University of the Incarnate Word Athletics

WACO, Texas -- The University of the Incarnate Word volleyball team came up short against UTEP in four sets Thursday night in its final non-conference match of the season.

SET ONE: The Cardinals struggled to find offensive momentum early, using three straight attack errors to keep the game close. Calissa Allison found the Cardinals' first kill to even it up at seven, fueling a 6-0 Cardinals run. UTEP responded with a 4-0 run to even the game at 13 before another 4-0 stretch gave the Miners an 18-15 advantage and forced a UIW timeout. Out of the break, Kitana Tu'ufuli had back-to-back kills before combining with Sofia Grimm for a block to pull the Cardinals within one, 22-21. UIW pushed the set to extra points, but UTEP would end up taking the opening set, 26-24. 

SET TWO: Set two opened similarly to the first, with the Cardinals relying on UTEP errors to keep the score close. The Miners pulled ahead with a 3-0 run to take an 8-5 lead before a Vanessa Eregie block stopped the run.The Miners continued to pull away with a 5-0 run pushing ahead 17-12 before UIW worked the score to 20-17. The UTEP attack proved to be too much down the stretch, as UTEP closed the set on a 4-0 run to close out the second set, 25-18, and take a 2-0 lead.  

SET THREE: The Cardinals jumped out to an early 5-2 lead before the Miners responded with a  3-0 run to bring the game even at eight. UIW regained momentum with a 3-0 run of its own, taking a 13-9 lead before carrying a 15-10 advantage into the media timeout. The Cardinals continued to build their lead out of the break, extending the margin to 22-13. UTEP brought it back within five points at 23-18, but a solo block from Tu'ufuli gave the Cardinals the third set, 25-19.

SET FOUR: The two teams traded points early in the fourth set before UTEP used a 7-0 run to take a 10-4 lead. The Cardinals were able to stay in the set, collecting points off Miner errors but could not generate consistent offense of their own. The early lead proved too much to overcome, as UTEP took the fourth set, 25-18, to win the match, 3-1.

Notables:

• Allison continues to fill the stat sheet for the Cardinals, leading the team with 33 assists on the night, just two shy of her season high. She added seven kills, hitting a season high .545 with eight digs and a block.

• Tu'ufuli led the Cardinals with double-digit kills for the fifth consecutive match, tying her season-high of 15 kills.

• Ashton Rogers led the team with 19 digs. Victoria Hall and Teddy-Raye Ewers were behind her with nine a piece. 

The Cardinals will open Southland Conference play at home against East Texas A&M on Thursday, Sept. 24 at 6 p.m.
 

FOLLOW ALONG   

For the most up-to-date information on UIW Athletics, visit uiwcardinals.com, follow the Cardinals on X @UIWAthletics, and on Instagram @uiw_athletics.   

Follow the team on X @UIWVolleyball and on Instagram @uiw_volleyball.