LAS CRUCES, N.M. — New Mexico State closed out a two-part weekend home series with the New Haven Chargers by handing them their second straight sweep, fueled by a stifling defense and balanced offensive attack. The Aggies cruised to a second 3-0 victory (25-16, 25-15 and 25-22), improving to 6-2 on the season.
Set One
After a 6-1 burst, New Haven built a 10-6 lead to start the first set. This prompted an Aggie timeout.
This pause turned the tide with NM State rallying a dominant run, turning a deficit into a 19-14 advantage and closing the set with a 5-point stretch to win 25-16.
Set Two
In the second set, the Aggies stifled the Chargers offensively by holding them to a hitting percentage of -.038. This was their worst of the weekend.
Service pressure from NM State, including two aces by Kaylee Peterson, widened the margin and closed the set 25-15.
Set Three
The third set was tighter than the first two. New Haven stayed within striking distance early but NMSU stretched the lead when it mattered, including a combo block from Tess Fuqua and Kate Sinclair.
Behind steady defense and Zoe Ziegler’s final kill, the Aggies finished the set 25-22.
Standout Performers
Maggie Lightheart led the offense with 15 kills, a block and helped steer the Aggies’ attack.
Fuqua made strong contributions of eight kills and two blocks. Her front row presence made a big difference.
Ziegler added six kills, including the final one in set three to seal the deal.
Mia Fox and Sinclair shored up the middle with four blocks each, reinforcing NM State’s strong defensive front.
Peterson set a new career high with three service aces, adding momentum during key stretches.
Defensively, Bella Castro, starting at libero, logged eight digs along with a career-best six assists. Her passing and defense helped keep the Chargers off balance.
Head Coach Mike Jordan said progress has been made so far, but there are areas with improvement needed.
“We attacked it better. We didn’t set it better. We didn’t give them as many points today,” Jordan said. “They passed it better, which forced us to play a little more but we’ve got to be cleaner and smarter. There’s a big learning curve with this group right now.”
The sweep underscores the Aggies developing consistency. This is the case in serve-receive, blocking and capitalizing on opponent errors.
With strong contributions from multiple players and a defense that rarely gives up space, NMSU demonstrates they can dominate both in front rows and from the back. The challenge ahead will be maintaining pressure and reducing errors as competition ramps up.
NM State will continue its nine-day stretch of seven matches against the University of New Mexico at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16, in Albuquerque.
The Battle of I-25 will span over two days, with the second game being hosted by the Aggies the next day at 6 p.m. at the Pan American Center.
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