by Box Score
CHICAGO, Ill. – NM State volleyball dominated in its 3-0 win over Chicago State on Saturday afternoon at the Jacoby Dickens Center.
The Aggies finished the two match road trip with their 10th straight win in conference play, with the 25-23, 25-18, 25-13 decision.
It was the same story as it has been for most of the season, with the senior duo of All-America candidate Gwen Murphy and recent Aggie of the Week recipient Nathalie Castellanos leading the way for NM State.
Murphy, a native of Elfrida, Ariz./Valley Union HS, registered her second straight match of double-digit kills with 10. Castellanos, the Vado, N.M./Gadsden HS native, led NM State with 11 kills and an astonishing .667 hitting percentage. Bradley Nash (Navajo) had 8 Kills on the afternoon.
“Nathalie was really good today, as was Gwen,” head coach Mike Jordan said. “We played Gwen a little more on the left, and played Nathalie more in the middle, which was good.”
Junior Elli Woinowsky set the pace for the Cougars. The Berlin, Germany/San Jacinto College native registered six kills in the match.
In the first set of the match, the Aggies rolled up a six-point lead early at 14-8. However, due to sloppy play and seven errors, Chicago State fought back to tie the set up at 23-23. NM State ended up taking the set 25-23.
“We were a little sloppy today,” said Jordan. “In fact, neither team was really good. We missed assignments, had people running into each other and made too many service and attacking errors. Overall, though, a close set may be a good thing every once in a while for us.”
The Aggies cleaned up their mistakes from the opening frame and went up early again at 12-6. This time, though, NM State kept its foot on the gas going out to its largest lead of the set at 17-10. The Aggies would go on to claim the set 25-18.
The third set was all NM State, as the Aggies went out 7-1 to start the frame. The Cougars couldn’t really keep up as NM State claimed the final set by 12 points with a 25-13 decision.
The Aggies are back in action as they return home for the final homestand of the season facing off against CSU Bakersfield on Thursday, Nov. 5. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at the Pan American Center.
