by EL PASO, Texas – The New Mexico State volleyball team wrapped up its 2014 campaign by defeating I-10 rival Texas-El Paso in straight sets on Friday, 25-22, 25-23, 27-25, inside Memorial Gym.
The Aggies finish the season with a 17-11 record, the 14th-consecutive season they have finished with a winning record and the 16th-straight season with at least 15 wins.
NM State, which is ranked 13th in the nation in opponent’s hitting percentage, held the Miners to a .053 percentage while hitting at .222 itself. The Aggies would hold UTEP to a -.041 percentage in set number one and a .059 percentage in the second set to take a 2-0 lead. NM State also doubled the Miners in the blocking category, 12-6.
WAC All-Freshman team member Jordan Abalos picked up her second-consecutive and fifth overall double-double of the season. Abalos finished with a match-high 10 kills and a match-high 14 digs. She finishes the season tied alongside setter Taylor Livoti for the team lead in double-doubles with five.
Juniors Bradley Nash (Navajo Nation) and Andrea Tauai each finished with seven kills while Tauai also added a match-high .467 hitting percentage. Fellow junior Gwen Murphy, meanwhile, added six kills and six total blocks.
Livoti once again led the way in the assist department with 21 while freshman Ashlyn Brown finished with 16 helpers.
With the first set tied at 10-10, the Aggies marked six-straight points to open up the set. The Miners, however, would come back to tie the set at 20. But NM State scored five of the last seven points of the set to take the opening frame.
Set number two was close throughout as the set saw a total of eight ties. The final tie came at 17-17, from there the Aggies would take the lead and never trail in the set again. NM State opened up a 24-21 lead and after a couple of UTEP points took a 2-0 lead after winning set two 25-23.
For the first time all match the Miners opened up a sizeable lead in the third set. Leading 10-8, UTEP went on a 4-0 run to take a six-point lead at 14-8. The Aggies answered, however, with a 5-1 run that cut the Miner lead to one at 15-14 midway through the set.
UTEP would maintain the lead until three-consecutive points by NM State tied the third set at 23-23 late. The Aggies faced losing the set a point later and then again at 25-24. But NM State marked the final three points of the set. The Aggies’ first lead of the set was at 26-25 and a point later the visitors closed out their I-10 rivals.
Naomi Whitehair (Navajo) had 8 digs for the UTEP Miners on the evening. The game reunited former Monument Valley Mustang players Whitehair and Nash.
