UTEP Athletics

Miners and Hilltoppers Split Weekend Series After WKU Sweep

10/25/2025 2:00:00 PM

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – (RV) UTEP volleyball dropped its first Conference USA match of the season Saturday afternoon, falling in straight sets to (RV) Western Kentucky inside Diddle Arena. With the series split, both teams now stand at 9–1 in league play. The Miners move to 19–3 overall, while WKU improves to 18–5 on the year.

MATCH SUMMARY
The Miners battled point-for-point early in the opening frame, erasing a six-point deficit to tie it at 18–18 before the Toppers closed it out, 25–22. WKU carried that momentum into the second set, pulling away midway through to take a 25–16 win and a 2–0 match lead. UTEP tried to extend the match in the third, cutting into the gap with a late run, but WKU held firm to secure the sweep with a 25–15 victory.

LEADERBOARD

Torrance Lovesee led the Miners with eight kills and added UTEP's lone block while totaling 10 points on the day.
Landry Braziel was efficient on the attack, finishing with six kills on eight error-free swings for a .750 hitting percentage. Sara Pustahija also turned in an error-free performance, recording six kills on 16 attempts for a .375 clip.
Setters Kalia Kohler and Mattie Gantt combined for 30 assists—17 and 13, respectively—while Hannah Crowe served up two aces and Fuka Sekita anchored the back row with 11 digs.

SPLIT BOX
Statistically, WKU held the advantage in kills (42–35), assists (40–35), and aces (9–4), while the Miners led in digs (27–23). Both teams finished with one block. UTEP hit an efficient .295 as a team, but WKU countered with a strong .468 performance to earn the sweep.

SET-BY-SET
ONE | UTEP and WKU traded early points before the Toppers pulled ahead 10-4, forcing an early Miner timeout. UTEP responded with a strong mid-set push fueled by kills from Landry Braziel, Luvina Oguntimehin, and Torrance Lovesee, as well as a pair of service aces from Hannah Crowe to close the gap to 12-9. The Miners continued to chip away, tying the score at 18–18 after a block by Lovesee and back-to-back kills from Oguntimehin. However, WKU regained control late, closing out the frame 25–22 despite a late push from UTEP.

TWO | The Miners started strong again, with Braziel and Lovesee connecting on multiple kills to keep pace early. WKU slowly built a cushion midway through the set, pulling ahead 16–11 at the media timeout. UTEP battled to stay within reach behind kills from Oguntimehin, Washington, and Crowe, but the Toppers' efficiency at the net made the difference down the stretch. WKU sealed the set 25–16 to take a 2–0 match lead.

THREE | WKU jumped out to an 8–4 lead, and despite several kills from Sara Pustahija and Lovesee, UTEP struggled to slow down the Toppers' offensive rhythm. A brief Miner surge midway through the set, highlighted by an ace from Pustahija and three Lovesee kills, cut the deficit to five, but WKU held firm after a timeout. The Toppers finished the sweep with a 25–15 win in the third.

QUOTABLE
"Tale of two butt-kickings," head coach Ben Wallis said. "Unfortunately, we weren't able to compete very hard for long stretches on the block, dig, and serve side of things. We served it poorly, and they served great—from the first point they decided that if they were going to beat us, they had to get us out of system more. I still thought we did a lot of good things offensively, and I'm proud of our setters for helping us hit good numbers even with the passing the way it was. But we were high-error from the service line, which we haven't been all year, and we didn't pressure them—both bad combinations against a team like that. They were just determined to score offensively. So, tale of two butt-kickings— we kicked some butt yesterday, and they kicked ours today. That's what happens when two good, evenly matched teams go at it. We're both leaving here 9–1, and now we've got to rest up, stay competitive, and turn our attention to Friday night against Missouri State. I'm proud of my group for getting out of here with a split, but we just got pushed around by a good, competitive team today."

UP NEXT
UTEP returns home for Halloween weekend, hosting Missouri State in a two-match series Oct. 31–Nov. 1 inside Memorial Gym. Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+.

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