The Nevada women’s volleyball team (3-11, 3-3) won two hard-fought matches against the UTEP Miners (11-7, 3-3) at the Virginia Street Gym on Thursday, Oct. 8 and Saturday, Oct. 10, after a five-set thriller and a straight-set win respectively.
Match 1: Thursday, Oct. 8
The match started off with both teams being aggressive, trading points back and forth, until two back-to-back aces from UTEP junior outside hitter Lauren Perry gave the Miners a 4-2 lead.
The Wolf Pack did not let the Miners get comfortable with their lead, and after a challenge at 5-5 that got overturned in UTEP’s favor, they came back aggressive. A kill from junior outside hitter Malia Pilimai and an ace from senior libero Masyn Navarro helped level the score, before another kill from Pilimai put the Pack up 8-7.
as the opponent comes in with a kill. On Thursday Oct. 8 at The Virginia Street Gym. (Hāloh Quinones/The Nevada Sagebrush)
The rest of the first set was marked by more back-and-forth points trading before the Wolf Pack capitalized on big back-and-forth rallies, earning two kills from senior middle blocker Ceren Sert and freshman outside hitter Paige Thies to give Nevada an 18-16 lead. The Pack’s momentum was short-lived, though, as UTEP called a timeout.
The Miners came back from the timeout rejuvenated and put together the biggest lead of the match so far after another ace from Perry put them 23-19 over the Wolf Pack.
Nevada managed to recover back to 23-21, but ultimately it wasn’t enough, and UTEP took the first set 25-21.
The second set started off with the same back-and-forth play, with both teams being aggressive but making errors that allowed the other to equalize.
Nevada gained some momentum with decisive kills from freshman setter Adriana Dorn, freshman middle Karly Bonaventure and freshman opposite Madison Long that put them up 12-8.
The Wolf Pack gained complete control of the remaining second set, only allowing UTEP to tally up 4 more points and capitalizing off of their mistakes at the net. Ultimately, after two back-to-back kills from Long, Nevada closed the set 25-16.
Starting off the third set, Nevada and UTEP saw a similar see-saw battle to the first two sets, with both teams trading points back and forth.
After mistakes at the net from the Pack and an ace from Perry, the Miners were able to pull a 10-7 lead before Nevada called a timeout.
Two kills from Sert and Thies would even up the points for the Pack at 11-11 before a UTEP error would give them a 12-11 lead.
The set continued to be tight between the Wolf Pack and the Miners all the way to set point for Nevada at 25-24 before the Miners tied it up. In the end, a kill by Thies and an ace from Dorn helped the Pack wrap up the set 27-25.
The fourth set started off with dominance from UTEP, going up 5-1 following an ace from graduate student outside hitter Ema Uskokovic. The Miners continued with this momentum, building a 10-3 gap against the Wolf Pack.
The gap proved too big for Nevada to claw back, despite multiple timeouts and small glimpses of the Pack gaining some momentum looking to secure the match win.
In the end, junior middle blocker Luvina Oguntimehin delivered the final 25-20 blow for UTEP to send this to the fifth and final set.
Off the bat, both teams were aggressively trading points back and forth, desperate to get a lasting lead. Nevada was the first to do so, earning a 8-5 lead over UTEP after a big decisive rally.
With the electric crowd behind them, the Pack seized the upper hand with a kill from Thies and two Miner attack errors, putting them up 12-6.
Despite UTEP threatening a late charge, another kill by Thies for match point gave Nevada their second conference win in a nail-biting 15-10 set.
Game 2: Saturday, Oct. 1
In this match, the Wolf Pack wasted no time in taking control of the first set early, with a kill and ace from Thies putting them up 2-0.
Taking advantage of Miner errors, Pilimai recorded two kills, while two blocks from both Sert and Dorn widened the gap even further for Nevada at 10-4.
Despite two UTEP timeouts, the Pack refused to let the momentum go. Only allowing two more Miner points, they recorded nine, putting themselves ahead 19-6.
Suddenly, a resurgent Miners team found themselves in a late 17-21 comeback push, but the Wolf Pack found their footing to close out a 25-20 first set victory with a kill from Thies.
Again, the Pack found themselves taking early control, this time in the second set. Two kills from Long and Thies followed by an ace from Dorn gave them a 3-0 lead. Feeling under pressure, UTEP attack errors widened it to 7-1.
Holding a lead for a majority of the second set, Nevada were suddenly forced into survival mode after service errors and errors at the net allowed UTEP to level the score at 22-22.
Regaining their composure in the end, they secured a block and ace to finish the set 25-22.
Going into the third set, UTEP looked to force a comeback. Both teams were aggressive, and both felt the pressure. UTEP made multiple double contact violations and Nevada received a net violation early on, putting them almost level at 7-8 respectively.
Tied up at 10-10 after an ace from UTEP senior setter Kalia Kohler, the Pack offense found their rhythm. Two kills from Long, two from Dorn and one from Sert opened the gap to 20-14.
The Miners threatened another late-set run, earning 5 of the next 9 points. In the end, sophomore outside hitter Mckaley Herr delivered the final blow and sealed the final set 25-20 for Nevada.
This was Nevada’s first straight-set win and first homestand sweep this season. They are now ranked fourth in the conference.
The Wolf Pack will revisit the court on Thursday, Oct. 15, at 6 p.m. against in-state rivals, UNLV (6-10, 2-3) on the road.
