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The UTEP volleyball team announced its 2018 schedule on Tuesday. Seven home matches, including a three-match home tournament, will take place in Memorial Gym this fall while another 14 road contests will make up the 25-match slate.

Fans will get their first look at the UTEP squad on August 18, when it hosts Universidad Regional del Norte in an exhibition match at Memorial Gym.

The Miners will open the season with four tournaments in as many weeks, beginning with the Tulane Volleyball 1-10 Challenge in New Orleans, La. They will open up the tournament with two matches on Friday, August 24, first against UIW at 10 a.m. MT then a 6 p.m. MT meeting with host Tulane.

UTEP will close out its stay at Tulane with a 9 a.m. MT battle against Louisiana on Saturday, Aug. 25.

The following weekend, the Miners will travel to Omaha, Ne., to compete in the Omaha Challenge Auguust 31 and September 1. UTEP will take on Illinois-Chicago at 9 a.m. MT then UMKC at 4 p.m. MT. Both matches will be played on Friday, August 31. The Miners will face host Omaha at 12 p.m. MT on Saturday, September 1, to close out the tournament.

UTEP will return home to co-host the Borderland Invitational alongside NM State. The team will take on the Pac-12’s Arizona on Friday, September 7 at 5 p.m. MT at the Pan American Center, then return to Memorial Gym on Saturday for a meeting with Montana at 12 p.m. MT. The Orange and Blue will close out their short homestand with a battle against rival NM State on Sunday, September 9, at 1 p.m. MT in Memorial Gym.

A trip to San Diego, Calif., will round out the preseason tournaments when the Miners contest in the SDSU/USD Challenge Sept. 14 and 15. The Miners and Oregon State will face-off on Friday at 1 p.m. MT. The Miners will battle San Diego State on Saturday at 10 a.m. MT before heading back to the Sun City.

Conference USA action will begin on Friday, Sept. 21 when the Miners head to Houston to take on Rice at 5 p.m. MT at Tudor Fieldhouse. UTEP will return home to host Southern Miss on Sunday, September 23 at 12 p.m. MT. A week later, UTSA will roll into Memorial Gym to face the home team on Sunday, September 30, at noon.

League action will continue on the road when the Miners travel to UAB on Friday, October 5 to battle the Blazers at 5 p.m. MT. UTEP and Marshall will meet on Sunday, October 7 at 11 a.m. MT.

A weekend homestand will begin on Friday, October 12 when UTEP hosts Florida Atlantic at 6 p.m. MT in Memorial Gym. The Miners will face FIU on Sunday, October 14 at 12 p.m. MT in front of the El Paso crowd.

The Miners will head to Ruston, La., to challenge LA Tech on Friday, October 19 at 6 p.m. MT, and then prepare for their Sunday match against Middle Tennessee on Sunday, October 21 at 11 a.m. MT in Murfreesboro, Tn.

Closing out the month of October will be a three-match homestand, beginning with four-time defending league champion WKU on Friday, October 26 at 6 p.m. MT. The Miners will meet with Rice for the second time on Sunday, October 28 at noon, and then wrap up the stand with a Sunday meeting against Charlotte on November 4 at 12 p.m. MT.

The Miners will round out regular-season action on road, meeting with North Texas in Denton on Thursday, November 8 at 5 p.m. MT before taking on UTSA on Saturday, November 10 in San Antonio with a time to be determined.

The Conference USA Tournament, hosted by Marshall in Huntington, W.V., will be held November 16-18.

IRVING, Texas – For her efforts on and off the court, UTEP volleyball’s Macey Austin was named one of 14 Conference USA athletes receiving the 2017-18 Fall C-USA Spirit of Service award, the league announced on Tuesday.

The C-USA Spirit of Service Award is designed to recognize the community service efforts of the league’s student-athletes, based upon significant community service, good academic standing and participation in their elected sport.

The Spirit of Service award is presented three times throughout the season, with today’s honorees representing fall sports: football, men’s & women’s cross country, men’s soccer, women’s soccer and volleyball.

“Receiving this award is an honor because it is satisfying to know that my hard work is recognized and that it reflects the city of El Paso and how involved UTEP Athletics is in working in and with the community,” Austin said.

Austin totaled 21.75 service hours this semester, which included contributing time with the Housing Authority of the City of El Paso, UTEP Volleyball Camp and the Game Change Volleyball Camps.

The sophomore led the Miners in kills with 359 and had 27 total blocks, 18 matches with double-digit kills and four matches with 20 or more kills this past season. She ranks third in UTEP’s all-time individual for kills with 639 and has maintained a 3.91 GPA in kinesiology with a minor in psychology, the highest on the team.

“As a student-athlete, I have been very blessed,” Austin said. “I’m honored to give back to UTEP and its community.”

2017-18 Fall C-USA Spirit of Service Honorees:

Mary Manser, Charlotte, Women’s Soccer
Anthony Johnson, FIU, Football
Greg Joseph, Florida Atlantic, Football
Jacie McClure, Louisiana Tech, Volleyball
Ryan Yurachek, Marshall, Football
Bailey Mason, Middle Tennessee, Volleyball
Mikali Myers, North Texas, Volleyball
Josh Marriner, Old Dominion, Football
Anna Figueroa, Rice, Women’s Cross Country
Sarah Bell, Southern Miss, Volleyball
Caroline Kerher, UAB, Women’s Soccer
Macey Austin, UTEP, Volleyball
Kaja Skare, UTSA, Women’s Soccer
Hannah Chua, WKU, Women’s Soccer

UTEP volleyball head coach Holly Watts announced the addition of Hayley Meshay for the 2018 season.

Meshay hails from Phoenix, Ariz. and will add depth to the Miners’ setter position and right side. The 5-foot-11 decorated athlete has played club volleyball for six years, going to nationals for five years in a row, and has racked up Division 2 Metro West Player of the Year and First Team honors.

She was also named to the Under Armour All-America watch list. During her senior year at Arizona Lutheran Academy, she notched 508 kills at a .326 clip, 85 service aces, 162 digs and 64 assists.

“Hayley will give us some needed depth, but is also a spark with a strong, fast arm,” Watts said.

Meshay will be the first collegiate athlete in her family, but her academic success is to be noted as well. She is a member of the National Honors Society, a student ambassador as well as an AIA Scholar Athlete.

She chose UTEP because it offers the degree she wants, it’s not far from her Arizona home and she said she enjoyed the campus.

“I know from our first meeting and talking with the coaching staff, that they have the same passion for the game as I do,” Meshay said. “The girls on the team are amazing and I cannot wait to be a part of this team. The campus is beautiful and the facilities are amazing. The historic Memorial Gym, the Sun Bowl and the MAAC center all are very impressive.  Being on campus just feel like home.  El Paso is a ‘large city’ but with a small town feel and knowing that the community supports UTEP and UTEP supports the community is a big deal.  Lastly, the weather is very similar to my home city of Phoenix.”

