LARAMIE, Wyo. – UTEP volleyball completed its first Mountain West series in style Saturday night, defeating Wyoming 3-1 (25-21, 25-22, 24-26, 25-16) to sweep the Cowgirls and open league play with a 2-0 record.
The Miners improve to 11-4 overall and 2-0 in Mountain West play, while Wyoming falls to 7-6 overall and 0-2 in league action.
MATCH SUMMARY
UTEP carried its momentum from Friday's straight-set victory into Saturday's series finale, taking the first two sets before Wyoming answered with a narrow third-set victory. The Miners responded emphatically in the fourth, pulling away late to secure the match and the series sweep.
LEADERBOARD
Uskokovic led all players with 14 kills while hitting .419, followed by Perry with 10 kills on a .333 hitting percentage. Uskokovic also registered a match-high 16 points.
Kalia Kohler and
Shea Bruntmyer combined for 45 assists, with Kohler finishing with a team-high 26 assists. Kohler also recorded a team-best 12 digs to secure a double-double.
Perry added three aces, while UTEP's blocking presence was led by Oguntimehin, who posted a career-high nine total blocks, including three solo blocks and six assisted blocks.
SPLITBOX
The Miners held the statistical advantage in kills (54-41), assists (50-37), digs (48-46) and blocks (15-7). UTEP's 15 team blocks marked a season high.
Wyoming held the edge in aces, 8-6, but UTEP finished the night hitting .283 while limiting the Cowgirls to a .100 hitting percentage.
SET-BY-SET
ONE | UTEP established control early in the opening set. After Wyoming grabbed a brief 3-1 lead, the Miners answered with a 6-1 surge highlighted by kills from
Ema Uskokovic and
Hannah Crowe along with a Crowe-
Landry Braziel block. The Miners steadily stretched the margin to as many as six points and received five kills from Uskokovic in the frame. Wyoming closed within 22-20 late, but a
Mackenzi Davis kill and a final Cowgirl attack error secured a 25-21 UTEP victory.
TWO | The Miners used a dominant middle portion of the second set to move ahead 2-0 in the match. Holding an 8-6 advantage, UTEP rattled off an 8-0 run behind strong serving from
Kalia Kohler and a smothering block that produced four points during the stretch. The surge gave UTEP a commanding 16-6 cushion. Wyoming fought back with a late rally, trimming the deficit to 24-22, but
Luvina Oguntimehin delivered the set-clinching kill to finish a 25-22 win.
THREE | The third set proved to be the most competitive of the afternoon, featuring 18 ties and multiple momentum swings. UTEP built an 11-6 lead before Wyoming stormed back with four unanswered points to take its first advantage. Neither team led by more than two points the rest of the way. The Miners erased a 24-23 deficit on a Crowe kill to force extra points, but Wyoming capitalized on back-to-back UTEP attack errors to claim the set, 26-24, and extend the match.
FOUR | UTEP responded emphatically in the fourth set. After seven ties in the opening stages, the Miners seized control with an 11-4 run that turned a 9-9 deadlock into a 20-13 advantage. Oguntimehin,
Lauren Perry and Braziel provided key kills during the stretch while the UTEP front row continued to disrupt the Cowgirl attack. The Miners closed the match in convincing fashion, scoring five of the final six points, with Perry's service ace sealing the 25-16 set victory and the 3-1 match triumph.
UP NEXT
The Miners return to El Paso on Oct. 1 and 3 as they welcome UNLV to Club Memorial for their first Mountain West home series. Both matches will be streamed live on MW+.
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