Oct. 10, 2014
Final Stats
UTEP 3, UAB 2
Birmingham, Ala. – The UTEP volleyball team won its first C-USA match this season against UAB, 3-2(14-25, 28-26, 25-17, 24-26, 15-8), as freshman Coline Coessens notched her fifth double-double of the season (career-high 25 kills and 11 digs), while junior Madison Morris recorded a career-best .765 hitting percentage and sophomore Lindsey Larson tallied 45 assists and 16 digs on Friday night.
The Orange and Blue now moves to 3-14 overall and 1-5 in conference as the Blazers drop to 4-16, and 1-5 in the league.
UAB dominated the match in the early going, jumping to a 13-6 lead in the first stanza. The Blazers would stay in control as 10 UTEP errors limited the Miners offensively. UAB would take set one, 25-14.
Relentless, UTEP picked up its momentum as the Miners fought point for point with the Blazers to open the second set.
With the score knotted at 11, the Orange and Blue went on a 4-0 rally, forcing UAB into a timeout.
The Blazers would come off the time out with a 3-0 rally to tie the set once again. The squads continued to exchange point for point as they knotted six more times.
Set at 26, Coessens and Dominique Millette delivered a one-two punch to clench the set for the Miners, tying the match at one.
In the third the Blazers would jump out to a 7-5 lead, but a kill by Coessens would spark a 4-0 run allowing the Miners to bounce back. UTEP would extend its advantage with a 7-1 run. The Orange and Blue would not relinquish the lead for the rest of the way, as freshman Dalainee Perry sealed the set for the Miners with consecutive kills.
The fourth set proved to be more of a challenge for both teams, as they once again fell into a back-and-forth battle. With the score knotted up at 24, the home court advantage would allow UAB to take the set winning points, pushing the Miners into a fifth set.
Staying focused, UTEP hit an astonishing .545 as a team in the final frame, producing 13 kills on 22 attacks and committing only one error. Freshman Krystal Ejesieme led all players with four kills in the stanza.
The Miners would hold the Blazers to only six kills as they captured the final set 15-8.
UTEP will travel to Murfreesboro, Tenn. to faceoff against Middle Tennessee on Sunday at 12 p.m. (MT).
