After a weekend loss to SMU Nov. 11 and Tulsa Nov. 20, the Miners will battle one last time this season Nov. 22 against UCF in Memorial Gym. UTEP is now in eighth place in Conference-USA at 9-10 and 19-13 overall for the season.
At the beginning of the 2011 season, the two teams met with the Knights sweeping the Miners Sept. 16 in Orlando.
This season was a big improvement from 2010 when UTEP finished 12-21 and 4-16 in C-USA that was capped with a 14-match losing streak.
The team opened this year's season strong with an 8-0 start before C-USA play began but matches against Baylor Sept. 9 and Mississippi State Sept. 10 at the MCM Elegante Invitational halted the streak. The Miners finished non-conference play at 10-3 before taking on UCF in the two teams' C-USA opener. Last season, the Miners were 8-5 prior to conference.
After dropping the first two games of conference play to UCF and eventual-conference champion Tulsa, the team went on a five-match winning streak during conference play.
UTEP was tied mid-way through the conference with Houston and Rice for the third spot but losses to the two teams Oct. 14 and 16 dropped the Miners to fifth. A loss to Southern Miss the following weekend extended UTEP's losing streak to three games.
UTEP was unable to pull back into the conference mix finishing the season 4-5 including a weekend sweep by SMU and Tulsa Nov. 18 and 20. This is the third year the conference has not hosted a postseason tournament meaning the Miners' season will end against UCF at home.
Sophomore middle blocker Xitlali Herrera was a player for UTEP in her first year. She took top spots on the team with 378 kills and 467 points. In C-USA, Herrera was recognized for her performance and is ranked fifth for her .338 hitting percentage, eighth in kills, fifth with 126 blocks and fifth for total points accomplished. Sophomore outside hitter Jeane Horton followed in 11th for a total of 354 kills in conference and was second on the team behind Herrera for kills.
The Miner's improved defensively as senior libero Stephanie Figueroa led the Miners' defense by taking the second highest mark for digs in the UTEP record books. Figueroa totaled 555 digs at 4.78 digs per set and has averaged a 0.36 on the service line her final year at UTEP.
Krystal Oblinger may be reached at prospector@utep.edu.
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