BOCA RATON, Fla.- The UTEP Volleyball Team fell in three sets to FAU on Sunday at the FAU Arena in Boca Raton, Fla. The Owls handled the Miners 25-12, 25-8 and 25-20 to improve to 7-5 in Conference USA play while the Miners fell to 2-11 in league contests.
The Miners totaled 21 kills, 17 assists, 28 digs, one solo block and six blocks assists while the Owls notched 47 kills, 43 assists, seven service aces, 45 digs and 10 block assists.
"We battled in the third set against an FAU team that was hitting on all cylinders," head coach Holly Watts said. "[We're] looking forward to playing at home on Wednesday. The band will be out and it should be a great atmosphere."
A 2-0 run by the Miners gave them a strong start in the first frame, but the Owls would rally to tie at 9-all. An attack error by FAU and Austin's kill would give the Miners two points for 12 total, but the Owls 16-3 run would put set one away 25-12. The Miners had four kills from Austin in the set as well as two block assists, but 17 kills by the Owls compared to six total by the Miners proved the difference in the set.
The Owls then hit a match high .706 clip to control set two and earn a 2-0 lead in the match with the 25-8 victory, but the Miners would not give up set three.Â
The Miners pushed to tie the third frame at 16 after a 6-1 run fueled by kills from Baumgartner, King, Austin and Morgan, while King nabbed her solo block in the run. The Owls would record five unanswered points before an attack error stopped rally to push to a 21-17 lead. Grzebeniak and Morgan notched a block assist, and another Owl attack error kept Niki Cebak's serve alive and the Miners within one at 21-20. The Owls would call a timeout to regroup, and out of the timeout scored four points, all off of kills, to end the set 25-20 and the match 3-0.
UTEP will return to El Paso and prep for a Wednesday evening match against Marshall in Memorial Gym. First serve against the Thundering Herd is set for 6 p.m. MT.
