EL PASO – The Sam Houston volleyball team opened a weekend Conference USA series with a loss to UTEP at Memorial Gym on Friday.  

The Bearkats (7-7, 2-1) started off strong but lost steam in the 25-19, 25-21, 25-16 loss. It was Sam Houston's first league setback after sweeping Middle Tennessee last week in the conference opener. 

UTEP set the tone in each set to keep the Bearkats from getting back in the match. The final set was all the Miners as they jumped out to an 11-0 lead, and the Bearkats were unable to recover.  

McKenzie Morvant led the team with six kills, and Alyssa Fielder added five of her own. Hannah Baker ended the night with 17 digs.  

The two teams will play again Saturday at Memorial Gym in the final regular season meeting with first serve set for 1 p.m.