EL PASO, Texas – UTEP volleyball extended its winning streak to seven matches after defeating UC San Diego, 3-1 (25-19, 25-21, 22-25, 25-20), Saturday afternoon inside Club Memorial to finish undefeated at the Borderland Classic. The Miners improve to 7-1 on the season, while the Tritons fall to 2-6.
MATCH SUMMARY
UTEP jumped out to a 2-0 lead before UC San Diego responded in the third set, but the Miners answered in the fourth to close out the match and complete the tournament sweep. UTEP finished the afternoon with a .336 hitting percentage and limited the Tritons to a .216 clip.
LEADERBOARD
- Luvina Oguntimehin led all players with 14 kills, while Daisy Voskuhl followed with 11. Ema Uskokovic and Mackenzi Davis each added 10 kills.
- Oguntimehin hit .478 for the match, followed by Davis at .421.
- Lauren Perry served three aces, while Kalia Kohler and Caryme Molina combined for 47 assists with 25 and 22, respectively.
- Uskokovic paced the Miners defensively with 13 digs, while Oguntimehin added seven total blocks, including one solo rejection.
- Oguntimehin also registered a match-high 18.0 points.
SPLITBOX
UTEP held the statistical advantage in kills (57-56), aces (7-3) and blocks (12-5), while UC San Diego edged the Miners in digs (47-45). Both teams recorded 51 assists. The Miners finished with a .336 hitting percentage and held the Tritons to a .216 clip.
SET-BY-SET
ONE | The Miners battled through an early back-and-forth before taking control late in the opening frame. After trailing 9-8, UTEP rattled off three straight points to take an 12-10 advantage, highlighted by kills from Oguntimehin and Uskokovic. The Miners continued to build their lead, eventually reaching a 15-13 advantage before the technical timeout. UTEP used a 5-2 run later in the set to stretch its lead to 20-16, with a Kohler ace and a pair of UC San Diego service errors helping the Miners' cause. A
Hannah Crowe kill pushed UTEP to set point at 24-19 before Perry finished the frame with another kill for the 25-19 win.
TWO | UTEP opened the second set with a pair of points and maintained a narrow advantage through the early stages. Kills from Oguntimehin and Voskuhl helped the Miners build a 9-6 lead before UC San Diego gained an 11-10 lead. Davis answered with consecutive kills to put UTEP back in front, 12-13. Uskokovic followed with a kill to give the Miners a 14-13 advantage before a block from Crowe and
Landry Braziel made it 15-14. UTEP then created separation late, purely on kills and blocks to take a 22-19 lead. A Triton attack error pushed the Miners to set point at 24-19, and Uskokovic closed it out with a kill at 25-21.
THREE | The Tritons jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the third set, but UTEP quickly responded to cut the deficit to 5-2. Uskokovic added a kill and teamed with Crowe for another block as the Miners fought back to tie the set at 6-6. Voskuhl later brought UTEP within one at 8-7 before the Tritons extended their advantage. UTEP continued to battle, with Oguntimehin and Uskokovic combining for consecutive kills before a pair of Perry aces helped the Miners erase the deficit and tie the set at 15-15. Davis then put UTEP ahead, 17-16, and Uskokovic's kill and ace gave the Miners a 21-20 lead. UC San Diego answered with a late run, however, taking the set 25-22 to cut UTEP's lead to 2-1.
FOUR | UTEP answered immediately in the fourth, overcoming an early 4-2 deficit with five straight points to take a 7-4 lead. Molina added a kill, followed by Voskuhl, to extend the advantage to 9-5. UTEP continued to apply pressure at the net, with an Oguntimehin solo block and kills from Uskokovic and Oguntimehin helping the Miners build a 16-9 lead. UTEP maintained its cushion throughout the remainder of the set, with kills from Davis, Voskuhl and Oguntimehin keeping the Miners in control. A block from Perry and Oguntimehin moved UTEP to match point at 23-18, and Oguntimehin finished the match with a kill for the 25-20 victory.
UTEP head coach
Ben Wallis praised his team's ability to adjust and wear down UC San Diego as the match progressed. "They gave us some problems early with their speed and some of their tactics, but we figured it out," Wallis said. "What I love about this team is that over the course of the four sets, their percentages got lower and lower. We started to wear them out, and we got back to being physical from the service line and from an attacking standpoint. When this team gets back to having fun, they play really special volleyball."
UP NEXT
UTEP will face a challenging week ahead, taking on two ranked opponents. The Miners will travel to Fort Worth, Texas, to face TCU on Wednesday, Sept. 16, before heading to Waco, Texas, for Baylor's tournament. UTEP will take on UIW on Thursday, Sept. 17, before facing the host Bears on Friday, Sept. 18.
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