LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The New Mexico State volleyball team showed signs of dominance on national television sweeping Fresno State 25-22, 25-20, 25-21, Thursday, Oct. 22 in the Pan American Center.
Junior Kayleigh Giddens (Lubbock, Texas) led the way with a match-high 17 kills, while hitting .389 on the evening. Fellow junior Whitney Woods (Midland, Texas) added 10 kills on 19 swings as NM State marked a .250 hitting percentage as a team.
The Aggies out-blocked Fresno State 10-8 with sophomore Kelsey Brennan (Monroe, Wash.) led the defensive charge at the net with six total blocks, including a solo block. Sophomore Kelsi Phillips (Scottsdale, Ariz.) tallied a match-high 13 digs and is now averaging 3.67 digs per set to lead her team.
NM State started the match playing well offensively hitting .306 while marking only six attack errors as a team. The Bulldogs also hit the ball well in set one with only five attack errors but that was not good enough as the Aggies were victorious 25-22. It was a back-and-forth set as there were 15 tie scores and six lead changes, but Giddens 10 kills in the set proved too much for the Bulldogs.
Set two was a bit different as there was only one tie score at 2-2 before the Aggies pulled away to win 25-20. The Aggies pulled away by five points when Fresno State was called for a rotation error and NM State was awarded a point. Freshman Stephanie Ziegler (Tucson, Ariz.) tallied four of her season-high seven kills in set two as she stepped in for senior Krista Altermatt (El Dorado Hills, Calif.).
The Aggies wrapped up the match winning set three 25-21 as the Bulldogs took the lead three times in the set. The Bulldogs took a 7-3 lead but NM State rallied back to tie it up at seven all. The Fresno State staff was forced to call a time out after kills from Ziegler and Woods which put the Aggies up 17-15. NM State closed out the match with a kill by senior Erin Birmingham (Riverside. Mo.).
The Aggies face San Jose State in the Pan American Center, Saturday, Oct. 24. The match is set for a 1p.m. (MT) start and will be aired on the radio at KSNM AM 570.
Courtesy: Richard Chavez
