EL PASO – The Miners were creepin' it real this All Hallow's Eve. They hopped on their brooms and flew into the night after sweeping Chicago State. 

The Orange and Blue have now won 23 consecutive sets inside Memorial Gym this season.  

UTEP improves to 18-8 overall and 9-5 in Conference USA play, while Chicago State drops to 11-7. 

"Good effort all around and good win against an unorthodox team that plays an international style of volleyball," head coach Ben Wallis said. "I thought we tried very hard defensively tonight and that's something we've been lacking lately. Really nice match by Torrance (Lovesee) who was big for us – she played with big energy and fire the entire time." 

Torrance Lovesee led the squad with 15 kills while hitting .429. Mattie Gantt (16) and Kalia Kohler (14) combined for 94 percent of the team's assists. Alyssa Sianez racked up 12 digs. Kaya Weaver and Danika Washington each stuffed five blocks. 

UTEP's all-around performance held the statistical advantage in kills (37-23), hitting percentage (.167 - (-.022)), aces (5-3) and blocks (10-9).   

SET ONE | The Cougars grabbed the opening point of the match and tied the set at 7-7 before the Miners put down three straight points off a Torrance Lovesee kill and back-to-back aces by Mattie Gantt, 10-7. Lovesee and Danika Washington knocked in three kills to stretch the lead by four points, 13-9. UTEP handed in a 5:0 scoring run, but the Cougars responded with a 5-0 run of their own to shrink the deficit, 20-17. UTEP closed out the set with a kill by Alianza Darley and a CSU error, 25-19. 

SET TWO | The second set was a doozy as it consisted of 12 tied scores and five lead changes. As the Cougars took an early lead, UTEP tied the set at 4 and 9 all. The Miners took over as set leader at 12-11 on three straight points, but CSU regained the lead shortly after, 13-12. After going back-and-forth, a kill by Sakira LaCour and a CSU error gave the Miners a leg up. Lovesee tacked on two more kills and a CSU error gave UTEP a three-point lead, 22-19. The Cougars answered with four consecutive pints of their own to flip the lead back to them, 23-22, but the Miners rallied to pull off three straight points to win the set, 25-23, and take a 2-0 advantage in the match.  

SET THREE | Chicago State took a 7-5 lead on a 3:0 spurt. UTEP came around with an 8:0 run to take over the set and the Miners never looked back, 14-8. The Cougars forced a UTEP timeout after dishing out a 4:0 run to close in on the Miners, 17-15. Two attack errors by the Cougars and a pair of Lovesee kills gave UTEP the five-point lead, 21-16. CSU snuck in three more kills as UTEP reached match point. The Cougars handed the Miners one last Halloween treat – a service error – to complete UTEP's sweep, 25-19. 

UP NEXT   
UTEP will close out the regular season Nov. 10-11 as the Miners host the Liberty Lady Flames inside Memorial Gym.  

 

Give a gift to UTEP Women's Volleyball by donating to the Point Miners Club.            

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