HUNTSVILLE — Sam Houston fought tooth and nail but UTEP was able to squeak out a 3-2 victory in Conference USA action at Johnson Coliseum on Saturday.
The Bearkats (7-16 overall, 1-9 CUSA) roared to 25-19 victory in the opening set.
McKenzie Morvant and
Payton Woods had back-to-back kills to make it 23-19 then two straight blocks by Morvant and Jaylibeth-Rosa-Garcia and Woods and Morvant sealed the victory.
The Miners (15-6, 7-3) won the next two sets 25-21 and 25-16 to go up 2-1. It appeared UTEP was about to runaway with the fourth set up up 12-6 after consecutive kills.
Sam Houston wasn't going to go quietly.
The Bearkats rallied and outscored the Miners 19-8 the rest of the way a kill by
Alyssa Fielder putting the finishing touches on a 25-20 win to send it to a fifth set. UTEP was able to close the match with a 15-10 victory in the finale.
Woods led the Kats with 15 kills, and Fielder finished with 10.
Avery Fowler had 24 assists and
Camryn Weldon had 15 with
Hannah Baker finishing with 18 digs.
