by Nashville. Tenn.- The UTEP volleyball team won a thrilling five-set match over South Alabama (19-25, 25-17, 24-26, 25-20, 16-14) at the Belmont Bruin Invitational on Saturday in Nashville, Tenn. The win earned the Miners their second win of the season.
Sets 1 & 2
Senior Talia Jones had a great start tallying 6 kills in the first frame. Defensive specialist Ashley Peak and outside hitter Coline Coessens both notched 7 digs. However, a kill by Emma Anderson allowed South Alabama to take the initial set 25-19. UTEP made a strong comeback in the second set with an attack percentage of .341. The Miners held the Jaguars to a .033 attack percentage and three consecutive kills by Dalainee Perry sealed the set for the Miners at 25-17 and tied the match 1-1.
Sets 3, 4 & 5
The back-and-fourth battle continued in the third frame as the score was tied eight times. South Alabama’s Mechell Daniel won the set 26-24 with two consecutive kills. UTEP retaliated once again in set four and ultimately took the frame 24-20. In the fifth set, both squads fought point for point tying the score seven times. After being tied at 14, Kylie Baumgartner hammered a kill to put the Miners ahead by one point. Baumgartner and Coessens delivered a strong block to take the set 16-14 and the match 3-2.
Three athletes (Dalainee Perry, Coline Coessens, and Lindsey Larson) notched double-doubles. Sophomore outside hitter Dalainee Perry led UTEP’s attack with 16 kills, 12 digs and three serving aces. Sophomore outside hitter Coline Coessens followed in suit with 14 kills, 18 digs and four assists. Junior setter Lindsey Larson notched a career-best 59 assists, 15 digs, six kills and five blocks.
Freshman middle blocker Maddie Morgan Defensive specialist Ashley Peak notches a team-best 31 digs and four assists. Senior outside hitter Talia Jones hammered 15 kills, 2 digs and a block. Senior Defensive Specialist Naomi Whitehair (Navajo) played in all 5 sets for the Miners and was third on the team with 16 digs for the match.
UTEP will host their first home matches of the season at the Don Haskins Center next weekend as part of the Borderland Invitational. The Miners will compete against Denver on Thursday (9/10) at 7 p.m. (MT), Brown (11 a.m. MT) and Robert Morris (7 p.m. MT) on Friday in a double-header matchup. UTEP’s final match of the tournament will be against the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday at 12 p.m. (MT).
