UTEP volleyball’s Torrance Lovesee & Sara Pustahija earn AVCA All-Region Honors
LEXINGTON, Kentucky - UTEP Volleyball's Torrance Lovesee and Sara Pustahija have been honored by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) as part of the 2025 Division I Women's Volleyball All-Region Teams.
Lovesee and Pustahija earned Southwest All-Region Honorable Mention.
The duo’s standout seasons helped propel the Miners to a historic 2025 campaign that included the first-ever Conference USA Regular-Season Championship, the program’s second NCAA Tournament berth, and a program-best RPI of 15.
Lovesee, an outside hitter from Leon, Kansas, concluded her Miner career as one of the most productive attackers in program history.
She became the 14th Miner to eclipse 1,000 career kills, reaching the milestone with a 17-kill performance against Arizona, and finished with 1,235 kills, the fifth-highest total all-time at UTEP.
A First Team All-CUSA honoree, Lovesee started all 30 matches and played in all 101 sets this season while leading UTEP with 324 kills, making her the only Miner to surpass 300.
She also posted a team-best 384.5 points and added 191 digs, the second-most on the squad and the most among attacking players.
Her stat line also included 24 aces and 61 blocks, with 12 recorded as solo stops.
Lovesee earned CUSA Offensive Player of the Week honors in Week 11 for her standout performances late in the season.
Pustahija, an outside/rightside hitter from Belgrade, Serbia, delivered one of the most balanced all-around campaigns in the region and also earned First Team All-CUSA recognition.
She started every match and appeared in all 101 sets while leading UTEP with 36 aces and ranking second on the team with 264 kills and 333.0 total points.
Defensively, she contributed 184 digs—third-most on the roster—while adding 55 blocks, 11 of which were solo.
Pustahija, a CUSA Preseason Team selection, was named CUSA Defensive Player of the Week in Week 12 after a strong late-season surge on both sides of the ball.
Together, Lovesee and Pustahija formed one of the conference’s most effective pin tandems, helping drive UTEP’s rise to a championship season and a return to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 6 seed.
Their versatility, consistency, and leadership were integral to the Miners achieving one of the best seasons in program history.