ALBUQUERQUE, NM- Amanda King capped her collegiate volleyball career with a double-double, her fifth of the season as the UTEP volleyball team’s season came to an end in a three-set loss to New Mexico at the Johnson Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

King recorded a team-leading 27 assists and 12 digs in her effort, but the Miners’ third set surge was not enough, as the Lobos took the match 25-16, 25-16, 28-26. UTEP ended the 2017 campaign with a 6-22, 3-11 Conference USA record while the Lobos evened their record at 15-15, 6-10 in the Mountain West with two matches left in their season.

Two Miners notched double-digit kills, with Macey Austin knocking down 14 to lead the team and Cheyenne Jones throwing down 10. Austin hit at a blistering .333 clip and ended her sophomore season with a team-leading 359 kills. King’s 27 assists paced the Miners, while her 12 digs lead the team.

Fellow senior Dania Orozco chipped in nine digs in her effort, while Briana Arellano picked up eight digs and Niki Cebak was close behind with seven. Jones led the UTEP defensive effort at the net, teaming up for six block assists to stop the Lobo attacks.

In total, the Miners recorded 39 kills, 37 assists, 46 digs, and 16 block assists while the Lobos totaled 39 kills, 38 assists, 42 digs, two solo blocks and 14 block assists.

The Lobos jumped out to a quick 8-1 run to start the first frame before King’s first of four setter’s dumps started a Miner run. Arellano and Austin went back-to-back to cut the lead in half before New Mexico’s Mariessa Carrasco and Carly Beddingfield notched kills to extend the lead to 10-4.

Austin and Jones exchanged kills with the Lobos’ Victoria Spragg, and, after errors by both teams, Baumgartner and Arellano teamed up for a block to bring the Miners within five. Spragg would get another kill for the home team, but Arellano and Austin would both tip over the New Mexico blockers to notch two UTEP points. The teams exchanged service errors, but back-to-back blocks by the Lobos would extend their lead to 19-12.

The Miners benefitted from a New Mexico attack error, and Austin, Baumgartner, and Jones would each get kills for UTEP, but a 4-0 run by New Mexico ended the set at 25-16. Austin led the Miners with five kills in the first frame, while Orozco hustled for six digs, but a .314 hitting percentage by UTEP’s host proved to hurt the outcome of the set.

The second frame saw the Lobos again strike first, leading 4-1 before Austin notched her sixth kill of the match. The Miners would respond with their own 4-1 run, behind two kills by Jones, one from Arellano and a successful block assist by Jones and Mallory Yost, to get their first lead of the set at 6-5. The Lobos would rally to tie the set at seven, before pulling away to lead by three, 12-9.

Austin’s kill would give the Miners double-digit points, but New Mexico exploded on a run to lead 20-10. Again getting the side-out, Austin recorded another kill, as did Jones, while Jones and Yost again matched up for a block assist to cut the lead to 21-13.

The Miners would get their final three points from two New Mexico errors and another Jones kill, but the Lobos took the second set 25-16. Jones, in her best set of the match, led her team with five kills and two block assists in the frame.

Fighting to prevent a sweep, the Miners notched three quick points, courtesy of a kill by Baumgartner and two by Austin, to go up 3-0 in the third frame. In the most competitive set of the match, the Miners and Lobos tied five times before Baumgartner’s kill began a short UTEP run to go up 18-15.

Spragg would slow the run with a kill, but Baumgartner responded with one of her own. Two points for the Lobos cut the lead to one, but Austin and Arellano went back-to-back with their kills to keep the Miners up 21-18, forcing a New Mexico timeout. Out of the break, the Lobos got two quick points to again get within one of the Miners, but King’s kill and another block by Jones and Morgan kept them at bay, 23-20, and prompted another timeout by the home team.

This time, the Lobos were the ones to get the two points to force a UTEP timeout with the match tight at 23-22, still in the Miners’ favor. The Lobos quickly tied the match at 23 with a service ace, and then brought up match point with a Hailey Rubino kill. Watts took another timeout to regroup, and Austin spoiled match point with a crucial kill. Jones and Morgan kept the energy going with a block assist to bring UTEP’s set point, but Ali Vidali’s serve floated over the back line to tie the set at 25.

New Mexico’s Mercedes Pacheco returned the favor with her own service error, but an attack error by Jones evened the set at 26. Spragg would give the advantage to the Lobos with a kill, and a block assist by New Mexico ended the set at 28-26 and the match 3-0.

“[We] battled in the third set like we want to be known for,” head coach Holly Watts said. “We would like to have won that one to see what happens in the next set. I’m really proud of these seniors and what they have contributed to our program. There was another nice performance by Macey and a nice hitting percentage as well from Kylie.”

The Miners ended the season with 1,174 kills, 1,084 assists, 126 service aces, 1,300 digs and 186 total blocks.

Powered by a defense blocking effort by Kylie Baumgartner and an offensive fifth-set surge by Macey Austin, the UTEP volleyball team slipped by Marshall in five sets on Wednesday in the final home match of the season in Memorial Gym.

The Miners edged the Thundering Herd in an exciting 15-25, 25-22, 25-18, 20-25, 17-15 fashion to move to 6-22, 3-11 in Conference USA while dropping the Herd to 10-18, 5-8 in league play.

Baumgartner notched five block assists and a solo block while also recording nine kills at a .381 clip to lead the team defensively at the net while Austin led the Miners with 15 kills, including six in the fifth to push to the victory.

“That was very nerve racking, but also very fun to play at the same time,” Austin said. “You could feel the energy from us and the crowd and even the other team, so that just made it a good game all around. The energy is the most important thing for our team because it keeps us going. Even if we’re down, if we have that energy we can steal the momentum of the game.”

Briana Arellano and Cheyenne Jones also contributed nine kills each, while Arellano also served up three aces and Jones had three blocks. Amanda King dished out 42 assists and recorded five digs and three block assists in her final match in Memorial Gym. Fellow senior Dania Orozco also left on a high note, matching her career-high 20 digs to man the back row defensive effort and also notched two service aces. Maddie Morgan had three apiece in kills, service aces and block assists.

Together, the Miners recorded 48 kills, 47 assists, 10 service aces, 47 digs, 16 block assists and two solo blocks while the Thundering Herb totaled 63 kills, 59 assists, four service aces, 58 digs, 12 block assists and six solo blocks.

Marshall took the first frame 25-15 after out-hitting the Miners 14 kills at a .333 clip compared to seven kills. The Miners had a good effort from Baumgartner and Austin, who each had two kills, but the Thundering Herds’ five blocks stopped any offensive run for the Orange and Blue.

“I think we were kind of asleep in the first set and it was just kind of a wake-up call, we didn’t want to end our last game at home like this,” Austin said.

