Oct. 4 and 5, UTEP volleyball faced off against the Sam Houton Bearkats. With UTEP firing on all cylinders, the Miners went on to pick up both matches while playing at Memorial Gym.
The Miners are still undefeated in conference play, with an overall record of 14-2.
Coming into these games, UTEP had been on a five-game winning streak with a strong open to Conference-USA (C-USA) play, sweeping Florida International University on Sept. 28.
Game One:
Tipoff started at 6, but the atmosphere was incredible from Miner fans support even before the match began.
The Bearkats fought strong early on and made the first set a fierce back and forth match. After the early set one struggle, UTEP would take it, 25-19.
At the beginning of set two, big plays would pull UTEP forward with momentum to win 25-21.
In the final set, the Miners put the game on cruise control. For game one, the leaders for the game were juniors Ema Uskokovic with ten kills and Torrance Lovesee with four aces. Then, nine blocks from junior Kaya Weaver and 19 assists from sophomore Kalia Kohler and ten digs from graduate student Alyssa Sianez.
Game Two:
Coming out early on the second day, Sam Houston sought to respond to their loss from the previous night, but the Miners continued their winning streak. In an entertaining first set, the Miners prevailed 27-25. In the second set, the Miners would let loose with a barrage of blows to lead to a score of 25-12.
The final set would start with another onslaught by UTEP, however, Sam Houston would push all they had left to try to make a miraculous comeback, but the Bearkats would fall short 25-21. For game two against Sam Houston, Uskokovic led the team with 14 kills and four aces. Weaver led with three blocks while junior Mattie Gantt led with assists while Sianez had the most digs.
UTEP volleyball’s next stop will be versus I-10 rival New Mexico State University at Memorial Gym Oct. 8 and 9 both at 6 p.m.
Cameron Mason is a contributor and may be reached at [email protected]