LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Behind Kaya Weaver's career-high 12 kills, UTEP Volleyball (11-5, 3-2 Conference USA) came out on top in the 91st edition of the Battle of I-10 against NM state, 3-1 (12-25, 25-14, 25-23, 25-20) Tuesday evening inside the Pan American Center.
"Any time we play to NMSU it's a battle," head coach Ben Wallis said. "They're obviously very well-coached and they have big physical players, but we were ready to play. I was excited to see my team thinking through the game a little better tonight and putting their heads in the right place.
"I expected today's match to be tough and it's not going to be pretty tomorrow either. It's going to be ugly. It's going to be a grind."
Along with Weaver's double-digit kills, she recorded a .409 hitting clip while putting up a match-high nine blocks. Mattie Gantt and Kalia Kohler combined for 40 assists and Alyssa Sianez racked up 16 digs.
UTEP's all-around performance held the statistical advantage in kills (47-41), hitting percentage (.185 - .060) and blocks (15-6), but were out hit in aces (5-4).
SET ONE | NMSU pulled out multiple scoring rallies that highlighted the Aggies set win. As NM State grabbed the 3-1 lead, the Aggies gave up two errors along with a Weaver block to give the Miners an advantage before snatching it back with several bursts forcing a UTEP timeout at 12-7. Coming out of the break, the Miners only put up three kills as NM State stretched the lead by nine, 19-10. The Aggies racked up a 6-1 run to secure the opening set, 25-12.
SET TWO | UTEP's first stack of points all stemmed from kills by multiple Miners, 4-1. NMSU took its first timeout of the match after UTEP put down three kills, two blocks and an ace to go up, 11-6. The Aggies came within two points on three occasions, but the Miners rolled out a 4-0 run to pull ahead, 18-12. UTEP ended the set with a 5-0 spree to even the match, 25-14.
SET THREE | The Miners forced an early timeout by NM State after issuing four unanswered points to open the third frame. The Aggies knotted the set at 7, 8, and 9 before UTEP got a hold of a five-point lead, 15-10, that included two 3-0 runs. NMSU shrunk the deficit, 19-16, forcing UTEP to sidebar, and after the break both teams put up three straight points to keep a three-point separation, 22-19. UTEP's Coach Wallis had a successful challenge to credit Sakira LaCour with a kill and give the Miners a 23-19 lead. UTEP reached set point on a Torrance Lovesee kill and finished off the set with a kill by Alianza Darley, 25-23.
SET FOUR | Looking to wrap up the match, UTEP's Danika Washington and LaCour combined for consecutive kills and blocks to give the Miners a 6-3 advantage. NMSU tied the score at 10-all. Both teams went point-for-point before UTEP pulled out a 3-0 run courtesy of LaCour and Washington, 16-12. NMSU's own errors forced a timeout and Weaver posted a kill and two more blocks for the Orange and Blue with the end in sight, 23-14. NMSU's late 4-0 rally came up short as they handed UTEP set point on an error and Weaver came in clutch with one final kill to lock in the win, 25-20.
UP NEXT
Miners take on the Aggies once more on Wednesday, Oct. 4, at 5 p.m. MT inside the Pan Am.
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