The second set was competitive as the two foes tied six times before the Miners stretched out to a 14-10 lead. UTEP would allow Marshall within one behind a 5-0 run to get to 17-16, before Austin broke the serve with her kill. Arellano and Jones would exchange kills with Marshall’s Madison Hill and Jac’cara Walker before consecutive Herd kills and a Miner attack error tied the frame at 20. Baumgartner would notch another kill, but another UTEP error tied the set at 22. Marshall would not go further than that point, Austin hammered another kill with authority and Arellano ended the set with a service ace to tie to match at 1-1.

“We just kind of start slow sometimes,” head coach Holly Watts said. “It was a good turnaround for us, although the hitting percentages in the second set were really poor but we blocked, they had a lot of errors and we just didn’t have a whole lot of kills but we had them at the right times. That was nice, it was nice to get Kylie [Baumgartner] involved for sure, she had a nice hitting percentage and a good amount of blocks.”

King agreed with Watts.

“I think we just realized that we needed to start playing or else it wasn’t going to go our way,” King added. “We knew if we started, we could win. I felt like there was a big switch from the first to the second game.”

Riding on the win’s momentum, the Miners out played the Herd with 11 kills at a .308 clip while seven blocks kept the visitors to 10 kills at a .000 hitting percentage. UTEP struck first after Baumgartner found the hardwood, Morgan and Austin teamed up for a block assist and Marshall’s attack went into the net to go up 3-0 in the third frame. The Miners would never let go of the lead, ballooning to a 14-9 advantage from clutch serving from Arellano and blocks from Baumgartner, Austin and Morgan. The lead grew to 20-12 before a short 5-2 run by the Herd cut the lead to 22-17. Watts called a timeout to regroup and, out of the timeout, Baumgartner recorded a momentum-shifting solo block to end the run. Walker would notch one more kill for Marshall before Austin showed off her power with a kill to end the set 25-18 and put the Miners up 2-1 in the match.

Set three saw a 4-0 start for Marshall, who would then go on to keep the Miners at bay 20-11. A kill by Arellano, three service aces by Morgan, Orozco and Ashley Grzebeniak, a block assist by King and Baumgartner and errors by Marshall would propel the Miners to cut the lead to 23-19, but the Thundering Herd’s offense kept rolling to put the set away 25-20 and tie the match 2-2.

The decisive fifth set saw five ties between the conference foes, but Marshall got out to a short two-point lead before Morgan’s kill and an attack error by the Herd again knotted things up at 11. Austin and Jones would answer Marshall’s kills with one of their own, before Arellano notched another kill and Baumgartner followed suit to bring up match point for the Miners in extra points, 16-15. Marshall called a timeout to attempt to slow the run, but Austin would remain unfazed, hammering down her 15th and final kill of the match to give the Miners the 17-15 win and the 3-2 match victory on their home court.

“It’s so fun to play in those tight situations because it’s a lot of pressure but you know that you’re confident in your abilities so you just do what you know and hope for the best,” Austin said.

The Miners will have one more match to close out the 2017 season, a Sunday evening meeting with New Mexico. First serve against the Lobos in Albuquerque is set for 5 p.m. MT.

“The last set [against Marshall] was crazy, they gave us some opportunities and we took advantage of them so that was nice,” Watts said. “We’ve had chances in the past that we didn’t take advantage of so it was good to be here at the end of the year to take advantage of those kinds of things. We’re excited for the future.”

BOCA RATON, Fl.- The UTEP Volleyball Team fell in three sets to FAU on Sunday at the FAU Arena in Boca Raton, Fl. The Owls handled the Miners 25-12, 25-8 and 25-20 to improve to 7-5 in Conference USA play while the Miners fell to 2-11 in league contests.

Macey Austin’s seven kills lead the UTEP offense, while Kylie Baumgartner added four. Amanda King dished out 16 assists and Dania Orozco’s 10 digs led the back row. Ashley Grzebeniak chipped in seven digs and Maddie Morgan notched two block assists while King recorded the Miners’ lone solo block.

The Miners totaled 21 kills, 17 assists, 28 digs, one solo block and six blocks assists while the Owls notched 47 kills, 43 assists, seven service aces, 45 digs and 10 block assists.

A 2-0 run by the Miners gave them a strong start in the first frame, but the Owls would rally to tie at 9-all. An attack error by FAU and Austin’s kill would give the Miners two points for 12 total, but the Owls 16-3 run would put set one away 25-12. The Miners had four kills from Austin in the set as well as two block assists, but 17 kills by the Owls compared to six total by the Miners proved the difference in the set.

The Owls then hit a match high .706 clip to control set two and earn a 2-0 lead in the match with the 25-8 victory, but the Miners would not give up set three.

The Miners pushed to tie the third frame at 16 after a 6-1 run fueled by kills from Baumgartner, King, Austin and Morgan, while King nabbed her solo block in the run. The Owls would record five unanswered points before an attack error stopped rally to push to a 21-17 lead. Grzebeniak and Morgan notched a block assist, and another Owl attack error kept Niki Cebak’s serve alive and the Miners within one at 21-20. The Owls would call a timeout to regroup, and out of the timeout scored four points, all off of kills, to end the set 25-20 and the match 3-0.

UTEP will return to El Paso and prep for a Wednesday evening match against Marshall in Memorial Gym. First serve against the Thundering Herd is set for 6 p.m. MT.

MIAMI, Fl.- Freshmen Mallory Yost and Cheyenne Jones powered the UTEP Volleyball Team’s offensive with 10 kills each, but FIU bested UTEP in four sets on Friday at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center in Miami, Fl.

The Panthers took sets one and two 25-14 and 25-19, respectively, before the Miners rallied to get the 26-24 set three win.

FIU pushed to take set four 25-19 and the match 3-1. The Miners fell to 2-10 in Conference USA, while the Panthers notched a 3-8 mark in league play.

While Yost’s and Jones’s kills lead the offense, Macey Austin chipped in eight kills of her own and Amanda King recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 33 assists and 10 digs. Dania Orozco manned the UTEP defense with a career-high 20 digs while Niki Cebak reached 11 digs. Yost led the blocking effort at the net with three block assists, while Austin, Kylie Baumgartner and Jones each recorded two block assists.

In total, the Miners tallied 43 kills, 42 assists, five service aces, 67 digs and 10 block assists while the Panthers recorded 51 kills, 49 assists, eight service aces, 71 digs, four solo blocks and 10 block assists.

“Double-digit performances by our seniors, Amanda [King] and Dania [Orozco] weren’t enough to produce kills consistently,” head coach Holly Watts said. “We were hoping battling to win the third set would spark the team, but we couldn’t find a way around the block from FIU.”

The Panthers hit at their best percentage of the match (.444) to control set one. Jones notched three of her 10 kills to help the Miners, but FIU’s eight block assists and one solo block kept the Miners at bay as they the Panthers took the set 25-14.

