LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Senior Kayleigh Giddens posted a team-high 18 kills against No. 4 Hawai'i as the New Mexico State volleyball team fell 3-1 (21-25, 25-15, 22-25, 11,25) at the Pan American Center, Saturday, Oct. 3.
Giddens (Lubbock, Texas) tallied 18 kills on a match-high 42 attempts with only four errors, while senior Krista Altermatt (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) added 14 kills and six digs. The Aggies were out hit posted a .131 hitting percentage on the night as Hawai'i marked a .272 hitting percentage.
"They played well and I thought we did a nice job against them," head coach Mike Jordan said. "It was really good volleyball for three games and we played great defense at times."
The Aggies came up with seven total team blocks and sophomore Kelsi Phillips (Scottsdale, Ariz.) had a team-high 11 digs with Giddens adding nine of her own. Senior Erin Birmingham (Riverside, Mo.) served two aces and four kills while sophomore Kelsey Brennan (Monroe, Wash.) picked up four total blocks and seven kills.
NM State falls to 8-5 overall and 3-1 in Western Athletic Conference play and now sits in the No. 2 spot in the league. No. 4 Hawai'i is the only undefeated team in the conference and is 13-2 on the season.
Altermatt came out in the first set hitting the ball well picking up five kills and hit .455 as UH won 25-21. The Aggies fell behind 8-3 but would fight back and pull to within two when a Rainbow Wahine player had a ball handling error to take the set to 20-18. Altermatt picked up two kills before UH wrapped up the set 25-21.
The Aggies bounced back in set two with Giddens leading the charge with five kills on nine attempts while Brennan was a perfect 4-of-4 in the middle. The Aggie hit .423 as a team to beat the No.4 team in the nation 25-15. NM State came out with an early 5-1 lead and before the Rainbow Wahine came back and tied it up at six. The Aggies scored the next point and wouldn't lose the lead from there.
In set three Giddens added another five kills although her team faltered to pick up a victory losing 25-22. The Aggies held UH to a .188 hitting percentage in the set with both teams picking up more than five errors each. The Aggies fell behind 4-1 but tied it up at five and eight before take a 9-8 lead off a kill by Giddens. The set was tied 12 ties and had nine lead changes with NM State's last lead at 22-21. The Rainbow Wahine scored four straight points to win the set.
The Aggies were out blocked 4-0 in set four losing 25-11. UH caught fire hitting .571 in the set without an error. Giddens had five kills as her team gave up 10 points on errors.
The Aggies face Boise State, Thursday, Oct. 8 in Boise, Idaho. The match is set for a 7 p.m. (MT) start and will be aired on KSNM 570 with Kyle Doperalski giving the play-by-play action.
Courtesy: Tim Barnett-Queen
