EL PASO, Texas — Seattle U volleyball was overwhelmed in its Western Athletic Conference match on Wednesday, falling in three sets to league leader NM State.
The Redhawks (1-6) attack was left grounded as had 21 kills, tying a season-low, and were held to a sub .100 hitting for the match, while the Aggies (9-0) were an efficient .554 on the day.
With eight kills each, Amaris Carter and Julia Queiroz led the offense for Seattle U. Carter hit a team-best .227, while Queiroz added a block. Tijana Milojevic finished with 13 digs, while Ezgi Ozkan had 12 assists.
The Redhawks kept in step with NM State early in the first as it battled to eight times during the opening 20 points of the match. Back-to-back kills from McCabe and Carter helped Seattle U lead by as much as two, 9-7, during the frame. The Aggies then responded with a 3-0 spurt, before Carter leveled the score at 10. The Aggies then found another gear as they registered a pair of 6-1 runs to take the first set, 25-15.
Queiroz tallied a kill and solo stop early in second, giving SU a 3-2 advantage. The margin though quickly disappeared as NMSU went on a 5-1 run. Down 11-7, Queiroz buried consecutive attempts trimming the margin to two. From there, the Seattle U deficit inflated to six, 16-10, behind an Aggie 5-1 run before closing the nine unanswered.
Carter and Queiroz struck as part of a 4-1 spurt by Seattle U in the third. During the SU run, Milojevic tallied an ace and became the seventh player since the program's return in 1999 to record to reach 100 in a career. The effort by SU however was overshadowed by NMSU's 9-0 run to open the set. The Aggies then scored eight-straight before taking the frame, 25-10.
The Redhawks will close the series on Thursday, first serve is set for 11 am PT.