Set two saw the Miners’ offense get rolling, as Yost hammered four kills while Baumgartner and Jones each chipped in three. Orozco picked up eight digs in the set to keep the Panther offense working for each point, holding them to a .140 clip.

The Miners started rolling in set three, climbing out of a 15-10 deficit to push to tie the set at 19. A 5-0 run for UTEP was started with back-to-back kills by Austin followed by an attack error by the Panthers. Orozco, who served throughout the rally, then served up an ace, while the Panthers had consecutive attack errors.

FIU went on to score three unanswered points, but a service error brought up King to serve for UTEP. King came through with an ace, which was followed by a block assist from Yost and Jones. Though King’s next serve went into the net, Jones recorded another kill to tie the set at 20 and set up Cebak’s serve. Another attack error and an ace by Cebak put the Miners up by two, prompting a Panther timeout.

The Panthers got a kill out of the break and blocked Jones’ attack, but Yost responded with a kill. The teams would exchange points before King surprised the FIU defense with a kill and Arellano’s serve went untouched for an ace to end the set 26-24.

Though kept pace with the Panthers in set four, a 5-0 run by FIU kept them up 20-16. Yost and Jones would record kills and FIU’s serve would go out of bounds to get the Miners to 19 points, but the Panthers prevailed for the 25-19 set victory and the 3-1 match win.

The Miners will look to bounce back on Sunday when they take on FAU in Boca Raton, Fla. First serve against the Owls is set for 10 a.m. MT.

The UTEP Volleyball team will do a tour of Florida this weekend when they travel to the Sunshine State take on FIU and Florida Atlantic in the final Conference USA road trip of the season.

The Miners (5-19, 2-9 C-USA) will take on the Panthers (3-14, 2-8 C-USA) on Friday at 5 p.m. MT in Miami and close out with a 10 a.m. MT Sunday match up against the Owls (15-7, 6-4 C-USA) in Boca Raton.

Though they split last weekend’s home matches, the highlight was the Miners blanking Middle Tennessee for their second conference win and sweep of the season.  The Miners did not allow the Blue Raiders to reach 20 points in any set, taking the match 25-19, 25-16 and 25-14 on Senior Day for UTEP upperclassmen Amanda King and Dania Orozco.

On Friday, they kept pace, but fell to LA Tech 3-1. The Miners stopped a potential sweep by the Lady Techsters by getting a 25-23 set three win, but LA Tech took the match 25-22, 25-29, 23-25, 25-22 to down the Orange and Blue.

The UTEP offense was manned by Macey Austin, Mallory Yost and Kylie Baumgartner with 25, 20, and 13 kills respectively,  on the weekend while defensive efforts were run by Ashley Grzebeniak with 20 digs, as well as Yost and Baumgartner with a combined 17 blocks.

The Miners will be on the hunt for their third and fourth conference wins and competing to return to the Conference USA Tournament. The Panthers are 10th in league standings while the Owls are fifth. Last season, the Miners beat both Florida schools to help them make the tournament.

Both of UTEP’s weekend matches in Florida will be live streamed through CUSA.tv, which requires a paid subscription.

LIVE STATS VS FIU  |  LIVE STREAM VS FIU    |     LIVE STREAM VS FLORIDA ATLANTIC

FIU Scouting Report

Series: Friday’s match will mark the fifth meeting between FIU and UTEP, with the Miners holding the 3-1 advantage in the all-time series. They first met in 2013 in Memorial Gym, with the Miners blanking the Panthers 3-0. They last met in 2016, where UTEP again took the match in Memorial Gym 3-2. The Panthers are 3-14 overall and 2-8 in league play.

PANTHER Notables

FIU is coming off a three set win against Bethune-Cookman (25-13, 25-23, 25-19) to improve their record to 9-19 overall, 3-11 in Conference USA. Senior Taija Thomas led the Panthers offense with a career-high 18 kills (.667) with no errors and chipped in with two blocks. Behind Thomas was sophomore Sidney Henderson clinching a career-high in kills with 13.

FIU hit a season-best .353 in the match against BCU. The Panthers also recorded a 73 percent side-out mark during the showing. On the defensive side, junior Margherita Bianchin and sophomore libero Helene Thelle led the team with 13 and 11 digs, respectively.

The Panthers are ranked fourth in C-USA for digs with 920 (14.84), while sophomore Thelle is ranked fifth in the league with 228 (3.68).

FLORIDA ATLANTIC SCOUTING REPORT

Series: Sunday’s match will be the fifth meeting between the Owls and Miners. Both will be playing for the all-time series lead, which is currently tied 2-2. They first met in 2013 in El Paso, when the Miners swept the Owls.

They last met in 2016, where UTEP took the 3-2 win in Memorial Gym. The Owls are 15-7 overall and 6-4 in C-USA play.

OWL NOTABLES

FAU clinched its fifth-consecutive win after defeating Marshall in three-straight sets (25-15, 25-20, 25-23) to improve to a 6-4 record in Conference USA and a 15-7 overall record. Freshman Sydney Nemtuda led the Owls offensively with 18 kills and adding three blocks. Alongside Nemtuda was junior Abbi Reid, who registered 10 kills and two blocks to secure the win.

Meanwhile on the defensive side, junior libero Alex Cardona tallied 14 digs to lead the team. Cardona is ranked third in C-USA for digs with 317 (4.17). Setter Ivone Martinez dished out 43 assists and 11 digs to notch her eight double-double of the season.

Martinez is ranked as the C-USA leader in assists with 866 (12.74) to help facilitate the Owls’ attack and lead them to a pair of sweeps against FIU and Marshall. Sophomore outside hitter Sigourney Kame is also ranked amongst the top players in the league (third) with 294 kills (3.92) this season. FAU not only leads C-USA in kills with 1,157 (15.03), but also rates first in assists with a 14.42 percentage.

SWEEP SWEEP 

After not allowing Middle Tennessee to score 20 points in any frame, the Miners earned their second sweep of the season, making quick work of the Blue Raiders 25-19, 25-16, 25-14 in Memorial Gym. The team’s last sweep came on Sept. 9 against Delaware State during the Borderland Invitational. UTEP’s hard-hitting offense coupled with an effective defensive effort helped them to the win.

Mallory Yost and Macey Austin paced the UTEP offensive with nine kills each while Cheyenne Jones notched seven kills at a .500 clip.

Senior Amanda King dished out 32 assists to set up the offense. Defensively, Ashley Grzebeniak led the team with nine digs, while Briana Arellano added eight of her own. Kylie Baumgartner was a force at the net, notching the team’s lone solo block while also teaming up for four block assists to stop the Blue Raider offense and keep them at a .080 hitting percentage.

