Box Score WACO, Texas – UTEP volleyball opened the Baylor Classic with a 3-1 victory over UIW on Thursday night at the Ferrell Center. The Miners improved to 8-2 on the season, while the Cardinals fell to 2-7.
MATCH SUMMARY
UTEP overcame a back-and-forth opening set to take the frame, 26-24. The Miners carried that momentum into the second set, using a 6-1 run midway through the frame to pull away for a 25-18 victory and a 2-0 lead. UIW answered in the third, building an early advantage and holding off a late UTEP push to take the set, 25-19. The Miners responded emphatically in the fourth, opening the frame on a big scoring run and never looking back en route to a 25-18 set win and 3-1 match victory.
LEADERBOARD
Ema Uskokovic led the Miners with 11 kills, followed by
Mackenzi Davis with 10, with both attackers hitting above .250.
Kalia Kohler and
Caryme Molina combined for 44 assists, with Kohler recording 23 and Molina adding 21.
Lauren Perry delivered four aces to bring her season total to 24. Three Miners recorded double-digit digs, led by
Lily-Rose Pichon with 13, followed by Perry with 12 and Molina with 10, giving Molina a double-double.
Hannah Crowe posted a team-high five blocks, including two solo stuffs. Uskokovic finished with a team-best 13.5 points.
SET-BY-SET
ONE | UTEP jumped out to a 3-0 lead behind a kill and an ace, then extended its advantage to 6-2. UIW answered with an 9-1 run to take an 11-7 lead, but the Miners gradually chipped away before tying the set at 13-13. After trading points, UTEP took control with a 5-0 run that included a pair of blocks to move ahead 19-15. UIW rallied late to tie the set at 24-24, but Uskokovic delivered a kill to put UTEP at set point before a UIW attack error gave the Miners the 26-24 victory and a 1-0 lead.
TWO | The Miners and Cardinals traded points early before UTEP established a 8-5 advantage following an ace and kill by Perry. UTEP continued to build its lead, pushing ahead 15-12 at the tech timeout before extending the margin to 18-13. UIW trimmed the deficit to three, 21-18, but UTEP closed the set on a 4-0 run, capped by an ace by
Bella Widmer, to claim the frame 25-18 and take a 2-0 match lead.
THREE | UIW opened the third set with a 3-1 lead and maintained the advantage throughout the early stages. The Miners tied the set at 8-8 after consecutive kills by Uskokovic, but UIW answered with a 6-1 run to take a 14-9 lead. UTEP battled back late, cutting the deficit to 23-19 behind a pair of kills and a solo block, but UIW secured the final two points to win 25-19 and force a fourth set.
FOUR | After UIW scored the first three points, UTEP answered with a 10-1 run to take a 10-4 lead. The Miners continued to control the set behind a pair of solo blocks and kills, building a 15-7 advantage. UIW made a late push to cut the margin to five, but UTEP responded with five of the next seven points to move within one point of the match. A final kill by Uskokovic sealed the 25-18 win and gave the Miners the 3-1 victory.
SPLITBOX
UTEP held the statistical edge across the board, finishing with advantages in kills (55-45), assists (51-40), aces (5-2), digs (60-57) and blocks (14-6). The Miners hit .218 as a team while limiting UIW to a .133 hitting percentage.
UP NEXT
UTEP continues the Baylor Classic against No. 18 Baylor on Friday, Sept. 18, at 6 p.m. MT at the Ferrell Center in Waco. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
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