With half of the conference slate completed, the UTEP volleyball team (9-11, 2-5) is coming off a two-game road series in Florida defeating Florida International University and falling against the Florida Atlantic University Owls.
The Miners have already exceeded its total wins from last season and conference victories as well with seven games remaining in the season.
The Miners’ matchup against FlU got off to a rough start, losing the first set 25-12, but the Miners would bounce back and win three straight sets. This would be the Miners’ first road conference victory of the season, and their first win in the state of Florida since 2012.
Two outside hitters shone for UTEP with sophomore Serena Patterson recording 13 kills and 10 digs while freshman Jessica Landeros recorded a season-high 10 kills.
“Landeros played well again. She is a walk-on outside hitter who went 10 kills on 16 swings, hitting .438 and blocked three balls,” head coach Ben Wallis said in a press release. “Serena (Patterson) was really big in sets two and three, we started passing and digging it better.”
The Miners took a step back against FAU, losing in three straight sets. The first set would be a battle with eight ties but FAU took the lead and eventually the win 27-25.
The next two sets were tough going for the Miners with a 25-14 loss in the second set and 25-11 in the third set.
The Miners had some positives to look back on with junior outside hitter Anamarija Mikovic tallying five kills and two aces, and sophomore setter Kristen Fritsche recording a team-high 10 assists.
UTEP is currently tied for 8th in conference with FIU and Charlotte with a 2-5 conference record. The Miner win over FIU gives the team a tiebreaker advantage for the conference tournament and a huge game coming up versus Charlotte that could have tournament implications.
UTEP takes on Marshall University 6 p.m. Oct. 25 at home in Memorial Gym.
Isaiah Ramirez may be reached at [email protected]
