EL PASO, Texas — New Mexico Volleyball saw its four-match winning streak come to an end Thursday night at Memorial Gym, falling to UTEP in straight sets (22-25, 14-25, 22-25) in Mountain West play.
The Lobos (6-11, 4-3 MW) battled closely with the Miners in the opening and third sets but couldn’t sustain their momentum, finishing with a .065 hitting percentage while UTEP hit .270 with 45 kills and 11 team blocks.
The two teams will square off again Saturday at The Pit - Powered by Nusenda to close out the weekend series. Thursday’s match was the first meeting between the two as Mountain West foes.
UNM held a 14-12 advantage midway through the opening set and rallied from a two-point deficit to take an 18-17 lead before UTEP closed out the frame. After the Miners controlled the second set, the Lobos responded with their strongest start of the night in the third, building a 17-10 advantage behind a balanced offensive effort. UTEP answered with a 10-3 run to even the score at 20-all before winning five of the final seven points to complete the sweep.
Addison France led New Mexico with nine kills and seven digs, while Mina Stanojevic added seven kills and 11 digs. Madeleine Miller finished with 21 assists and 10 digs for her second double-double of the season, while Camila Canedo paced the Lobos defensively with 12 digs.
UTEP held a 45-27 advantage in kills and an 11-2 edge in team blocks, limiting New Mexico to a combined .073 hitting percentage over the final two sets.
UP NEXT
Saturday’s rematch in Albuquerque is set for a 7 p.m. MT first serve and will be available to stream via MW+, with live stats for both matches available via GoLobos.com/VBStats. Follow @UNMLoboVB on IG, X and Facebook for match updates and coverage, promotional information, behind-the-scenes content and more.