EL PASO, Texas – Missouri State's volleyball team competed well for a second straight day at first-place UTEP in a 3-1 setback to the Miners Saturday afternoon at Memorial Gym.
 
UTEP (21-3, 11-1 Conference USA) topped the Bears (10-13, 5-7) by set scores of 25-14, 23-25, 25-19, 25-18.
 
The Miners converted their first eight swings into kills and hit .429 with five aces in the first set to grab the early lead.
 
The second set included 17 ties and nine lead changes, with the largest margin for either side at 17-14 Bears after a 4-0 run that included two aces and a kill from Hannah Gardner. UTEP countered with its own 4-0 run and the back-and-forth continued to a 23-22 lead for the Miners. From there, Grace Smith and Peyton McKee paired up for a block between two UTEP errors for a closing 3-0 run that evened the match at one set apiece.
 
The Bears overcame two separate four-point deficits in the third set, including three kills from Gardner in a 4-0 run 18-18. That momentum was met with a 6-0 UTEP run and MSU was unable to recover a third time.
 
Missouri State nearly dug itself out from an early 6-0 UTEP run in the fourth, getting as close as 16-14 on Kya Johnson's third ace and 17-15 on a McKee kill before the Miners shut the door with a finishing 8-3 run.
 
Rilynn Finley paced the MSU offense with 13 kills, Brooke Eslinger led with 18 digs and Rossana Papa handed out 23 assists. Smith and Lizanyela Lopez tallied four blocks apiece.
 
UTEP led the team statistical categories .316-175 in hitting percentage, 59-44 in kills, 56-55 in digs and 10-7 in aces, while the Bears held an 8-7 blocking edge.
 
The Bears have two weekends remaining in the regular season, and host Liberty on Nov. 7 and 8 to close out the home schedule. MoState and the Flames play at 6 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday at Hammons Student Center.