Box Score           
 UIW Volleyball Falls Against UTEP in Five Set Match 

SAN ANTONIO, TX – The University of the Incarnate Word volleyball team fought hard for five sets, but came up short against UTEP on the second day of the I-10 Challenge. The Cardinals finish the tournament with a record of 1-2.
 
NOTABLES

• Alyssa Carlin was named All-Tournament. Carlin had 52 digs and 11 aces in the tournament. 
• Sophomore Pilar Gonzaba set a personal career high with four kills.  
• McKayla Landreth produced seven blocks and nine kills.
• Bethany Clapp set a personal season record with 16 kills.

 
UIW  2 - UTEP 3
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 (14-25) | The Cardinals had a slow start, allowing UTEP to take the lead early on. UIW struggled on serve receiving, allowing the Miners to earn five aces.
 
SET 2 (25-14) | UIW found its fire early, leading before the Miners were able to go on a 4-0 run to take a 7-6 advantage. The Cardinals answered with a 4-0 run of their own, including two aces by McKayla Landreth. The Miners were only down by two before the Cardinals recorded a 5-0 stretch, with three kills from sophomore Bethany Clapp to leave the score 17-10. UIW had a strong front with four blocks and 11 kills. 
 
SET 3 (25-22) | After three ties and lead changes, the Cardinals were able to break ahead with a 4-0 run and maintained the lead for the rest of the set. Clapp tallied four kills, while setter Gonzaba had three kills. 
 
SET 4 & 5 (23-25; 11-15) | The Cardinals battled against the Miners with nine ties in the fourth set. UTEP had 16 kills to the Cardinals' nine. In the fifth set, UTEP took an early lead and held the advantage for the majority of the set. The Miners produced one error to the Cardinals' four. The set saw 11 kills for the Minors.
 
HEAR FROM HEAD COACH SAMANTHA DABBS-THOMAS
 
On the pressure of five sets…
 "We played really well but UTEP stayed with it. We came out slow in game one. And fought really hard in the fourth set and almost came back. That shows grit and fight. This team is building and working really well together. I'm extremely excited for this team." 
 
On the first five sets of the season…
"Five set matches are always good because it exposes you and makes you have to play even more aggressively. We will find ourselves in more five setters this year, but we will keep working on taking advantage of the easy plays and spreading our offense. "
On the Maverick Classic
"For UTA we need to keep owning the serving and passing game and also work on our connection with our middles. If we keep getting better there, we will open up our pins even more!"
 
On Alyssa Carlin defense…
"I thought Alyssa Carlin did a great job defensively playing middle back and left back for us. She made all tournament and deserved it! She served tough and earned us points behind the end line and stayed solid in serve receive."
 
HERE FROM MB #15 MCKAYLA LANDRETH
 
On leading in the front row…
"I felt that the blocking calls that we do really help with focusing on where each hitter is going. I think just not letting the pressure of the game get to you really helps with staying focused and doing my job of blocking and hitting."
 
On five set pressure…
"As a team going into the fifth set, I don't think we freaked out. I think we just made our own mistakes for letting them pull away and get ahead. I think we did good with staying calm and not freaking out in the fifth set."
 
UP NEXT
UIW continues their tournament play against UTEP at 10 a.m. on Aug. 31. 
 
FOLLOW ALONG
For the most up-to-date information on UIW Athletics, visit uiwcardinals.com, follow the Cardinals on Twitter @UIWAthletics and like UIW Athletics on Facebook at UIW Athletics. You can also follow the volleyball team on Twitter @UIWVolleyball and Instagram @UIW_Volleyball.