RENO, Nev. - Nevada Volleyball continued conference play Thursday, outlasting a strong UTEP team in a five-set thriller (21-25, 25-16, 27-25, 20-25, 15-10).
Set one opened with an array of runs from both teams, with the Pack and Miners both notching two aces a piece in the first 12 points. Teams traded points from that initial 6-6 tie, tying at 10-10 and 15-15. Kills from
Ceren Sert and
Paige Thies gave the Pack an 18-16 lead out of the media timeout before the Miners put together a three and four-point run led by attacker Landry Braziel. The Pack managed to claw back to 23-21 before two UTEP kills capped the set 25-21.
More back and forth play ensued in the second set, with attackers Thies, Sert and
Karly Bonaventure setting the tone for the Wolf Pack early on, taking a narrow 9-7 lead.
Madison Long then earned three kills out of the next five points to put the Pack up 13-9. Dominating the set, Nevada went on a late five-point run off the back of strong play offensively and at the net. Long punctuated the set by earning the Pack's final two kills, closing out 25-16 set winners.
Two early three-point runs for both sides kicked off set three, setting the score at 6-4. The Miners then won seven of the next eight points off the back of strong attacking play and two service aces from Lauren Perry. The Pack returned fire with a five-point run of their own, capped by two Sert kills, setting the score at 12-11 Wolf Pack. Both teams then traded points throughout the middle of the set before Nevada went on a four-point run to set the score at 22-21. A UTEP service error and Bonaventure kill set up set point for the Pack, but the Miners earned a kill to tie the game at 25-25. A Thies kill and
Adriana Dorn service ace closed out set three for the Pack 27-25.
The Miners came out firing in set four, winning 11 out of the first 14 points to open the set. Thies tried to inspire the Pack back into the set with three mid set points, cutting the deficit down to 17-10. The Wolf Pack won nine points to UTEP's four in the late part of the set, highlighted by two Long kills before the Miners put to use two set points to close the set out 25-20 to send the match to a deciding set.
Both teams shared the opening six points evenly, sitting tied 3-3 early in set five. Strong play at the net led the Pack to win four of the next five points, forcing a UTEP timeout. Nevada's continued defensive stand at the net allowed them to head a four-point run to lead 12-6. The Miners didn't stop their fight however, going on a four-point run of their own to cut Nevada's lead to 12-10. Two Thies kills and a Long/Thies block ran the Wolf Pack out 15-10 victors, closing out a big conference win for head coach
Jason Borchin.
Madison Long led Nevada with 19 kills on a .421 hitting percentage, while
Paige Thies added 18 kills and four blocks.
Ceren Sert contributed 10 kills and two blocks, and
Karly Bonaventure turned in one of her most efficient matches of the season with nine kills on a .533 hitting percentage while adding three blocks. Running the offense,
Adriana Dorn dished out 47 assists, added three service aces, and recorded nine digs, while
Masyn Navarro anchored the back row with a match-high 21 digs. Nevada also received contributions from
Malia Pilimai, who added six kills, and
Summer Suppik, who chipped in seven digs and an ace, as the Wolf Pack placed three players in double figures in kills.
The Pack will return to Virginia Street Gym on Saturday at 12 p.m. for the back end of the home series against UTEP.
