Aggie bench, Brenda Gray has surpassed Jordan in both metrics. The leader of the Bearkats has been in Huntsville since 1984 and has racked up 772 wins across 1,353 contests. Between this weekend’s two head coaches, the duo has combined for 1,346 wins, 13 trips to the NCAA Tournament and 13 conference Coach of the Year awards.

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?
After making the All-CUSA Second Team a year ago, Kacia Brown is once again emerging as a leader on the Aggies’ front row. Since NM State’s match versus Incarnate Word on Sept. 21 (seven matches), Brown has amassed 49 kills, 17 blocks, six solo blocks, 23 digs and six aces. The redshirt senior has now earned six consecutive starts entering the weekend and has taken the team-lead in solo blocks on the season (8). Over this span, she easily leads her squad with a remarkable .473 hitting percentage.

GIVING IT 200 PERCENT
The Aggies are third among CUSA institutions in hitting percentage (.231), behind only WKU and UTEP. NM State is 9-1 this season when posting a team mark above .200, but 0-8 when hitting .199 or worse. Additionally, when opponents hit below .200, NM State is 7-0 this season, but have just two wins in 11 tries when opponents post at least a .200 mark.

When out-hitting their opponents, the Aggies are 9-1 this season. Conversely, the Crimson & White have yet to win a match in which their opponents have a higher hitting percentage (0-8).

EARNING HARDWARE
Earlier this week, Nellie Reese became the third Aggie to win a CUSA Weekly Award in 2024. 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. Reese became the first Aggie to ever win a conference setter of the week award.

FEELIN’ 22
After three seasons with Arizona, Nicole Briggs transferred to NM State in the summer of 2024. The Chino, Calif. native joined Mike Jordan‘s squad after playing 54 matches, including all 31 last season, for the Wildcats. Briggs quickly made her mark for the Aggies, setting three career highs during a win over CSUN in the fifth match of the season. Briggs has already set new single-match bests in kills (8), total blocks (12), block assists (10), points (14), total attempts (19) and tied career highs in digs (2) and solo blocks (2). Entering the weekend, she leads the Aggies with 50 block assists, 56 total blocks and 0.89 blocks per set.

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. With Gregg Whitis already back for his fourth year as an assistant, 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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Article posted by:

Levi Gwaltney

Levi Gwaltney is the Editor In Chief of Las Cruces Digest. The Editor makes editorial and posting decisions regarding content published on this site. In most cases, the Editor makes little if any contribution to content published, and takes no credit for the content of republished posts. If available, the source or author of posts is provided at the top of the article.