SMU Volleyball Drops Five-Set Heartbreaker At UTEP
EL PASO, Texas (SMU) – The SMU volleyball team fought back to take the fourth set and force a fifth at UTEP Sunday, but the Miners won the deciding set for a 3-2 win. The Miners improved to 11-5, 1-2 in Conference USA, while the Mustangs fell to 4-10, 0-2 in C-USA.
Courtney Manning led SMU with 15 kills, and Jessica Oliver had 13 kills and seven blocks. Kelli Becerra scored 42 assists and 11 digs, and Dana Powell had a team-high 21 digs with 11 kills. Carla Armstrong finished the match with 11 kills. SMU had 10 blocks as a team, but UTEP scored 13 blocks, and had 70 kills to SMU’s 54.
The Mustangs took the fourth set 27-25 to even the match 2-2. SMU opened the set on a 9-4 run, but the Miners rallied to tie the set 13-13. SMU trailed by as many as three points down the stretch and faced match point, down 24-23. Dana Powell tied the set with a kill that went long, but was tipped by UTEP on the block attempt, tying the set 24-24. UTEP fought off a set point before the Mustangs were able to close the set with kills by Powell and Oliver.
The Miners scored the first six points of the decisive fifth set, taking the match with a 15-6 win.
UTEP gained control of the momentum in the match in the third set, taking a 25-19 win for a 2-1 lead in the match. The Miners came out of the lockerroom and took a 12-6 lead. SMU was unable to get within four points the rest of the set. SMU committed only four errors in the set, but were only able to knock 10 attacks down for kills.
The Mustangs took the first set 25-20, hitting .286 with just five errors. Oliver and Armstrong each had four kills in the opening set. The Mustangs stormed out to a 9-3 lead, but the Miners rallied to cut the lead to two, 13-11. The Mustangs scored four of the next five points to extend the lead, and UTEP didn’t get within four points the rest of the way.
The Miners took the second set with a 25-17 victory, increasing their hitting percentage from .129 in the first set to .289 in the second. SMU had 14 digs in the set, but hit just .139. The set was tied 13-13, with neither team leading by more than two points up to that point, but UTEP broke away to take an 18-14 lead. SMU managed just three more points as UTEP evened the match going into the break.
After a month on the road, the Mustangs return to Moody Coliseum on Friday, Sept. 30, to take on Rice at 7 p.m. SMU will also host Houston on Sunday, Oct. 2, at 1 p.m.
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