UTEP Volleyball Tame the Lady Lions with Roaring 3-0 Sweep
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- In a thrilling start to the Borderland Invitational, the UTEP volleyball team (3-1) made a statement in their home opener Thursday night at Memorial Gym, sweeping reigning Southland Conference champion Southeastern Louisiana in a decisive 3-0 victory.
The Miners opened their home campaign with a commanding performance, winning the first set 25-10 with explosive offense, taking the second set 25-17 after a late 9-0 run, and sealing the sweep with a tightly contested 25-23 victory in the third set.
LEADERBOARD
UTEP volleyball saw standout performances from multiple players, with Ema Uskokovic leading the team with 10 kills while hitting an impressive .409. The setter duo of Mattie Gantt and Kalia Kohler combined for 27 assists, with Gantt also delivering a team-high three aces. Defensively, Danika Washington was a force at the net, recording seven total blocks, while Alyssa Sianez and Torrance Lovesee each contributed eight digs to anchor the Miners' back row.
THE STATS
UTEP held the all-round statistical advantage in kills (35-27), service aces (9-0), and blocks (11-4). UTEP posted a .320 hitting percentage and held SE Louisiana to just .011.
SET-BY-SET
SET ONE | The Miners came out strong to start the match, displaying explosive energy that set the tone early. UTEP dominated with nine kills, pulling ahead 15-9 by the media timeout. They extended their lead with an impressive 10-1 scoring run, forcing SELU to call two timeouts to regroup. However, the Lady Lions couldn't find an answer, and a pair of attack errors sealed the deal for UTEP with a commanding 25-10 win. The Miners hit an outstanding .611, registering 12 kills with just one error. Ema Uskokovic led the charge with four kills.
SET TWO | UTEP started the second set with back-to-back kills, but SELU quickly responded, resulting in a series of small scoring spurts from both teams. The set was tightly contested, featuring six lead changes. UTEP's setter duo, Mattie Gantt and Kalia Kohler, each added a setter dump to keep the Miners slightly ahead, leading 15-14 at the media timeout. The score remained tight, with three consecutive service errors from both teams tying it at 16-16. SELU briefly took the lead at 17-16 with a kill, but that marked the end of their scoring as UTEP regained control. The Miners closed the set on a dominant 9-0 scoring run to win 25-17, taking a 2-0 lead in the match.
SET THREE | SELU gained early momentum in the final set, leading 9-7 before UTEP responded with a 6-1 run to take a 13-10 lead. The Lady Lions answered back with a 5-1 run of their own, reclaiming the lead while conceding just one point to UTEP. However, freshman Iana Loera served up two aces to lift the Miners to an 18-15 advantage. UTEP capitalized on a pair of SELU errors and added two kills to go up 22-19. Although SELU rallied with three straight points to tie the set at 22-23, Kaya Weaver stepped up in the clutch, delivering a kill and a block to secure the 25-23 win, completing the sweep for UTEP.
"The message all week was that this conference champion (SELU) wasn't going to let us win easily, and they really turned a corner competitively, challenging us in ways we initially weren't responding to," said UTEP Head Coach Ben Wallis. "I thought Ema was spectacular tonight. SELU is an exceptionally talented team, and the fact that we got nine aces on them without getting aced ourselves made the biggest difference in the match. I'm proud of what we did from the service line. We continued to block well, did some really nice things, and found a way to win in those tough second and third sets. That's what you need to do against a conference champion, and I'm proud of this win.”
UP NEXT
UTEP takes on Air Force on day two of the Borderland Invitational on Friday, September 6, at 6pm MDT.
