EL PASO, Texas – The UTEP volleyball team improved to 4-0 en route to the El Paso Sports Commission Invitational title on Saturday at Memorial Gym. The Miners defeated Nicholls State and UT-Arlington in back-to-back sweeps to claim the first-place price and then closed out the tournament with a nail bitting match against UTA and defeated the Maverick in three straight sets.

The Miners posted a match-high 41 kills with a hitting efficiency of .235 to lead the Miners to victory against Nicholls State, 3-0. Getting things started for the Miners was sophomore Jeane Horton, who pounded the first kill of the match. Horton attacked for a total of 12 kills and registered a .308 percentage. Senior Marie-Therese “M.T.” Joyce tallied nine kills and hit a team-best .444 and was among the team leaders with eight digs. Xitlali Herrera delivered a stellar performance against the Colonels collecting eight kills and six blocks leading the team with a combined 12 blocks.

In the nightcap, the opening set saw both teams battling for control as Bridget Logan struck with five kills followed by Herrera with four kills. However, that cushion would be short-lived as the Miners came back to out score the Mavericks 25-23 in the first set.

In an intense second set, UTEP closed out the competition scoring on the next three serves to overpower UT-Arlington, 25-23. UTEP’s Joyce fought to get the team the win with five kills and two digs in the set. Closing out the third set was Horton with a double-digit performance of 11 kills. The Miners secured a victory over the Mavericks to continue their winning streak 4-0.

Setter Malia Patterson led UTEP with 37 assist while adding five digs to the scoreboard. Defensively, Stephanie Figueroa picked up a match-high of 19 digs.

Three Miners claimed all tournament honors with Figueroa taking most valuable player of the El Paso Sports Commission Invitational. Horton and Herrera were named all tournament first team.

The Miners will travel to New York on Friday, Sept. 2 in a 10 a.m. matchup with Niagara and a 5 p.m. match against Cornell in the Cornell Invitational. UTEP faces American (10 a.m.) and Delaware (3 p.m.) on Saturday, Sept. 3.

El Paso Sports Commission All Tournament Team
MVP- Stephanie Figueroa (UTEP)
Jeane Horton (UTEP)
Xitlali Herrera (UTEP)
Kathryn Stock (Nicholls State)
Megan Ellis (Portland State)
Jaquincia Williams (Southern University)
Amanda Aguilera (UT-Arlington)