The UTEP volleyball team will take to the road this weekend, in search of their first conference road win since the 2003 season, as they take on Rice on Friday and Houston on Sunday in Houston.
UTEP (15-7, 5-4 C-USA) is 2-5 on road trips and 0-3 in league matches this season. The last time the Miners won a conference road match was on Oct. 25, 2003 when they defeated Boise State, 3-0, in WAC play - UTEP’s only conference road win of that season. It has been since the 2000 season, when the Miners defeated San Jose State (Nov. 10) and Fresno State (Nov. 11) in five-game thrillers, that UTEP won two consecutive conference away matches.
Kari Stacy, who was named C-USA Player of the Week on Monday, will lead the Miners. The senior outside hitter recorded her sixth and seventh double-double performances of the season in UTEP’s wins over UCF and Southern Miss over the weekend. She recorded 26 kills against Southern Miss, the sixth time this season she has hit over 20 in a match.
Stacy leads the team in kills with 353 and points with 399.5 and is second on the team in aces with 30 and digs with 200. She needs just 84 more kills to boost her into second on UTEP’s all-time career kill list.
Preseason favorite Rice dropped three C-USA matches to conference leader Marshall, UAB and ECU over the weekend. The Owls fall to 4-5 in league action and 13-7 overall. The Owls are led by senior Olaya Pazo who has slammed a team-high 378 kills, hitting .268 this season. She is currently averaging 4.78 kills per game which ranks 25th in the nation. She is second on the team in aces with 26 and digs with 264 and rates third in total blocks with 42 (five solo). Assisting Pazo is setter Kristina Hoban who is averaging 11.63 assists per game for a total of 919 this season. She has recorded 143 kills and is hitting .300. She has 196 digs and has put up a total of 39 blocks (one solo).
After the Miners defeated Houston on Sept. 30, the Cougars went on a five-match win streak, boosting them to second in league standings. The streak was snapped last weekend in a 3-1 loss to Marshall, C-USA’s current leader. Houston came back to defeat ECU in a 3-0 sweep, giving head coach Bill Walton his 600th career victory, only the 12th coach in NCAA history to accomplish the feat. Houston (11-9, 6-2 C-USA) is led by Kariny Ritter who has totaled 345 kills this season while averaging 4.60 kills per game and is hitting .203. She has 190 digs and 61 total blocks (18 solo) and has contributed 16 assists and 15 aces. On the defensive end, Jaci Gonzalez leads the Cougars. Ranked second nationally in digs per game with 6.20, the libero has totaled 465 digs this season while adding up over 2,200 digs in her career.
GAME NOTES
The Series Against Owls...
Rice leads the all-time series 8-13 that dates back to 1983. The Miners, however, hold the 2005 series lead 1-0 after defeating the Owls 3-1 on Oct. 3 in Memorial Gym.
Scouting Rice...
Rice dropped three C-USA matches to conference leader Marshall, UAB and ECU. The Owls fall to 4-5 in league action and 13-7 overall. The Owls are led by senior Olaya Pazo who has slammed a team-high 378 kills, hitting .268 this season. She is currently averaging 4.78 kills per game which ranks 25th in the nation. She is second on the team in aces with 26 and digs with 264 and rates third in total blocks with 42 (five solo). Assisting Pazo is setter Kristina Hoban who is averaging 11.63 assists per game with a total of 919 this season. She has recorded 143 kills and is hitting .300 so far. She has 196 digs and has put up a total of 39 blocks (one solo).
The Last Time...
The UTEP volleyball team staged an upset against Rice, defeating the Owls, 3-1, on Oct. 3, 2005. Four Miners had double-digit kill performances in the contest, including Kari Stacy who finished with 19 kills and 12 digs. Brooke Peugh led the Miners in blocks and points with six and 22, respectively and added 18 kills. Jaymie Swift and Brittany Stowers finished the match with 17 and 21 digs, respectively. Tessa Kuykendall’s 17 kills led Rice. She was followed Olaya Pazo with 16 kills, Karyn Morgan with 13 and Kristina Hoban with 10. Kristina Dennemann had an outstanding defensive outing, totaling a match-high 30 digs. The Miners held the Owls to hitting just .061 in game one, allowing just 11 kills and forcing eight errors. UTEP came out on top, totaling .410, slamming 19 kills. Rice came out serving strong, lacing 10 aces to the Miners’ five. Morgan and Hoban served up three aces while Pazo and Jessica Holderness recorded two each.
The Series Against the Cougars...
The Miners have a chance to tie the series 3-3 with a win this weekend. The Cougars lead 2-3.
Scouting Houston...
