The New Mexico State women’s volleyball team entered the weekend as the third ranked seed in the Conference USA tournament hosted by the University of Texas at El Paso. The Aggies fought their way to the championship match but were unable to secure a win.
NMSU vs. Sam Houston:
Going into the first round, the Aggies waited for three matches to conclude before facing the six seed Sam Houston Bearkats. During the first set, the Bearkats had a strong start scoring three straight points and did not look back. Despite the Aggies putting up a fight, the Bearkats ended set one exactly how they started, by going on a 3-0 run.
Down one set, the Aggies had a back-and-forth battle for the first 11 points of set two. Up 6-5, the Aggies went on a tear, outscoring the Bearkats 19-3 to tie the match at one set apiece.
Following a dominant set-winning performance, the Aggies had all the momentum the rest of the way. Attacking the Bearkats defense for 64 kills and acquiring points off their 22 attack errors, the Aggies knocked off the Bearkats 3-1 to advance to the semifinals. Setting up the third battle of I–10 of the season against the heavily favored two seed UTEP Miners.
Following the win, Head Coach Mike Jordan discussed his team’s performance.
“I think we served and blocked well in the first set, but we were really high in errors,” Jordan said. “We just limited our attack errors and stopped giving them points.”
NMSU vs. UTEP:
Entering their semifinal match against UTEP, the Aggies faced a crowd disadvantage inside a packed gym looking to do whatever it takes to hype their team up.
In the first set, the Aggies struggled to limit the Miners attacks, preventing them from gaining any momentum. With the Miners up 24-22, a kill by outside hitter Ema Uskokovic clinched set one for the Miners.
Looking to respond, the Aggies took advantage of five Miner attack errors and kept finding ways to score. Leading by as many as 11 points, the Aggies edged their way to a 25-16 second set victory to tie the match at one set.
Intensifying the match, the Aggies split sets three and four to bring up a nail-biting fifth set. Through the first 16 points, both teams fought tooth and nail taking turns at tying or taking the lead.
Despite roaring Miner fans adding to the pressure and the set tied at eight points, the Aggies managed to end the back-and-forth scoring by claiming six of the next 10 points to take a 14-12 lead. With the Miners facing elimination and the Aggies one point away from the championship match, the adrenaline inside Memorial Gym increased.
A kill from Aggie middle blocker Kacia Brown and an unsuccessful challenge from the Miners, earned the Aggies a 3-2 upset, sending them to the championship match for a rematch against the ranked number one seed, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.
NMSU vs. Western Kentucky:
Looking to avenge last season’s defeat, the Aggies caught fire scoring the first eight points. The Hilltoppers managed to climb out of an 8-0 hole and went on a run of their own to cut the lead down to one point. Despite the comeback, the Aggies took set one 25-21 on a 4-1 run.
Despite losing the first set, the Hilltoppers showed they were not fazed. In sets two, three, and four, the Hilltoppers overwhelmed the Aggies, attacking areas on the court that made it difficult for them to keep the ball in the air and respond to any scoring run.
The Hilltoppers defeated the Aggies 3-1 to claim their ninth Conference USA championship in 11 seasons and their sixth straight NCAA tournament appearance, with outside hitter Kaylee Cox winning the CUSA tournament Most Valuable Player award.
Despite the loss, the Aggies did not leave El Paso empty handed. Libero Darian Markham and outside hitters Mari Sharp and Yasso Amin were named to the 2024 CUSA Volleyball All-Tournament team.
With their season over, the Aggies enter the offseason and will soon begin preparing for next season.