FRIDAY NIGHT FALTER

A third set comeback was highlighted by a combined 10 kills from Macey Austin, Briana Arellano and Kylie Baumgartner for a 25-23 set victory, but the Miners fell to LA Tech in four sets on Friday at Memorial Gym. The Lady Techsters took sets one and two (25-22, 25-19) before the Miners got the third set victory from six kills from Austin and three apiece from Arellano and Baumgartner. LA Tech would go on to take set four (25-22) and the match 3-1.

Austin earned her 10th double-digit kill match in a row after hammering 16 kills to lead the team, while freshman Mallory Yost was close behind her with 11 kills of her own. Yost also had a team-high five blocks, including a solo block, and a career-high four digs.

Arellano and Baumgartner each had eight kills, while Arellano also recorded eight digs and two service aces and Baumgartner tallied four block assists. Amanda King notched 38 assists and Ashley

Grzebeniak paced the Miner defense with 11 digs. Dania Orozco led the team with three service aces and picked up five digs.

YOST, AUSTIN HEAD DEPARTMENT OF OFFENSE

Rookie Mallory Yost and sophomore Macey Austin paced the UTEP offensive in their team’s rout of Middle Tennessee with nine kills each. Yost was hitting at a blistering .500 clip, while Austin, who was held to single-digit kills for the first time since Sept. 19, was hitting at a .400 percentage.

Cheyenne Jones also put in work for the offense, notching seven kills at a .500 clip. The Miners hit at their second season-best percentage of .338 with 36 kills and only ten errors, while the Blue Raiders hit at a .080 percentage. Austin continues to lead the Miner offense this season, breaking the 300-kill mark after posting 25 kills on the weekend for a season total of 315. Jones is second on the list with 167.

As a team, the Miners have totaled 1,023 kills on the season.

RETURN TO THE SUNSHINE STATE 

UTEP will return to Florida for the first time since 2015, when they dropped both matches against FIU and Florida Atlantic in three sets. When the Florida conference schools came to the Lone Star State last season, the Miners notched five set victories over both teams in Memorial Gym.

YOU GOT SERVED

UTEP broke the century mark for aces recorded with 110 this season. Briana Arellano paces the Miners with 24 service aces, while Niki Cebak is close behind with 22 this season.

In front of more than 200 fans, a loud UTEP band and cheerleaders, the UTEP Volleyball Team routed the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders in three sets on Sunday at Memorial Gym.

The Miners did not allow the Blue Raiders to reach 20 points in any set, taking the match 25-19, 25-16 and 25-14 on Senior Day for UTEP upperclassmen Amanda King and Dania Orozco. The win improved the Miners to 2-9 in Conference USA, 5-19 overall, while the Blue Raiders fell to 2-9 in league play and 7-19 overall.

“This was an exciting atmosphere for our Senior Day,” head coach Holly Watts said. “The crowd was really into the game and having the band come out and support us the way they did gave our team some extra motivation. We’d love to have more of this support to close out the season and to carry over into next year. Having this kind of support is what makes UTEP so special.”

Rookie Mallory Yost and sophomore Macey Austin paced the UTEP offensive with nine kills each. Yost was hitting at a blistering .500 clip, while Austin, who was held to single-digit kills for the first time since Sept. 19, was hitting at a .400 percentage. Cheyenne Jones also put in work for the offense, notching seven kills at a .500 clip. Senior Amanda King showed out in one of her second to last game in Memorial Gym, dishing out 32 assists to set up the offense.

Defensively, Ashley Grzebeniak led the team with nine digs, while Briana Arellano added eight of her own. Kylie Baumgartner was a force at the net, notching the team’s lone solo block while also teaming up for four block assists to stop the Blue Raider offense and keep them at a .080 hitting percentage.

In total, the Miners notched 36 kills at a .338 percentage, 35 assists, one service ace, 32 digs, 16 block assists and one solo block while the Blue Raiders recorded 28 kills, 25 assists, five service aces, 29 digs, six block assists and two solo blocks.

“We put things together well, no matter what the other team was doing,” Watts said. “They tried to change things up on us and we were able to handle it well. Our middles produced well this weekend with blocking and offensively. The team played really consistent all three sets, we kept the pressure up on the other team the entire game.”

The Miners and Blue Raiders were evenly matched in set one before a 4-0 run by UTEP, including a kill each from Yost and Jones, put the Miners up 13-10. Middle Tennessee would earn three more points off of kills, but Grzebeniak would find the hardwood and Baumgartner and King teamed up for a block to keep the Miners ahead 18-13.

The Blue Raiders’ Dora Peonia would notch a kill to stop the run, but Arellano responded with one of her own and, after a bad set by the visiting Maddie Sweeney, the Miners stayed up 20-14. Austin mirrored another Blue Raider kill, and Yost put on a show with another block assist followed by a kill to keep the momentum in UTEP’s favor.

Consecutive points off of kills would bring the Blue Raiders to 18 points in the set, but Austin hammered another kill to bring set point for her team. Middle Tennessee’s Makila York would stop set point with a kill, but Sloan Sullivan’s serve would go out of bounds to end the set 25-19 and give the Miners a 1-0 advantage in the match.

Riding on a set one win high, the Miners allowed the Blue Raiders seven points to their nine before Jones’ kill began a 8-0 run. During that run, Baumgartner recorded two kills while also contributing a block assist, while King fed Arellano twice for consecutive kills. The other three points came from Middle Tennessee attack errors.

Grzebeniak’s next serve went into the net, but the Miners had the 18-8 lead to their benefit. Middle Tennessee would go on a short spurt of three points before the teams began exchanging points, but a 4-0 run by the Miners, which saw kills from Austin and Jones, put the Blue Raiders away 25-16.

Looking for their second sweep of the season, the Miners hit at a match-best .379 clip as a team for 13 kills with Yost, Austin and Jones each contributing three, while also recording eight block assists to close out the match. The set was tied at three before Yost notched her first kill of the set, then turned around to block the Blue Raider attack with Arellano, Cebak served up an ace, and Arellano hammered down a kill to go up 6-3.

Maddie Sweeney’s kill would stop the UTEP run, but Arellano quickly reinstated it with a kill and Jones followed suit. Baumgartner would earn her solo block, and the Miners saw a block assist from Arellano and Jones, coupled with multiple Blue Raider errors, to go up 13-4.

The Miners kept a cushion of no less than seven points during the match, before ballooning their lead to 21-10. Middle Tennessee would only earn two more points, with the other two coming from Miner errors, while UTEP saw another kill from Jones and two block assists from Jones and Baumgartner and Arellano and Baumgartner to end the set at 25-14 and the match 3-0.

“We really came together as team and played to our full potential,” Orozco said. “We still have three more games left so we need to stay focused and carry this momentum into our next matches.”

The Miners will look to keep their run going on the road when they face FIU and Florida Atlantic Nov. 3-5.

