The Aggie volleyball team is preparing for a home and away series against in-state rivals UNM Lobos starting today. The team has given themselves a clean slate, getting back to .500 after competing in Georgia, California, and finally at home for several in-season tournaments. Coming into the Borderland Invitational, the Aggies poor form left them with only one win from their last four matches before their slate of Texas Southern, Abilene Christian, and Arizona. Even though the team struggled in form, the constant throughout was the striking trio of outside hitter Mari Sharp, right side Yasso Amin, and outside hitter Starr Williams, shredding through opposing defenses one kill at a time.
First up was Texas Southern, giving the Pan American Center its first volleyball action of the year with the Aggies unofficial home debut. The first set started with what would be a dominant Friday for the team —14 kills, with reliable strikers Williams and Amin smashing a combined 5 of 18 kills during the match. Williams and Amin even played their part on defense, assisting in 2 of 3 assisted blocks.
This continued for the next two sets and as the Aggies continued to sweep Texas Southern, with outside hitter Ashley Herman pitching in 8 kills of her own, and outside hitter Maggie Lightheart and middle blocker Mia Fox contributing 1 solo block each. This got the Aggies back to .500 at 3-3 and gave the team momentum that continued into the next match against Abilene Christian.
The star trio of Amin, Williams, and Sharp struck again, shredding the Wildcat defense for 34 kills, reinforced by ace serves from Sharp, setter Nellie Reese, libero Darian Markham, and defensive specialist Makayla Martinez. This match was intense for the Aggies, with sets two and three going point-for-point with each other, with a successful challenge by Abilene Christian giving the team an extra boost of energy.
However, it wasn’t enough after a Herman kill gave the Aggies a two-set advantage. The third set was another close one, with the added stress of two failed challenges for touches from head coach Mike Jordan, something he didn’t seem too bothered by after the match.
“You know the challenge system is a pretty cool system, I think it allows the officiating crew to get it right more often than not,” Jordan said.
Even after the tough yet fair rulings from the referees, it only extended the set to the inevitable sweep via Sharp’s 12th kill of the night for the set and match point. Even though the Aggies had won six consecutive sets, coach Jordan still sees areas to improve in as conference play is just around the corner.
“We just need to pass [the ball] a little bit better, serve it a little tougher,” he pointed out, referring to the team’s 23 errors from the day. “And we need to block it a lot better, and you know, when the block’s on, we’re pretty good.”
These blemishes showed most in the next match against Arizona, with the undefeated Wildcats making the Aggies pay for their 23 errors with 59 kills and 11 blocks. The Aggies were able to win one set, but the Wildcat’s own scoring trio of Jaelyn Hodge, Kiari Robey, and Jordan Wilson contributed 45 kills to their team. With the road to Albuquerque being so close, Jordan’s fluid lineup showed tune ups to the team are still under consideration.
“There’s gonna be a lot of change until we find combinations that work for us,” Jordan remarked. “So what really has to happen for the line-up to get settled, people have to play well in longer stretches.”
After being knocked down to 4-4, up next for the Aggies is a double dose of the battle of I-25, with the first being in Albuquerque and the second at home in the Pan American Center. Fans can watch the away game against Lobo’s on ESPN+ tonight, 6:30 p.m., and the home game on Thursday night.
