BOISE, Idaho – The New Mexico State volleyball team (17-7, 11-1 WAC) locked up another sweep by spreading the ball around and some good serves versus Boise State (7-16, 3-9 WAC) at Bronco Gym in Boise, Idaho, Saturday, Nov. 1.
NMSU had a total of eight service aces on the night with setters Alyssa Gintant (Libertyville, Ill.) and Jennah DeVries (Denver, Colo.) contributing with two aces each. Senior Lindsey Yon (San Antonio, Texas) finished with a match-high 10 kills, while senior middle hitter Amber Simpson (Quincy, Ill.) added nine to go along with a .375 hitting percentage.
“We served the ball well tonight and we got better offensively after set one,” head coach Mike Jordan said. “Boise State played hard and we did some things really well, but at this point in the season, we need to play well in every set.”
Senior libero Krystal Torres (Las Cruces, N.M) was all over the court, coming up with a match-high 15 digs, while Yon had 12 digs for another double-double on the year. Gintant and DeVries split the setting duties as Gintant had 17 assists and DeVries had 15.
The Aggies got off to an early 5-0 lead with kills from Whitney Woods, Amber Simpson, and Lindsey Yon, which was topped off by a service ace from Krista Altermatt, although BSU came back to tie the first set at 8-8. NMSU got back into rhythm and took a 16-9 after two consecutive aces by Torres. The Broncos never gave up as they went on a 13-5 run to tie it up at 22 all before NMSU finally won set one 25-23 on an Altermatt kill. Simpson and Yon led the way for NMSU with three kills each. NMSU was brilliant at the service line in set one with aces from Yon, Torres, DeVries, and Altermatt.
NMSU fell behind 3-2 early in set two, but a 5-0 run which saw Yon’s fourth kill of the match and a double-block from Simpson and Woods to go up 7-3. BSU pulled back to within two at 9-7, however, the Aggies went on another 5-0 point rally with DeVries contributing as she served her 23rd ace of the season. NMSU won the second set 25-11 while hitting .391. Torres was the defensive leader in the set with five digs.
Set three started with NMSU getting a 6-2 lead, but the Broncos came back within one point at 6-5. The Aggies went on a 12-2 run that was topped off by a service ace from Alyssa Gintant. The Aggies never let up as BSU scored only two more points to win 25-9.
The Aggies will continue WAC play as they travel to Reno, Nev., Thursday, Nov. 5 to take on the Wolf Pack before heading to Fresno, Calif. to face the Bulldogs of Fresno State, Saturday, Nov. 8. Both matches will be aired on the radio at KSNM AM 570 with Kyle Doperalski giving the play-by-play action. Fans outside of the Las Cruces, N.M. can listen to the action on the Internet at www.NMStateSports.com for a fee.
Courtesy: Richard Chavez
