The New Mexico State Volleyball squad looked to kick off WAC play this weekend after being on the road for eight of their last 10 games. Hoping to secure their fourth-straight conference title, the Aggies came up short yesterday afternoon as they’ll start off 0-1 in conference play. Three-straight game losses to UT Rio Grande Valley in close sets proved lethal beginning their conference debut on rocky ground.

Despite the series loss some of the NM State players still posted their regular impressive stats. Molly Johnson posted nine kills, and Jayde Shelton recorded another five to bring her season total to 31, tying her season high. Molly Johnson also was the top defender of the Aggies when she recorded six digs, only behind Libero Darian Markham who posted 12 to bring her season total to 181.

The first set started off with back-and-forth scores leading to a 11-11 tie. The Vaqueros scored three points in a row to fall down 11-14. Lia Mosher would try to spark a comeback after back-to-back points from the Aggies, but ultimately the Vaqueros would win the set 25-19.

In the second set the Aggies would quickly fall behind 0-6 which would ultimately prove too much for the Aggies. Despite their best effort they would not be able to climb back from the deficit as the Aggies would drop the second set with the same score as the previous as they fell 25-19.

The third set proved to be a back and forth as it remained tied 6-6. UTRGV would go on a run and score 4 straight to make it 10-6. But a kill from Anji Vishwanathan which would be the first of her career, would spark a three point swing for the Aggies to bring them within one point. UTRGV would then score seven of the next nine points to take the lead at 17-11. Ultimately NM State yet again couldn’t get the job done as they fell 25-22, which would be the Vaqueros first win in the Pan American Center since 2018.

This usually dominate Aggie team will look to correct the ship in conference play as they look to play California Baptist for the second game of their four-match home set, with the first serve at 1 p.m. on Saturday Sept. 24th.