HOUSTON, Texas – The UTEP volleyball team (13-15) fell to No. 21 Rice (25-2) in four sets (18-25, 25-21, 18-25, 18-25), 3-1, in the first round of the conference tournament at Tudor Fieldhouse.
 
UTEP entered the Conference USA Tournament for the first time in three seasons. The Miners made noise taking the second set off of the nationally ranked Owls. This was the first set victory over a ranked opponent in 18 years for UTEP volleyball.
 
Freshman Alianza Darley had a career outing with a season-best 12 kills and six digs. Serena Patterson added 11 kills and Cheyenne Jones also locked in double-digit kills with 10. Kenidy Howard and Mallory Yost led the squad at the net with four blocks each. Syenna Masaki notched a double-double with 18 assists and a team-high 16 digs. Kristen Fritsche led the way with 25 assists and three aces.
 
UTEP showed balance on offense with three players in double-digit kills and Anamarija Mikovic with nine of her own.
 
The Miners came out slow, falling behind 5-1 in the early going. UTEP battled back, going on a 6-2 run of its own to tie the set at 7-7. The two teams went back-and-forth until the score was knotted up at 13-13. Rice separated itself with another big run to go ahead 21-14. The Miners were unable to recover, 25-18, despite a late rally. 
 
UTEP went down 10-8 in second set. However, a 5-0 run by the Orange and Blue would help them seize control of the frame, 13-10, and force Rice to take a timeout. The damage was not over for the Owls, as the Miners continued to open up the set, earning a seven-point lead, 18-11. The ranked team pushed hard, but was unable to stop the bleeding caused by UTEP, 25-21.
 
Rice asserted itself in the third game, bouncing back with a 25-18 victory to take a 2-1 set advantage.
 
The Miners were unrelenting heading into the fourth frame, taking the first three points of the set. However, Rice raced out, outscoring UTEP 15-8 to take a 15-11 lead. The Orange and Blue gave Rice all they could handle, but fell short of the upset, 25-18.
 
Notes
>> Darley posted a career-high 12 kills
>> First set victory over a ranked opponent since 2001 (Hawaii)
>> First set one at Rice since 2017
 
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