UTEP volleyball beats NMSU in four sets, complete season sweep of Battle of I-10 rival

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — UTEP volleyball collected back-to-back wins over New Mexico State after the Miners beat the Aggies in four sets (25-11, 25-16, 21-25, 25-17) at Memorial Gym on Wednesday night.

UTEP improved to 16-2 on the season and 6-0 in Conference USA play.

NMSU fell to 9-9 on the season and 3-3 in Conference USA play.

“Any win over New Mexico State is a good one,” said UTEP volleyball head coach Ben Wallis. “These two wins were big. Anytime you can get back-to-back wins over a rival, it’s an emotional drain. Our players found a way to win and really pushed around a great NM State team, mostly from the service line.”

UTEP recorded 14 total service aces in the match. Kalia Kohler led the Miners in services aces with six of them in the contest. Prior to Wednesday’s match, NMSU had not allowed more than 10 aces in single match this season.

UTEP held the all-around statistical advantage in kills (51-36), service aces (14-3), and blocks (10-3). UTEP registered a .283 hitting percentage and held NM State to a .134 hitting percentage.

El Paso native Alyssa Sianez became UTEP volleyball’s leader in career digs during the match. The El Paso High School grad recorded 18 digs in the Miners’ four set win over NMSU on Wednesday.

According to UTEP, Sianez broke the UTEP all-time dig record that had been held for eight years by Sarah Villa, who competed from 2013-16. Villa set the previous record in a match against NM State on November 23, 2016, at Memorial Gym. Fittingly, Sianez surpassed that milestone in Wednesday’s match, also against NM State at Memorial Gym, cementing her place in UTEP volleyball history.

NMSU’s Starr Williams had a match-high 14 kills. Darian Markham had 16 digs for the Aggies. Nellie Reese had 21 assists in the contest.

UP NEXT

UTEP will take its nine-match winning streak and play Louisiana Tech on the road on Oct. 12-13.

NMSU will take on Sam Houston in Huntsville, TX on Saturday and Sunday.

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