“I was excited for senior day and I just wanted to enjoy the moment. The season isn’t over yet and we go back to my hometown for our last conference road trip which will be special for me,” Flordia native Amanda King said. “Going into the next two games we’re confident knowing that we can win and close out the season on a good note.”

First serve against the Panthers is set for 5 p.m. (MT) while game-time against the Owls is 10 a.m. (MT).

Behind a combined 10 kills from Macey Austin, Briana Arellano and Kylie Baumgartner, the UTEP Volleyball Team rallied to take a 25-23 set three victory, but fell to LA Tech in four sets on Friday at Memorial Gym.

The Lady Techsters took sets one and two (25-22, 25-19) before the Miners got the third set victory from six kills from Austin and three apiece from Arellano and Baumgartner. LA Tech would go on to take set four (25-22) and the match 3-1. The Miners fell to 1-9 in Conference USA play, 4-19 overall, while the Lady Techsters improved to 2-8 in C-USA and 7-17 overall.

“It was a disappointing match for us today,” head coach Holly Watts said. “We didn’t play with enough energy for long enough. We served them tough on a couple of plays, but we weren’t consistent with our effort today.”

Austin earned her 10th double-digit kill match in a row after hammering 16 kills to lead the team, while freshman Mallory Yost was close behind her with 11 kills of her own. Yost also had a team-high five blocks, including a solo block, and a career-high four digs. Arellano and Baumgartner each had eight kills, while Arellano also recorded eight digs and two service aces and Baumgartner tallied four block assists. Amanda King notched 38 assists and Ashley Grzebeniak paced the Miner defense with 11 digs. Dania Orozco led the team with three service aces and picked up five digs.

In total, UTEP recorded 47 kills, 41 assists, eight service aces, 44 digs, 18 block assists and two solo blocks while the Lady Techsters tallied 57 kills, 49 assists, four service aces, 55 digs, 24 block assists and three solo blocks.

The Miners and Lady Techsters were evenly matched in set one, tying 10 times before a 5-1 run by LA Tech brought them up 23-20. Austin found the hardwood with authority consecutive times to force a timeout from the visitors as their lead was cut to one, 23-22. LA Tech’s Marta Monne notched a kill to bring set point and a Miner attack error ended the set 25-22 and gave the Lady Techsters the 1-0 match lead. Austin led the Miner offense in set one with five kills of the team’s 10 set total.

Set two saw a 7-2 run from the Miners, with three kills each from Yost and Austin to give the team momentum. The Lady Techsters would score six unanswered points, however, to get back in the match and gain the 14-13 lead. Baumgartner’s first kill of the set would stop the run, but another short run kept the Lady Techsters up 17-13.

The Miners would see kills from Maddie Morgan, Cheyenne Jones and Austin and benefited from LA Tech attack errors, but set two would go to the Lady Techsters 25-19.

The Miners would stop a sweep, pushing a 5-0 run behind three kills from Austin and a kill each from Arellano and Baumgartner to get a 14-10 lead. LA Tech’s Madeline Davis would get a point, but another 4-0 run would balloon UTEP’s lead to 18-10.

An 11-2 run by LA Tech would keep them in the set and give them the 23-22 lead before King and Yost teamed up for a block assist and tied the set. The Miners then had a small block party with Arellano and Baumgartner stopping the Lady Techster attack for UTEP’s set point, and another block assist by Baumgartner and Ali Vidali ended the set 25-23. The Miners had 10 block assists in set three alone.

The conference foes would exchange points in set four before the Miners pulled away to a 10-6 lead. The Lady Techsters did not back away however, rallying to tie the set at 18. Yost and Baumgartner matched LA Tech’s Gina Cortesi’s kills, and a LA Tech service ace was followed by another block assist by Baumgartner and King to keep the set close, but still in the Lady Techsters’ advantage at 21-20.

Arellano’s clutch service ace would tie the set, but three consecutive kills by LA Tech would force a UTEP timeout at the visitor’s set point. Out of the timeout, LA Tech’s serve would go into the net, but they would find the hardwood the next play to end the set 25-22, and the match 3-1.

“This team won’t quit and we battled back in the third set to get us back in the game,” Watts said. “The season isn’t over yet for us, so we still need to bounce back and get ready for the next one.”

The Miners will face Middle Tennessee on Sunday in Memorial Gym. First serve on Senior Day is slated for noon.

The UTEP volleyball team will host its final weekend home stand of the season when LA Tech and Middle Tennessee make their way to the Sun City.

The Miners will face the Lady Techsters (6-17, 1-8 C-USA) on Friday at 6 p.m. (MT) and close out the weekend with a Sunday meeting with Middle Tennessee (6-18, 2-8 C-USA) at noon, both matches will be played in Memorial Gym.

UTEP return home after a weekend on the road when they faced league leaders No. 1 WKU and No. 2 Rice. The Miners fell to the undefeated Hilltoppers 25-22, 25-11, 25-17 last Friday at the E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, KY.

The team then hopped on a plane to Houston, Texas, to face Rice. The Miners got off to a slow start in the first set, but rebounded in the next two to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Rice won the next two sets as the Owls to edge the Miners 3-2 (25-8, 22-25, 20-25, 25-16, 15-12) on Sunday in Tudor Fieldhouse.

The Owls avenged their Sept. 22 loss to the Miners, their lone league loss. The Orange and Blue saw key performances from Macey Austin, who notched 30 kills between the two games, Cheyenne Jones, who posted 18 kills on the weekend, and Dania Orozco, who picked up a career-high 17 digs against Rice.

The Miners and Lady Techsters will be competing for their second conference win, while Middle Tennessee will be playing for a third league victory.

Sunday’s match will be Senior Day for the team and seniors Amanda King and Dania Orozco will be celebrated. UTEP will also celebrate Middle Tennessee’s lone senior, Sloan Sullivan, during the pregame introductions.

LIVE STATS VS LA TECH |   LIVE STREAM VS LA TECH   |   LIVE STATS VS MIDDLE TENNESSEE

LA TECH Scouting Report
Series: Friday’s match will mark the sixteenth match between the Miners and the Lady Techsters, with UTEP holding an 8-7 overall record versus LA Tech. They first met at the North Texas Classic in Denton, Texas in 1994, when LA Tech won in a 3-1 fashion. The last meeting between the foes was in 2015, when LA Tech took the match 3-0. The Lady Techsters are 6-17 overall and are 1-8 in C-USA play.

LADY TECHSTER Notables
Offensively, LA Tech will consist of Marta Monne and Gina Cortesi. Monne leads the team with 251 kills this season (3.10 kills/set). She also has 228 digs (2.81 digs/set) defensively. Cortesi also has 202 kills this season (2.43 kills/set). Setting up the offense is Brooke Short, who has dished out 700 assists (8.54 assists/set) and ranks 10th in C-USA.

