DENVER - The University of Denver volleyball team's unbeaten streak was halted at five matches tonight as the New Mexico State Aggies defeated the Pioneers 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-16) at Hamilton Gymnasium. The loss drops the Pioneers to 13-10 on the season, 6-6 in Western Athletic Conference play. The Aggies now sit at 16-7, 9-3 in the WAC.

"New Mexico State is very good and we were unable to match their intensity from the start," said head coach Jesse Mahoney. "It was unfortunate because we've been playing very well lately, especially at home. We were hurt by some errors and a lack of defensive focus, but we'll bounce back and continue to get better."

Junior Colleen King (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) led the Pioneers with nine kills, while freshman Michele Swope (Orlando, Fla.) finished with seven kills and three digs. Junior Alex Turgeon (Cherry Hills Village, Colo.) pitched in with five kills, while senior Faimie Kingsley (Brooklyn, N.Y.) tallied four.

Junior Brea Muhle (Columbus, Neb.) and redshirt freshman Tara Curtiss (Lincoln, Neb.) led the way with three blocks each, while Kingsley finished with two. Setters Bailey Karst (Aurora, Colo.) and Frances Carroll (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) finished with 17 and 11 assists, respectively.

Libero Kate Acker (Waukesha, Wis.) tallied 11 digs, while Karst finished with eight.

Meredith Hays and Desiree Scott led the Aggies with 11 kills each, while Lauren Loerch finished with 10.

The first set was the most contested set of the match for the Pioneers. Both teams traded points throughout most of the set with neither team extending its lead by more than four points. With the score tied at 17-17, The Aggies took a two-point lead off kills from Gwen Murphy and Scott, forcing the Pioneers to call a timeout.

The Pioneers were able to pull within one off an Aggies mistake. After both teams exchanged a point and the Pioneers trailing 20-19, the Aggies went on a four-point rally to take a 24-19 lead. Following a service error by New Mexico State, the Aggies sealed the win off a kill by Scott.

The Pioneers remain at home, hosting Idaho on Monday at 7 p.m. at Hamilton Gymnasium. Fans can watch the match live on Pioneer Vision and follow along via Live Stats.

Visit DenverPioneers.com for complete coverage of all 17 of DU's NCAA Division I sports.

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