EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – In front of another sold-out crowd at Memorial Gym, UTEP volleyball beat South Florida in straight sets (25-14, 26-24, 25-13) in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) semifinals on Sunday.
UTEP advanced to its first ever NIVC championship game in program history with the win. UTEP will host Wichita State on Tuesday, Dec. 12 at Memorial Gym in El Paso, Texas with the match set to start at 7:00 p.m.
UTEP put together a solid performance in all aspects of the game to collect its 12th sweep of the 2023 season. UTEP had a .475 hitting percentage with 42 kills on 80 total attacks. The Miners only recorded four attacking errors which was quite impressive. Alianza Darley led the way in the kills category with 12 against South Florida. Danika Washington and Kaya Weaver each tallied eight kills on the day. UTEP also collected nine service aces in the match. Darley, Torrance Lovesee, and Kalia Kohler each had two aces.
UTEP handled one of the best hitting teams in that nation. The Miners out blocked the Bulls, 10-2, in the match. Sakira LaCour led the Miners with six total blocks, all of them assisted blocks. Washington had a total of five blocks. Darley and Marian Ovalle were the only Miners to record solo blocks in the match.
South Florida had 32 kills on 88 total attacks, which panned out to a .136 hitting percentage. Buse Hazan led the way with 11 kills and was the only Bull to collect double-figure kills in the match. Miya Thomas was the Bulls best played on defense and she collected a team-high 12 digs in the match.
UTEP will now play in the NIVC finals and look to win its first ever NIVC championship. UTEP will take on Wichita State on Tuesday, Dec. 12 at Memorial Gym. Tickets went on sale at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday.
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