Cater Mirich, Jacie McClure, and Alyssa Zucco will also lead the charge defensively. McClure leads the team with 261 (3.11 digs/set) this season, sitting in ninth among the conference leaders. Mirich has 186 digs (2.27 digs/set) and Zucco has 115 digs (2.25 digs/set). Madeline Davis will also help lead the Bulldogs defensively will 88 blocks this season (1.00 block/set). Davis also ranks ninth in the league in hitting percentage with a .342 clip.

MIDDLE TENNESSEE SCOUTING REPORT
Series: Sunday’s match will mark the sixth time that the Blue Raiders and the Miners have meet, with UTEP holding a 5-0 overall record versus Middle Tennessee. They first met in 1993 at the Saint Louis Invitational in Saint Louis, MO, with the Miners sweeping the Blue Raiders 3-0.

The last meeting between the Miners and the Blue Raiders was in 2015, when the Miners won the match 3-1. The Blue Raiders are 6-16 overall and 2-6 in C-USA play.

BLUE RAIDER NOTABLES
Rice is second in Conference USA (6-1) standings and 16-5 overall. The Owls rallied back after dropping the first two sets to claim a 3-2 win against UAB in Birmingham (21-25, 22-25, 25-17, 25-17,15-12). Senior Portia Okafor led the Owls in both kills (17) and blocks (9) while hitting a team-high percentage (.567) versus the Blazers.

Okafor is currently ranked ninth in blocks (1.00 per set) in C-USA. The Owls also have an offensive weapon in Nicole Lennon, who has knocked down 329 kills this season. Her 3.66 kills per set average puts her in sixth among C-USA rankings. Grace Morgan was one of four Owls with double-figure kills (12) against UAB. Morgan leads the team in hitting percentage (.380) and rates first in the league. The sophomore is also second on the team with 225 kills and 68 total blocks this season.

Morgan garnered C-USA Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 9. Setting up the Rice attacks is Madison McDaniel, who has dished out 672 assists (10.84 per set) to rank fifth in the league.

Picking up opponent attacks for the Owls is Lee Ann Cunningham. Cunningham has totaled 409 digs this season at 4.54 per set to rank second in conference.

HOUSTON – The UTEP volleyball team got off to a slow start in the first set, but rebounded in the next two to take a 2-1 lead in the match. But Rice won the next two sets as the Owls (18-5, 8-1 Conference USA) edged the Miners (4-18, 1-8 C-USA), 3-2 (25-8, 22-25, 20-25, 25-16, 15-12) on Sunday afternoon in Tudor Fieldhouse.

Sunday’s contest was a rematch from a Sept. 22 meeting in which UTEP upset Rice, 3-2 in Memorial Gym. After Sunday’s win, the Owls have won eight consecutive matches. Rice’s last loss was against UTEP, while the Miners handed the Owls their lone league loss.

Macey Austin led the Orange and Blue with 20 kills and fashioned a .273 hitting average (44 total attempts). It was Austin’s fourth most kills of 2017, as she’s hit 20-plus in three previous matches.

After the first-set letdown, the Miners came out firing in the second stanza, coming out on top, 25-22, to tie the match. The Owls had taken an early 4-2 advantage after a kill by Grace Morgan to start the second set. UTEP responded with a 3-0 run to take a 5-4 lead, while building its lead up to 13-8 at the midpoint.

Rice would respond as Portia Okafor gave her squad a late 18-17 advantage after back-to-back points. UTEP though, stepped up and outscored Rice 8-4 down stretch. Kylie Baumgartner tied the match with a kill, while Cheyenne Jones recorded a service ace for a 19-18 edge. After Rice got within a point (22-21), Austin upped the lead to 23-21 with a kill.

Mallory Yost gave the Miners a 24-22 lead, while an attack error by Rice lifted the Miners to victory.

UTEP would eventually take lead after winning the third set 25-20. The third was tight as both squad fought in a back-and-forth battle. UTEP built a 16-13 lead, which had matched the biggest lead to that point, after a kill by Austin. The Owls took advantage after back-to-back attack errors by the Miners to get within a point (16-15), but the Miners went on a 9-5 run to finish the set, in which Austin put an exclamation point on the triumph with a kill to give her team the 2-1 lead.

The Owls, however, showed why they are one of the league’s top programs as they tied the match 2-2 after a 25-16 victory. In the third set, Rice built a 12-6 lead after an Okafor kill. The Miners got within five points (15-10), but couldn’t get any closer to avoid a fifth and deciding set.

In the fifth, the Owls and Miners, once again, battled. Rice jumped out to a 5-2 lead, but the relentless Miners took a 6-5 lead after Amanda King recorded a service ace. After exchanging points during the intense fifth set, UTEP tied it 12-12 after an Austin point. But Rice rallied to score the next three points to win its eighth match in a row.

Jones finished with nine kills and a team-best three service aces, while Briana Arellano registered seven points and Amanda King six kills with a .364 hitting average. King led the team with 37 assists and Arellano paced the squad with 13 digs.

The Miners will return to the Sun City for a pair of matches. UTEP will host LA Tech on Oct. 27 (6 p.m.) and Middle Tennessee on Oct. 29 (noon). The final home match is against Marshall on Nov. 8 (6 p.m.).

The three remaining road matches are at FIU (Nov. 3), Florida Atlantic (Nov. 5), while the season-finale is at New Mexico (Nov. 12).

BOWLING, KY- Although there were key performances from UTEP, the Miners were fell to Conference USA leader and undefeated WKU (25-22, 25-11, 25-17) on Friday at the E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, KY.

The Hilltoppers remained untouched at 8-0 in league play, while the Miners fell to 1-7.

“We came out strong tonight,” head coach Holly Watts said. “Then WKU got on track and played like the conference leader. There were times we didn’t look like the underdog however, with big performances by Macey [Austin], Cheyenne [Jones], and Bri [Arellano], who ended with good numbers.”

Macey Austin pushed to notch 10 kills, her eighth double-digit kill match in a row, to lead the team while Cheyenne Jones added nine kills of her own and Briana Arellano recorded six. Arellano also picked up six digs and served up an ace. Amanda King dished out 23 assists while also pacing the team in digs with eight and one solo block.

As a team, the Miners saw 30 kills, 28 assists, five service aces, 32 digs, and one solo block while the Hilltoppers saw 47 kills, 41 assists, eight service aces, 49 digs, and eight total team blocks.

The Miners kept pace with the league leader in set one, tying with the Hilltoppers six times before pulling away to a 11-7 lead behind kills by Mallory Yost, Jones, and Austin. WKU called a timeout and recorded its first block assist when they returned to the court, but consecutive kills by Austin and Jones and a WKU attack error kept the Miners up 14-8.

UTEP would notch two more points from Kylie Baumgartner’s kill and Ashley Grzebeniak’s service ace, but WKU would begin to spark a run.

