Written By: NMSU Athletic Dept.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The New Mexico State volleyball (4-3) team went head-to-head with national power house, No. 4 Texas (3-1) and even though the Aggies had moments of brilliance, NMSU fell, 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-17), Saturday, Sept. 6, at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces, N.M.

Head coach Mike Jordan said he was proud of the way his team played at times against the national power house.

"Playing a great team like Texas at home is a lot of fun and hopefully we can learn from it," Jordan said. "We played good volleyball, but the key was we were trying to avoid their blocking at time instead of attacking."

Leading the way for the Aggies was senior outside hitter Lindsey You (San Antonio, Texas) with nine kills, while junior outside hitter Krista Altermatt (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) added seven. Freshman setter Jennah DeVries (Denver, Colo.) recorded a team-high 13 assist on the night.

Defensively, senior libero Krystal Torres (Las Cruces, N.M.) led the way with 11 digs. Freshman hitter Kelsey Brennan (Snohomish, Colo.) came through strong for the Aggies with a career-high four blocks.

In set one, Texas came out on fire with a 13-3 run, but after a pair of Aggie timeouts, NMSU’s Yon crushed a ball sparking 4-1 run, cutting the Long Horn’s lead in half, 14-7.

Soon after, the Aggies found themselves down 24-10, but would hold the Longhorns at game point for seven consecutive points, 24-17. The Aggies’ final point came from a monster block by Brennan and sophomore outside hitter Kelli Goodan (Des Moines, N.M.).

The Longhorns followed suit and open set two with a 3-0 run, but would not slip away that easily. Yon put NMSU on the board with a kill and then Brennan and Wood cut the score to two with a solid block, 6-8.

The score reached 17-11, in Texas’ favor, but an Altermatt service ace, an Amber Simpson (Quincy, Ill.) and Whitney Woods (Midland, Texas) block assist, along with a Woods’ kill would slice the lead to three, 18-15.

NMSU’s determined offense would come as close as three, 22-19, until the Longhorns rallied to earn victory number two, 25-19.

In what would be the final match of the night, Texas jumped out early with an 8-4 lead, but a Brennan kill sparked an Aggie offensive rally, allowing Yon to add a pair of kills, keeping NMUS just within reach, 11-7.

With NMSU just in the shadows, Altermatt found some rhythm smacking down three of her five kills in set three.

The Long Horn continued to pull away, but solid defense led by Torres cut the lead to six, 20-14. The last glimpse of Aggie offense came when Altermatt found a hole in the middle of Texas’ offense, but the Aggies fell 25-17.

The Crimson and White fought hard, but a strong-hitting Texas team would push

The Aggies are back on the court Sunday, Oct. 7, at 7:00 p.m. as NMSU goes head-to-head with Utah in the final game of the Hotel Encanto Volleyball Classic.