Oct. 31, 2003

EDINBURG, TX-The University of Texas-Pan American's volleyball team did something they've never done in their match against Texas-El Paso Friday night. The Lady Broncs scored their first victory ever against a team from the Western Athletic Conference, defeating the Miners for the first time ever, 30-27, 28-30, 30-22 and 30-21 at the UTPA Fieldhouse.

The Lady Broncs broke open a tight match, outscoring the Miners by 17 points during the final two games, hitting .338 while holding UTEP to .045. Senior outside hitter Jaclyn Muszynski (Walnut, CA/Walnut HS), the Independent Defensive Player of the Week, had 20 kills and 19 digs while hitting .279. Junior outside hitter Cathi Netemeyer (Los Fresnos, TX/Los Fresnos HS/Iowa), the Independent Offensive Player of the Week, had 27 kills and hit .489. Freshman libero Carol Marcengo (Curitiba, Brazil/SPEI HS) had 28 digs, while sophomore middle blocker Danielle Holthe (Covina, CA/Bishop Amat Memorial HS) had six blocks. Jennifer Abbruzzese led UTEP with 15 kills and a .306 hitting percentage, while Nina Reeves added 12 kills.

"I'm proud of our team, we had different people step up and make plays when they needed to," said UTPA Head Coach Dave Thorn. "Jaclyn stepped up with 20 kills and 19 digs, and Cathi had 27 kills and only four errors. (Sophomore) outside hitter Sandy (Darway, San Luis Obispo, CA/Arroyo Grande HS) stepped in, played the right side, and then set. We made some unforced errors at the end of the second game, and it cost us, but we came back strong and took the next two games."

Texas-Pan American improved to 15-12 with their third win in a row, while UTEP dropped to 6-18. The Lady Broncs will return to action when they host Liga Municipal Select of Reynosa, Mexico Saturday evening.