Five more Miner points were secured, three coming from kills and a service ace by Arellano and two coming from a Yost kill and WKU attack error, to keep UTEP up, 21-18. The Hilltoppers scored five unanswered points before Arellano stopped the run with a kill, but WKU got right back to its run to close the set 25-22.

The Hilltoppers regrouped for a convincing 25-11 set two win, but Austin had a solid set with five kills and Jones had three.

Set three saw the WKU climb to a 10-6 lead before Austin earned another kill and Orozco served an ace to get within four, 14-10. Jones and Yost each found the hardwood, but back-to-back kills from the Hilltoppers kept the Miners at bay 18-13. Two attack errors on WKU’s behalf gave the Miners within five, and King notched another ace to bring the score to 20-16.

Four kills by WKU’s Alyssa Cavanaugh out-numbered Austin’s 10th kill of the match, and Rachel Anderson would throw down the hammer to end the set 25-17, and the match 3-0.

The Miners will return to action against Rice on Sunday at the Tudor Fieldhouse. The Miners beat the Owls in five sets in their first meeting on Sept. 22. First serve is slated for noon.

HATTIESBURG, Ms. – UTEP outside hitter Macey Austin turned in a solid performance, tallying 14 kills with only one error and hammered a career-high .565 clip, but Southern Miss was too much for the Miners in the last two sets to pull away with a 3-0 victory (25-23, 25-14, 25-15) in Hattiesburg on Monday afternoon.

The match was made up from an Oct. 8 scheduled date that was postponed due to Tropical Storm Nate.

During the first set, the Miners (4-16, 1-6 Conference USA) battled with the Golden Eagles (14-8, 4-2 C-USA), taking an early 6-3 edge after Austin registered her first kill of the day. And following an outside hitter Briana Arellano kill, UTEP took an 8-5 lead.

But Southern Miss responded as it used a 5-0 run to go on top, 10-8.

The Golden Eagles’ rally ended with a service error by Natalie Druhan and UTEP would eventually tie the set at 12-12 after an Austin kill that was assisted by Amanda King. Southern Miss led most of the way down the stretch as it took a 20-17 lead. However, the Miners rallied to tie the set at 20-20 before the Golden Eagles outscored their opponent 5-3 to secure the first-set victory.

In the second set, the Miners led early 9-8 after a ball handling error by Sarah Bell. Austin came out firing early during the second stanza as she tallied four kills. But Southern Miss used 12 answered points to take a commanding 20-9 advantage and would go on to win the second set 25-14.

UTEP, again, would keep pace with Southern Miss to begin the third set. With the score 6-4, in favor of the Golden Eagles, the Miners used back-to-back points to tie the set after a kill by outside hitter Cheyenne Jones and a service error by Madison Lawler. But Southern Miss was hard to sustain down the stretch and outscored the Miners 19-9 to take the overall match.

Austin only committed one error as she registered 14 kills on 23 total attempts (.565). Arellano finished with 10 hits, while Jones recorded three kills on 10 total attempts (one error). Middle blocker Mallory Yost and middle blocker Maddie Morgan each registered a kill. Defensive specialist Niki Cebak led with seven digs and King recorded a team-leading 26 assists. The Miners recorded six service aces, led by outside hitter Ashley Grzebeniak and Cebak, who each tallied a pair.

UTEP will take the road this upcoming weekend to play at C-USA leaders WKU (21-2, 7-0 C-USA) on Oct. 20 (5 p.m. MT) and Rice (16-5, 6-1 C-USA) on Oct. 22 (noon). The Miners upset the Owls, 3-2 (28-26, 16-25, 25-22, 19-25, 19-14), on Sept. 22 in Memorial Gym.

The Miners and Hilltoppers will meet for the only time this season. UTEP fell at WKU, 3-0, on Oct. 21, 2016.

Macey Austin notched her sixth double-digit kill match in a row, but the UTEP Volleyball Team suffered a 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-15) loss to Conference USA foe UTSA on Sunday in Memorial Gym.

The Miners fell to 1-5 in league play, while the Roadrunners improved to 5-1.

“At the beginning of the first set we came out really hot,” head coach Holly Watts said. “We just need to keep that momentum going by getting our passes where we want them. We’ve developed some parts of our game that is really going to help us down the road.”

Austin hammered 13 kills against the Roadrunners to lead to Miner offensive effort, and Amanda King dished out 21 assists to lead the squad. Defensively, UTEP saw double-digit digs from Dania Orozco and Ashley Grzebeniak. Orozco picked up 10 digs while Grzebeniak led the team with 12.

Aiding the defense was freshman Mallory Yost, who put together another nice blocking effort, notching the team’s lone solo block and a block assist, while King teamed up for two block assists. The Miners saw service aces from Niki Cebak, Briana Arellano and Grzebeniak, who each had one.

The Miners got off to a hot 8-0 run to open the match behind kills from Yost and Austin and blocks from Kylie Baumgartner, Yost and King, forcing a UTSA timeout. Following the break, UTSA’s Brianna McCulloch ignited a 3-0 run for the Roadrunners to notch their first points of the game. UTSA would piece together three more runs to tie the set at 16. As the Roadrunners began to get ahead, King fed Austin for three consecutive kills to tie the set at 21 and force a UTSA timeout. Out of the timeout, UTSA’s Hannah Froeschl and Austin mirrored each other’s kills, but back-to-back kills by the visitors would bring up set point. Arellano notched a kill to give the Miners opportunity, but UTSA ended the set 25-23 from Marijeta Runjic’s kill.

Set two saw the Miners again striking first for two unanswered points before the Roadrunners’ McCulloch stopped King’s attack with a block to put UTSA on the board. The two in-state foes would tie six times before the Runners began to pull away to a 17-13 lead. Baumgartner’s kill would stop the run, but UTSA matched her kill, as well as Cheyenne Jones’ kill, to keep a 19-15 lead.

The Miners capitalized on two of their opponent’s errors, but UTSA went off on another 3-0 run to stay up 22-17. Arellano and Yost would find the hardwood on their attacks to bring the Miners within three, but the Roadrunners put the set away 25-19 off a kill, block, and service ace.

A 3-0 run in set three put UTEP up before UTSA got an earned point from a service error. The Miners stretched out to a 8-3 lead before the Roadrunners rallied to tie the set at 11-all. The teams would tie four more times before UTSA went on a 9-0 run to end the set 25-15, and the match 3-0.

“Our energy was better today than on Friday, which helped us play really well against a very good UTSA squad,” Austin said. “There are still some small plays that made the difference in this game that we didn’t capitalize on that we need to fix. It’s one thing to work on those things in practice, we just need to execute them in the game.”

The Miners will play their third game in four days as they head to Hattiesburg, M.S. to face Southern Miss tomorrow. The match, which was postponed last week due to Tropical Storm Nate, will begin at 12 p.m. MT.

Gallery by Andres Acosta, Chief Photographer, El Paso Herald-Post