EL PASO - The highly anticipated rematch not only lived up to expectations but surpassed them as the UTEP volleyball team defeated Clemson in four sets in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship quarterfinals Wednesday night inside Memorial Gym. The electrifying match unfolded in front of a program- and tournament record-breaking sold-out crowd, with 3,271 fans rallying behind the Miners.
The NIVC semifinals time, date, and location are to be determined upon the outcome of the final "Great 8" matchup between South Florida and Georgia Southern which is set to play on Dec. 7.
UTEP improved to 24-9 while Clemson closed the season at 19-13.
"We really played a marvelous game in lots of ways," head coach Ben Wallis said. "It was fun to watch this team go big in front of a sold-out crowd. I'm so proud of this city and this team has earned that kind of crowd."
UTEP had four players hit double-digit kills with Marian Ovalle leading the squad with 13 kills while Torrance Lovesee followed with 11 of her own and Alianza Darley and Kaya Weaver each added 10 more. Mattie Gantt (24) and Kalia Kohler (20) combined for 44 assists to help the UTEP offense to a .207 hitting clip. Gantt tacked on 11 digs for a double-double following Alyssa Sianez' team-leading 13 digs. Three Miners stuffed at least five blocks paced by Weaver (eight), Ovalle (six), and Danika Washington (six).
UTEP's all-around performance held the statistical advantage in kills (53-42), hitting percentage (.207 - .135), aces (8-7), and blocks (14-9).
Set-by-Set: UTEP 3, Clemson 1 (27-25, 25-17, 14-25, 25-19)
SET ONE | Clemson jumped to a quick 13-8 lead, forcing UTEP to take an early timeout. Coming out of the break, UTEP closed the deficit down to two points after putting up six kills and a block, 17-15, and continued its 7-1 scoring run to take the lead 20-18. Clemson replied with its own 4-0 run to pull ahead 22-20. UTEP tied the set at 23 and 24-all. With UTEP at set point (25-24) the Tigers knotted the score on a block, but the Miners regained the lead with a kill by Washington and an ace by Kohler, securing the set win for UTEP in extras, 27-25.
SET TWO | UTEP dominated the second set with Clemson only being able to tie the score on four occasions before the Miners gained an early 10-7 lead. An attack error by Clemson and kill by Torrance Lovesee pushed Clemson to sidebar as UTEP led 12-8. A pair of kills by Alianza Darley prompted another timeout for Clemson, 17-11. Another kill by Darley kicked off a 4-0 run for UTEP that consisted of an ace by Alyssa Sianez and back-to-back blocks by Kaya Weaver, 21-12. Ava Martindale swooped in as a serving sub and closed the set win on an ace, 25-17.
SET THREE | Clemson found some rhythm in the third set, only allowing the Miners to tie up the set within their first two points. UTEP stayed close only trailing by two points, 12-10, but the Tigers pulled ahead 15-10. Clemson gave up four sporadic kills to the Miners before running away with the set on an 8-1 scoring run to stay in the match, 25-14.
SET FOUR | Both teams issued small scoring runs to gain the lead in the final set. As UTEP went up 5-4 on a Clemson error, the Tigers readjusted to go up 7-5, but the Miners followed with a 5-1 run to force a Clemson timeout, 10-8. A pair of blocks and a kill by Weaver lifted the Miners up 15-11. Clemson attempted to challenge a Lovesee kill, but was unsuccessful stretching UTEP's lead by five, 16-11. UTEP continued to stay at least four points ahead for the remainder of the match leading to another unsuccessful challenge by Clemson on UTEP's match point, 24-18. The Tigers were handed one last point on a UTEP error before Weaver slammed down the winning kill, locking in the match win, 3-1.
Give a gift to UTEP Women's Volleyball by donating to the Point Miners Club.
For complete coverage of UTEP Women's Volleyball, be sure to follow the Miners on social media at @utepvb (Instagram) @UTEPVolleyball (Facebook) and @UTEPVB (Twitter) or visit the official home of UTEP Athletics at UTEPMiners.com.
