Box score

EDINBURG, TX—Texas-Pan American scored a straight-sets victory over visiting NJIT in Great West Conference women's volleyball Saturday afternoon.

The closest set was the first, but the Broncs prevailed, 26-24, in a frame that featured nine ties and five lead changes. The home team followed that with back-to-back 25-19 set victories to take the match, 3-0.

Saturday's win, the second this season for UTPA over NJIT, lifted the winners to 7-17 overall and 4-5 in the Great West Conference. The Highlanders are 2-7 in the Great West and 4-18 overall.

Texas-Pan American got 11 kills and 12 digs from Marci Logan, while Ijanae Holman added 10 kills and eight digs. Setter Rita Gonzalez collected 35 assists. Logan and Ariana Bermea each served two aces, leading UTPA to a 6-3 advantage in that area.

On defense, Kaitlin Vasquez had a match-best 23 digs, followed by Logan's 12 and 11 from Bermea.  The Broncs doubled NJIT in total team blocks, 8-4, and the top individual blocker for Texas-Pan Am was Sarah Davis, with five block assists.

NJIT's top attackers were Baaba Hughes and Janet Snell, each of whom had nine kills. Anna Mercado had 19 assists and the Highlanders got their three aces from three different players.

Libero Audrey Snell had 21 digs for NJIT, while Hughes had 12 digs. Fernanda Lima (2 block assists) was the only Highlander with more than one individual block.

NJIT rallied from a deficit and then faltered itself in the tightly-contested first set. The Highlanders trailed by six as late as 7-13 and still trailed, 11-16, before running off five straight points, four on consecutive kills by Hughes.

UTPA answered with a couple of points for an 18-16 advantage, but NJIT spurted for four straight points and a 20-18 lead.

However, there would be four more ties, the latest at 24-24, before the Broncs, on a 3-0 closing spurt, sealed the set thanks to two blocks sandwiched around an NJIT ball-handling error at setter.

The Highlanders opened the second set, 7-1, but lost momentum as the frame progressed. Still, they led as late as 18-15, but the Broncs took 10 of the next 11 points.

In the third set, UTPA buried NJIT early, taking a quick 9-1 lead. The Highlanders fought back to within four points three times, the latest at 19-23, but got no closer.

NJIT is off until Thursday, when it begins the Dakotas portion of the Great West Conference schedule, visiting South Dakota. The Highlanders will then visit the top team in the conference, North Dakota, for an afternoon match on November 6.