EL PASO - The UTEP volleyball team delivered a dominant performance Friday night at Club Memorial, sweeping Kennesaw State, 3-0 (25-16, 25-15, 25-18). The Miners' offense was firing on all cylinders, posting a season-high .481 hitting percentage in the victory.  

UTEP improves to 25-4 (15-2 Conference USA) while Kennesaw State drops to 13-15 (10-7 CUSA).   

MATCH SUMMARY           
After a slow start in the first set, the Miners quickly gained momentum, using a combination of powerful kills, timely aces, and solid blocking to win the set 25-16. They carried this energy into the second set, where aggressive serving and strong offensive plays led to a 25-15 victory. UTEP maintained control in the final set, capitalizing on key blocks and a relentless attack to secure the match with a 25-18 win.  

LEADERBOARD              

• UTEP's dominant performance was highlighted by Ema Uskokovic, who led the team with a match-high 11 kills on 18 error-free swings, hitting an impressive .611.  
• Uskokovic also delivered from the service line with 4 aces and racked up a match-high 15.0 points.  
• The Miners' offense was orchestrated by Kalia Kohler and Mattie Gantt, who combined for 28 assists and guided UTEP to a season-high .481 hitting percentage.  
• Defensively, Luvina Oguntimehin, Danika Washington, and Kaya Weaver each registered 4 blocks.

SPLIT BOX              
UTEP held the all-around statistical advantage in kills (43-23), service aces (8-4), digs (27-24), and blocks (8-3). UTEP registered a season-high .481 hitting percentage and held Kennesaw State to a .143 H%.     

SET-BY-SET           
ONE | UTEP started off on the back foot as KSU jumped to a quick 3-0 lead, but the Miners found their rhythm with Weaver's first kill. The momentum shifted after back-to-back kills from Washington, followed by an ace from Uskokovic to tie the set at 6-6. UTEP surged ahead with kills from Sara Pustahija, Torrance Lovesee, and an ace by Madison Hill, pulling away to a 15-9 lead before the media timeout. The Miners continued their dominance with a series of kills and blocks, pushing the score to 24-15. A KSU error sealed the set for UTEP at 25-16, giving them a 1-0 match lead. 

TWO | The Miners carried their momentum into the second set, capitalizing on KSU errors and strong offensive plays from Uskokovic and Lauren Perry to take an early 4-1 advantage. Despite KSU's attempts to rally, UTEP stayed ahead, fueled by a pair of aces from Uskokovic and kills from Pustahija and Lovesee. The Miners maintained control, leading 15-13 at the media timeout. UTEP's serving game heated up with a clutch ace from Kohler and back-to-back kills from Perry and Uskokovic, extending their lead to 22-15. The Miners closed the set on a 9-0 run, putting them up 2-0 in the match.

THREE | KSU opened the third set with a quick 2-0 lead, but UTEP responded with kills from Uskokovic and Weaver, tying the score at 2-2. The Miners took control with blocks from Weaver and Perry, followed by an ace from Lovesee. UTEP's offense continued to fire on all cylinders, with Washington, Oguntimehin, and Lovesee leading the attack. Uskokovic's consistent hitting, combined with Perry's kills and strong defensive blocks, propelled the Miners to a commanding 22-13 lead. Perry and Hannah Crowe closed out the set with a kill each, giving UTEP a 25-18 victory to sweep the match 3-0.

"We made it hard for KSU to score in the third set," said Coach Ben Wallis. "I wasn't pleased with how we were stopping them in the first two sets, but we were scoring so well offensively that it didn't really affect the game. Our goal coming in against a team with two really spectacular players was to touch or block everything, and that's exactly what we did in the third set. It was great to see the long rally kills. We served it really tough, and Ema served it exceptionally well. Kalia had them on a string for a long while. Defensively, we blocked really well in the third set, which was good to see. Offensively, we were a force—having a couple of players with zero errors attacking and being that efficient without errors coming out of the back row is just crazy. It was also great to get Luvina some time out there; she had four block assists in a set and a half, which is awesome—she's been playing much, much better in practice. I'm proud of our group. KSU is the third-place team in our conference right now, so this was a big win. We've got to turn around tomorrow and wrap up the regular season with a win. Our team is hungry, you can see it. We're making sure we're prepared to sharpen all the swords for next week, but we've got one more task in the regular season to see if we can get to 26 wins on the season, which would be really special, and to get to 16 conference wins would be really cool."

UP NEXT               
The Miners face the Owls again on Saturday, November 16, at 12pm MST at Club Memorial for Senior Day.   

 

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