TUCSON, Ariz. - The UTEP beach volleyball team split two matches Saturday at the Wildcat Spring Challenge. The Miners capped the day with a 3-2 victory over Missouri State, but dropped the final match, 4-1, to #18 Arizona at Bear Down Beach.
Ema Uskokovic and Sara Pustahija recorded the program's first win against a ranked opponent in the 2's.
"This weekend was a challenging weekend," Associate Head Coach Daniel Foo said. "The girls are learning so much and are starting to have higher expectations. Overall, I believe we showed growth from the beginning of the season, and we are continuing to get better with each showing."
Match 1: UTEP 3, Missouri State 2
The Miners took an early 2-0 lead over the Bears on courts one and two. MSU tacked on its first point on court four and after a competitive three set match in the 3's, the Bears rallied to win sets two and three to knot the match, 2-2.
As UTEP trailed on court five, dropping the first set, the Miners tabbed the second set win as Madison Hill and Marian Ovalle pulled off a 15-9 comeback victory, clinching the match win, 3-2.
Results (Order of Finish: 1, 2, 4, 3, 5*)
1) Krista Paegle/Katie Martin (UTEP) def. Bach/Muriel (MSU) 21-14, 21-17
2) Ema Uskokovic/Sara Pustahija (UTEP) def. Hall/Garrett (MSU) 21-19, 21-16
3) Rattler/Plessner (MSU) def. Aaliyah Austin/Savannah Marenco (UTEP) 14-21, 21-17, 15-10
4) Miemeyer/Steele (MSU) def. Serena Patterson/Mia Bella Ruiz (UTEP) 21-10, 24-22
5) Madison Hill/Marian Ovalle (UTEP) def. Drew/Crider (MSU) 21-23, 21-18, 15-9
Match 2: #18 Arizona 4, UTEP 1
UTEP had a second chance to take on nationally ranked Arizona. The Sand Cats took the first sets on all courts except at No. 2. Arizona jumped to a 1-0 lead as Uhl and Gedikoglu dropped the result in the 4's. The Sand Cats clinched the match via a 2-12, 21-12 win at No. 3 pairs. UTEP's Uskokovic and Pustahija made history as they swept the competition in the 2's with a 21-18, 23-21 win over a ranked opponent.
Results (Order of Finish: 4, 1, 3*, 5, 2)
1) Parkhurst/Blacker (UA) def. Paegle/Martin (UTEP) 21-13, 21-19
2) Uskokovic/Pustahija (UTEP) def. Russell/Shannoon (UA) 21-18, 23-21
3) Rennie/Cook (UA) def. Austin/Marenco (UTEP) 21-12, 21-12
4) Uhl/Gedikoglu (UA) def. Patterson/Ruiz (UTEP) 21-11, 21-9
5) Kost/Erro (UA) def. Hill/Ovalle (UTEP) 21-17, 21-11
Final Thoughts from Coach Foo
"On Friday we had a disappointing performance against Santa Clara. Our pairs didn't play to their full potential. Fortunately, in the second match we had teams bounce back and Katie (Martin) and Krista (Paegle) got their first win as a pair. Saturday morning, we had a thrilling win against MSU with Maddie (Hill) and Marian (Ovalle) clinching the win for us in three sets. We fought hard against UA and Ema (Uskokovic) and Sara (Pustahija) played a great match and took down #18 UA's 2's pair. It was an excellent win for them. "
UP NEXT
UTEP will travel to Fort Worth, Texas to participate in TCU's Tournament, April 7-8. The Miners will face off against the Horned Frogs, Houston Christian and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
For complete coverage of UTEP Beach Volleyball, be sure to follow the Miners on social media at @utepbeachvb (Instagram) and @UTEPBeachVB (Twitter) or visit the official home of UTEP Athletics at UTEPMiners.com.
