El PASO, Texas – UTEP came out hitting at a high pace, and the Bulldog defense had no answer as Louisiana Tech fell on Friday night at Memorial Gym.
 
LA Tech (6-15, 1-8) took the match's first point off an Anaya Hairston block. UTEP (16-6, 7-3) responded with a 9-3 run, forcing the Bulldogs to use their first timeout. Tech came out of that timeout, claiming the subsequent two rallies. LA Tech would get back-to-back points to pull within 18-12, but the Miners would close out the set on a 7-1 run.
 
The Miners hit a blistering .478 in the second set and just out to a big lead early. The Bulldogs fought their way back to get within five at 10-5, but UTEP would continue to hit at a high pace. The Bulldog deficit grew to 10 multiple times before the Miners closed out the second with the final three points.
 
The third set saw the Bulldogs have more production on the offensive side of the net. Still, the Miners had another hitting clinic with a .387 mark, finishing at .402 for the match. An ace by Grace Krohn kept the score within range at 6-4. Three straight by the Tech had the score within one at 11-10, but UTEP scored the next four to head into the media timeout up five. Krohn would get her second ace of the set in the middle of a three-point run. The teams would trade points until the Minors closed the match on a 5-1 run to take it 3-0 (25-13, 25-13, 25-19).
 
NOTABLES

• Ashley Taylor and Carla Esquer finished with a team-high five kills.
• Krohn finished with 11 assists, the 12th time she has reached 10+ this season.
• The Bulldogs finished with a season-low 21 digs.

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs and Miners finish the series on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
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