SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Northwestern State volleyball team pushed New Mexico State to the edge, but would fall 23-25, 25-21, 26-24, 25-14 on Saturday at the CenturyLink Premier.

 

NSU out-blocked New Mexico State 27-24. Three Lady Demons set career-highs in that category, including Mackenzie Neely (9), Nicole Hajka (7) and Emily Sweet (6).

 

With the scored tied 1-1 in sets, NSU (1-8) led 20-11 over the Aggies (7-2) in the third but couldn't close it out. New Mexico State, who already has a marquee win over a Big East contender, South Florida, and took #5 Nebraska to five-sets earlier in the season, was able to take all the momentum after a huge call went its way late in the third set, and then cruised through the fourth for the win.

 

Stacey DiFrancesco registered a double-double for the second straight game, tallying 13 kills and a career-high 13 digs. She also had a couple of blocks to go along with it.

 

On top of Neely's strong blocking performance, she also recorded six kills, four digs and three aces. Vanessa Coleman made a big contribution with nine kills and three blocks, and Hajka also pitched in with eight kills and hit at a career-best .353 mark.

 

Defensively, Keelie Arneson led the way with 26 digs, and Emily Johnson came up huge with a career-high 10 digs and two aces. Kelly Jimenez registered 13 digs, and eight kills to go along with it.

 

Trailing 3-2 early in the first set, the Lady Demons stormed out to a 7-3 lead after Neely had a pair of kills and blocks to spark a five-point run. Hajka added with a block and kill to keep NSU ahead 13-9, and then Jimenez and Coleman got in the action with spikes to lead 15-11, forcing the Aggies to call timeout. The Lady Demons led 20-18 after a Jimenez attack, but New Mexico State would take the next three points and the lead, 21-20.

 

Still trailing 23-22, NSU used a kill from DiFrancesco and another block from Neely to earn set-point at 24-23. Then, with Arneson serving, the Lady Demons were able to dig up the Aggies' spike to set up an attack for DiFrancesco – and she put it away, 25-23.

 

NSU out-blocked New Mexico State 12-2 in the set, and only committed four errors while hitting at a .255 mark. The set win marked the fifth time this season where the Lady Demons won the opening set of a match.

 

Neely stood out in the set with five blocks and three kills. DiFrancesco registered six digs and four kills, while Coleman and Hajka tallied three kills each. Sweet dished out 14 assists and also blocked three attacks. Emily Johnson chipped in with three digs.

 

After dropping the first point in the second set, NSU used two aces from Johnson to reel off six points in a row and keep the momentum going, up 6-1. Though, the Aggies would go on a six-point run of their own to take the lead, 8-7. The teams then exchanged points, back-and-forth all the up to a 18-18 score, but New Mexico State was able to capitalize on a big attack to go ahead 20-18.

 

After a timeout, Hajka put away an attack to make it 20-19, but the Aggies took the next two points to extend their lead to 22-19. NSU would not go down easy though, using a Coleman block to trail just 22-21, but New Mexico State would be able to close it out, 25-21.

 

Hajka led the way for the Lady Demons with three kills in the set and hit at a career-best .556 mark through two sets.

 

In the pivotal third set, NSU got out to a 4-1 lead after attacks from DiFrancesco, and extended it to 6-2. The Aggies would then take the next four points to tie it at 6-6, but another DiFrancesco kill put the Lady Demons back ahead, 8-6. After a block assist by Neely/Hajka and a Neely ace, New Mexico State called timeout with the Lady Demons on top 12-8.

 

Later ahead 14-10, NSU used kills from Sweet, DiFrancesco and Coleman to go on a big run and extend the lead to 19-10. The Lady Demons led 20-11 when the Aggies won seven points in a row to make it 20-18.

 

At 21-19, the Lady Demons had an attack that they thought tipped off a New Mexico State blocker's finger tips for a point, but the chair judge ignored the line judge's tip signal and awarded the point to the Aggies, making the score 21-20. This marked the turning point in the match, as New Mexico State used this new momentum to go ahead 22-21. NSU saved a set point to even things up 24-24, but the Aggies were able take the set 26-24.

 

DiFrancesco provided much of the attack in the set with seven kills, while Jimenez aided with six digs and a couple of put-aways.

 

The Lady Demons couldn't get into their groove again to start the fourth and fell behind 20-9. NSU took four of the next five points after kills by Jimenez, Coleman and Sweet to make it 21-13, but the Aggies were able to close it, 25-14.

 

The Lady Demons will be back in action this afternoon against Louisiana-Lafayette at 4 p.m. to wrap up the CenturyLink Premier. NSU is 17-16 all-time against the Ragin Cajuns.