UTEP Volleyball Sweeps Past Liberty, 3-0, For Fifth Straight Win

EL PASO, Texas – UTEP completed a series sweep of Liberty, 3-0, on Saturday afternoon in front of 1,350 screaming fans at Club Memorial. The Miners (14-2, 4-0 Conference USA) are now 8-0 all-time versus the Lady Flames (14-3, 2-2 CUSA).

UTEP has won five consecutive matches, while it’s the second year in a row the Miners have claimed 14 of their first 16 matches. It’s also the second straight season the Orange and Blue have opened CUSA play with an undefeated mark through four matches.

“We’ve known all year we have 18 really good volleyball players and we’ve known the pieces we could move and the puzzle we had to put together,” UTEP Head Coach Ben Wallis said. “A lot of it added stress and pressure to me to add the right pieces out there. We have a really good group all year but to be able to have four really good volleyball players standing on the sideline and for us to go on an operate like that is a real testament to our team culture. The young people in this locker room show how much they care about this, how hard they work outside of volleyball to do things that are important that have nothing to do with the round spherical object or this gym. They do a lot of stuff outside, and they have to give up their time to make sure we survive and play well in these kinds of circumstances. I’m just really proud of our group. With this group, I have no fear and I’m very confident in them.”

MATCH SUMMARY 

The Miners jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the match after holding off Liberty, 25-23, in the opening set. UTEP continued to show its mental toughness with another close outcome in the second set, staking it by a count of 25-21. The Miners found another gear in the final frame, smashing Liberty, 25-12, to complete the sweep.

LEADERBOARD 

• Kaya Weaver led the charge offensively with 11 kills, hitting .500 while Luvina Oguntimehin swung .417 on the way to producing eight kills.
• Mattie Gantt (18 assists) and Alexis Massey (15 assists) ran the offense effectively, with UTEP hitting an efficient .322 on the day.
• Weaver was a force with her serve, recording three of the Miners’ four aces in the match
• Gantt was credited with a match-high 10 digs while Fuka Sekita and Torrance Lovesee added nine each.
• Weaver compiled a team-most 15.0 points, followed by Oguntimehin at 10.5.
• UTEP finished with 11 total blocks, one shy of its season high. The defensive intensity led to the Lady Flames hitting a minute .099.
• Danika Washington had seven block assists to set the tone in that department.

SPLIT BOX 

UTEP dominated the match from a statistical standpoint, hitting .322 compared to Liberty’s .099. The Miners also had advantages in kills (41-31), assists (38-30), aces (4-2), digs (37-33) and total blocks (11-4).

SET-BY-SET 

ONE | UTEP took the first set, 25-22. Following a 5-3 start by Liberty, the two squads went back and forth. The Miners’ Luvina Oguntimehin tied the set at 6-6 after a kill and assist from Alexis Massey, while Ojuntimehin’s block gave UTEP a 7-6 edge. The Lady Flames tied the set at 8-8 following a Jenna Otts kill, but the Miners used a 4-0 run to take a 12-8 advantage that was capped by a Daniell Laney attack error. The Orange and Blue led up until the visitors tied the match at 22 all on a Carly O’Brien kill. UTEP outscored Liberty 3-1 down the stretch to take the set, which ended on a service error by the Lady Flames. The Miners tallied 13 kills, an ace and four blocks.  

TWO | UTEP jumped out to a 2-0 lead after securing set two, 25-21. The Miners got out to a fast start as Kaya Weaver’s kill made the count 3-0 and Danika Washington’s kill put UTEP up 5-2. Liberty went on a 5-0 run to take a 7-5 edge following a trio of attack errors by UTEP. Following an 8-8 tie on a LU service error, a pair of Jenna Otts’s kills put her squad ahead 10-8. Liberty took another two-point advantage (12-10) before the Miners took control of the set. UTEP went on a 3-0 run to grab a 13-12 lead and ballooned the margin to 21-16 following back-to-back kills by Weaver. LU used a 5-2 run to get within two points (23-21), but two kills by Torrance Lovesee sealed the triumph.

THREE | The Miners dominated the third set, 25-12. UTEP leaped out to an 11-3 lead and never looked back. Liberty made things interesting when it got within four points (12-8), but that’s the closest the Lady Flames would get. The Miners outscored them, 13-4, down the stretch to complete the second straight sweep of the two-match set.

UP NEXT

UTEP will take on rival NM State in the Battle of I-10 on Oct. 10-11 in Las Cruces. The Miners and Aggies are set for a 6 p.m. start on Friday. First serve on Saturday will be 4 p.m. in the Pan American Center.