Sept. 20, 2014
Final Stats
UTEP 2, USF 3
Denver, Colo.- Sophomore Dominique Millette led the Miners in kills and hitting percentage but it wasn’t enough to defeat the University of San Francisco on Saturday morning.
UTEP (2-8 overall) dropped the match 3-2 (25-20, 22-25, 25-21, 18-25, 15-8) against the Dons at the University of Denver Invitational.
Millette had a stellar showing as she registered 13 kills with only two errors to record a .478 hitting efficiency against USF. Setter Lindsey Larson recorded her fourth double-double of the season as she tallied 36 assists and 12 digs. Sarah Villa and Krystal Ejesieme helped paced the Miner defense as Villa registered a team high 18 digs and Ejesieme boasted six block assists.
USF’s Valentina Zaloznk opened the match with the morning’s first point as the Don’s jumped to a 4-0 advantage early in the first set. With short rallies the Miners were able to stay close behind San Francisco. Consecutive kills by Millette and Coline Coessens put the Miners only three points behind the Dons at 19-16. However, with the Miners unable to keep an offensive rhythm, USF would go on to take the set, 25-20.
The second frame was hotly contested, featuring 10 ties and four lead changes. The score was never more than a three-point margin as the squads traded rallies. UTEP would finally edge out to a 23-21 advantage after three straight points from the Miners with a kill by Lindsey Larson capitalizing off of two USF errors. The Dons would respond with a kill from Jessica Gaffney, but UTEP would claim the set, 25-22, with consecutive kills by Millette and Talia Jones.
The Orange and Blue kept the momentum firmly rolling into the third set as they raced out to a 4-1 lead. However, the Don’s came back with a vengeance as they put up a 4-0 rally to tie the set at six. USF would extend its lead to 17-12, but UTEP hammered out a 5-0 run to stay alive in the set.
With the score knotted at 20, it would be the Dons who would regain the advantage with a 5-1 rally, winning the frame, 25-21.
Needing to force the match into a fifth set, UTEP staged a comeback in the fourth stanza. Firing out into the 20-12 lead, the Miners dominated the set with 10 kills and a .185 hitting percentage to USF’s -.094. The Orange and Blue would keep the sizable lead to capture the set, 25-18.
In their first five-set match of the season, the Miners went point for point with the Dons as they tied the score at four. However, two consecutive UTEP errors would allow San Francisco to ease out to a 7-4 advantage. Unable to gain momentum, the Miners would only put up four more points, giving the final set to the Dons, 15-18.
Despite the outcome, UTEP enjoyed a 14 to seven advantage in team blocks. The Miners will return to the court at 7: 30 p.m. (MT) to wrap up the invitational against host Denver.
