Arizona 3, New Mexico State 0
The Aggies fell in straight sets (14-25, 23-25, 19-25) to Arizona in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Jenny Craig Pavilion Friday, their first defeat since Oct. 19. With the loss, New Mexico State ends the season at 22-11.
The Aggies hit .102 on the match, compared to the .230 of the Wildcats. Arizona edged New Mexico State in kills (41-37) and assists (37-32), out-blocked the Aggies 13-5 and had 65 digs to the Aggies' 55.
Gwen Murphy led New Mexico State with nine kills on .333 hitting, while Jordan Reifsteck had a team-high 20 digs. Stephanie Ziegler had 16 digs, while Taylor Livoti finished with 17 assists and seven digs, and Ciara Brown dished out 14 assists.
Arizona took a 3-0 lead early in set one before the Aggies got on the board with a kill by Murphy. NM State answered with a five-point run, but the Wildcats came back quickly to get the lead. The Aggies trailed 12-8 midway through the set, as Arizona’s block proved difficult for NM State. Arizona continued to hold the set to claim a 25-14 win, out-blocking the Aggies 6-1.
NM State opened set two with a block by Ziegler and Desiree Scott. The Aggies held the early lead 7-4, and kept the momentum going with a 14-10 advantage off an ace by Ziegler and a kill by Bradley Nash. Arizona took its first lead 22-21 and took seven of the final nine points for the 25-23 win, going up 2-0 on the Aggies.
In set three, Arizona took an 8-5 lead, but NM State kept the match close until the Wildcats took a six-point advantage, 15-9, off five straight points. The Aggies took the next four of six points, but still trailed 17-13 as Arizona looked to halt NM State’s season. Ziegler smashed a kill to bring the Aggies within five at 21-16. The Aggies got the next two points, but Arizona claimed the set 25-19 to advance to round two of the tournament and end the Aggies' season.