UTEP 3, CLEMSON 1 (27-25, 25-17, 14-25, 25-19)
EL PASO, TX — UTEP set a program record for attendance with 3,271, and the Miners rewarded the fans with a victory over Clemson to advance out of the Great 8 of the 2023 NIVC. The Miners (24-9), who have four of the top five single-game attendance numbers in the modern-day NIVC, will face Georgia Southern or South Florida in the Fab 4. The Tigers end the season at 19-14. Clemson had a 17-13 lead in the opening set, but the competition elevated with ties at 20-all, 23-all and 25-all. The Miners seized the set on a kill from Danika Washington and an ace from Kalia Kohler. Set 2 saw UTEP take a 14-9 lead on skill from Torrance Loves, with the lead growing to 17-11 on a kill by Alianza Darley. The Tigers never trailed in Set 3 and won decisively, the final point coming on an ace from McKenna Gildon. Set 4 was closed out for UTEP after a Lovesee kill gave the Miners a solid 16-11 lead — Mia McGrath’s kill did pull the Tigers closer, 21-18, but UTEP wrapped it up on a kill by Kaya Weaver. For the Miners, Marian Ovalle had 13 kills; Lovesee had 11 kills and both Darley and Weaver came through with 10 kills. Mattie Gantt had a double-double with 24 assists and 11 digs, Kohler added 20 assists and Alyssa Sianez came through with 13 digs. For Clemson, Adria Powell had 12 kills and Kateryna Tkachenko notched 11 kills. Mckenna Slavik had 32 assists and Devan Taylor added 15 digs. The programs had never met before 2023, but they faced each other on Sept. 16 when Clemson won 3-2, coming back after dropping the first two sets. |
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December 2023
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