EL PASO, Texas – Opening night at Club Memorial did not disappoint. With 3,176 fans packing the newly renovated venue, UTEP volleyball rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat NM State, 3-2 (25-23, 13-25, 24-26, 25-22, 15-13), in a five-set thriller that had the sold-out crowd on its feet Sunday night.
The Miners improved to 1-1 on the young season, while the Aggies fell to 1-2 on opening weekend.
The Miners are now 3-2 all-time when playing in front of a sold-out home crowd.
MATCH SUMMARY
After dropping the third set in a heartbreaker, UTEP responded with a resilient fourth-set performance before taking control early in the deciding fifth set. The Miners closed out the Aggies, 15-13, to send the sold-out crowd into a frenzy.
Sunday also marked the collegiate debut of freshman
Daisy Voskuhl, who made an immediate impact in the five-set thriller with five kills and two block assists.
LEADERBOARD
- Three Miners finished in double figures in kills, led by Landry Braziel with 12. Uskokovic and Davis each added 11 kills, with both hitting .250 on the night.
- Kohler and Shea Bruntmyer combined for 37 assists, while Kohler added two aces and led the Miners defensively with 13 digs for a double-double. Lily-Rose Pichon followed with 11 digs.
- Oguntimehin anchored the net with four blocks, including one solo rejection, while Braziel led UTEP with 12.5 total points.
SPLIT BOX
Despite the victory, the Miners were edged statistically by the Aggies in nearly every category. NM State finished with advantages in kills (63-56), assists (60-51), aces (8-4), digs (60-54) and blocks (8-7).
UTEP finished the night hitting .201, while NM State recorded a .257 hitting percentage.
SET-BY-SET
ONE | UTEP came out swinging as
Ema Uskokovic opened the scoring with a kill. The Aggies built an early 6-2 advantage, but the Miners steadily chipped away behind various kills. A
Kalia Kohler ace helped UTEP pull within one at 9-8 before the Miners eventually evened the score at 18-all. UTEP took its first lead at 19-18 following a
Lauren Perry kill and later held a 22-21 advantage. After NM State tied the set at 23-all, Uskokovic delivered another kill to give the Miners set point before Uskokovic and
Sydney Frazier teamed up for the decisive block, giving UTEP a 25-23 victory and a 1-0 lead.
TWO | The Aggies responded by taking control early in the second set, building a 10-7 lead before extending the margin to 15-10. Oguntimehin provided a kill and solo block during the set, while Davis and Frazier teamed up for another block, but NM State continued to pull away. The Aggies closed the set on a 5-1 run to even the match at one set apiece, 25-13.
THREE | UTEP opened the third set with kills from Braziel and a block from Braziel and Oguntimehin before Bruntmyer added an ace during a run that turned a 4-4 tie into a 10-8 advantage. Braziel continued to lead the attack, while Voskuhl made her collegiate debut in memorable fashion, recording three kills during a late UTEP push. The Miners trailed 21-15 before battling all the way back, cutting the deficit to 23-22 after a Davis kill. Davis tied the set at 24-all, followed by a Uskokovic kill, but NM State answered with the final two points, 26-24, to take a 2-1 lead.
FOUR | Refusing to let the match slip away, UTEP fought through another back-and-forth set. Braziel delivered multiple kills while Perry added an ace to help the Miners stay within striking distance. With the score tied 15-15, UTEP surged ahead behind an Uskokovic kill, a block from Uskokovic and
Hannah Crowe, and an NM State error to take an 18-16 lead. Davis and Uskokovic then delivered consecutive kills to push the advantage to 20-18. After the Aggies pulled even at 20-all, Davis put UTEP back in front, Kohler followed with an ace and Perry delivered a kill for set point. An NM State error closed the set, 25-22, sending the match to a decisive fifth.
FIVE | The Miners struck first in the final frame on a block from Voskuhl and Oguntimehin. The teams traded points throughout the opening stages before Braziel caught fire, recording three consecutive kills to knot the set at 5-5. After NM State briefly pulled ahead, UTEP answered with a Davis kill to take a 9-8 advantage. As UTEP took the lead, 12-10, the Aggies battled back to within one at 13-12, but Crowe came through with a kill to give UTEP match point. Uskokovic then put the finishing touch on the comeback with a kill, securing the 15-13 fifth-set victory and the 3-2 match win.
"We just fought," head coach Ben wallis said. "For a long time, we looked like a complete train wreck, but I'm incredibly proud of my staff and my team. All I wanted was to get people on the floor who were going to go do the job, compete and find a way to hit the ball hard, and I'm really proud of the answer from our team. We could have easily fallen apart and quit, but we didn't. That was a hard-fought match against a tough team, against a rival, in an electric gym. Honestly, the gym bothered us more than it bothered New Mexico State in those first two sets. It really affected us because none of our freshmen, and really Shea, Lily and Kaylynn, have never never played in this environment before. Only our veterans have. It's nasty, it's loud and it's on you. I'm just incredibly proud of our entire group. Honestly, I can't pinpoint one person who stood out more than anybody else."
UP NEXT
UTEP returns to action Sept. 3-5 at the third annual Southwest Showdown, hosted by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi this year. The Miners will face Texas State, the Islanders and UTRGV during the three-day tournament.
The Southwest Showdown features all four programs each year, with hosting duties rotating among the participating schools.
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