Final Stats

EL PASO, Texas - The Louisiana Tech women's volleyball team claimed a crucial 3-1 (25-22, 25-19, 23-25, 25-22) victory over Conference USA foe UTEP on Friday evening from Memorial Gymnasium.

The Techsters (7-17, 2-8 C-USA) outhit the Miners, .276 to .145 on the night while notching more kills (55 to 47), digs (55 to 44), assists (49 to 41) and blocks (15 to 11) for the first time in any match this season.

"Our coaching staff has been emphasizing to our players how important it is to play for each other and trust that they are a good team," head coach Adriano de Souza remarked. "Tonight, they worked very hard to make each other successful throughout the entire match."

Senior captain Marta Monne paced the team's most complete match of the season, with a match-high 22 kills on 40 attempts, for an absurd .425 hitting percentage. Madeline Davis also chipped in with 14 kills while hitting at a .440 clip, further improving her team-best attacking percentage this season.

"Marta and Maddy were solid on offense tonight," de Souza said. "Marie-Helene Verlinden also had a great presence while blocking and serving. These collective efforts made a big difference in creating opportunities for the players around them."

Senior setter Brooke Short spread out the offense nicely, as three Techsters finished with 12 kills in the contest. Short contributed 40 assists, nine digs and a pair of kills.

"This is the second straight match that Brooke has displayed good posture when distributing the balls to our offense," de Souza noted. "The more that she can continue to do this, the better our attackers will be in converting opportunities. We expect her to build on this performance and continue to improve as the season progresses."

Rookie Gina Cortesi also posted a strong effort offensively, collecting 12 kills along with a pair of blocks and five digs.

Tech came out strong in the first frame, jumping out to an early 7-4 lead. The Miners would rally back, but could not grow a lead to more than one point, as Tech staked a 25-22 win in the opening set.

Tech used a similar formula in set number two, hitting .333 while holding the Miners to just a .162 mark in a more decisive, 25-19 triumph.

UTEP would make a push in the third, capturing a 25-23 win, but Tech rebounded nicely with clutch play in the fourth and final set. The Techsters hit a blistering .533 in the final frame, and held on for a 25-22 win, clinching the second conference win of the season.

Tech returns to action on Sunday afternoon, rounding out the Texas road trip against the UTSA Roadrunners at 1 p.m.

Stay tuned to @LATechVB on Twiter, Facebook and Instagram for all news and updates on the Lady Techsters.