After the Miners defeated Houston on Sept. 30, the Cougars went on a five-match win streak, boosting them to second in league standings. The streak was snapped last weekend in a 3-1 loss to Marshall, C-USA’s current leader. Houston came back to defeat ECU in a 3-0 sweep, giving head coach Bill Walton his 600th career victory, only the 12th coach in NCAA history to accomplish the feat. Houston (11-9, 6-2 C-USA) is led by Kariny Ritter who has totaled 345 kills this season while averaging 4.60 kills per game and is hitting .203. She has 190 digs and 61 total blocks (18 solo) and has contributed 16 assists and 15 aces. On the defensive end, Jaci Gonzalez leads the Cougars. Ranked second nationally in digs per game with 6.20, the libero has totaled 465 digs this season while adding up over 2,200 digs in her career.
The Last Time...
Kari Stacy recorded her fourth 20-kill performance to lead the UTEP volleyball team past Houston, 30-17, 30-17, 30-27 on Sept. 30, 2005. Stacy registered 23 kills in the match and hit .380 including a game-high .500 in game two. She added six digs and led the Miners in points with 23. Brooke Peugh also had a double-digit kill performance with 13 while Katie Smith returned to the setting position tallying 44 assists. The Miners held the Cougars to hitting just .077, including a match-low .050 in game one. The Miners hit .290 and outkilled Houston, 53 to 39. But it was the Cougars who were on the defensive end, recording 63 digs to UTEP's 61. Houston was led by the double-digit performances of Becca Sartori and Kariny Ritter with 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Justine Farmer and Jaci Gonzalez recorded 17 digs each.
Week In Review...
The Miners went 2-0 over the weekend with wins over UCF and Southern Miss. They pounded 71 kills to hit a season-high .344 defeating Southern Miss 3-1 on Sunday. Brooke Peugh led the Miners, hitting .519 to rank fourth in UTEP record books for hitting percentage in a four-game match. She notched 15 kills with one error and added four blocks. C-USA Player of the Week Kari Stacy hit .440 and recorded her seventh double-double of the season with 26 kills and 12 digs in the winning effort against the Golden Eagles. Her kill total marked the sixth time this season she had more than 20 in a match.
On The Road Again...
UTEP hits the road for the sixth time this season as they face Rice and Houston in Houston, Texas. Despite having defeated the two teams at home earlier this season, this road trip will prove to be a test for the Miners. UTEP is 2-5 on road trips and 0-3 in league matches. The last time the Miners won a conference road match was on Oct. 25, 2003 when they defeated Boise State, 3-0, in WAC play - UTEP’s only conference road win of that season. The same happened in 2002, when the Miners defeated Boise, 3-1. The last time the Miners won two league road matches in a season was in 2001, with wins over Tulsa and La. Tech. The last time UTEP won two consecutive conference away matches was during the 2000 season when the Miners defeated San Jose State (Nov. 10) and Fresno State (Nov. 11) in five-game thrillers.
Miners In C-USA Standings...
The Miners were picked to finish ninth in the C-USA preseason coaches poll. UTEP started the season in the 12th spot after going 0-2 in league action. The Miners, who are 5-4 in conference, currently rank sixth in standings. Marshall leads C-USA with a 9-1 league record, followed by Tulsa, Houston, SMU and Mempis. Preseason favorite Rice is tied for seventh with UAB and East Carolina at 4-5. Standings may change before the C-USA tournament, as there are still three weeks remaining on the conference schedule.
UTEP’s Blocking Season...
The Miners have posted 181.5 total blocks this season and are averaging 2.3 per game compared with 154 and 1.75 bpg of last season. UTEP recorded 21 total blocks against Tulsa (Oct. 14) to rank tied for third in a five-game match in school annals. The team registered 30 block assists which is the second-highest assist total in UTEP records for a five-game match. Freshmen Brooke Peugh and Jessica Williams lead the Miners. Peugh has tallied 79 blocks so far with seven solo and 72 assists. Williams leads the team in block solos with nine while posting 60 assists for a total of 69 blocks. The two middle blockers have more than doubled the total blocks of their teammates. The two have a notched 148 blocks while the rest of the team has a total of 33.5 total blocks combined.
Game 1 Match Must Win...
Of the seven losses the Miners have added up this season, six have come when UTEP loses game one of the match. The Miners have won every match in which they have defeated their opponents in game one. Cal State Fullerton (Sept. 3) is the only contest during the 2005 season in which the Miners have fallen when winning the first game. UTEP put up a good fight, taking Cal State to the edge, 2-3.
Topping the 2000 Season...
The 2000 season was the last time the Miners won more than 10 matches in a season. UTEP finished 16-15, 7-9 in WAC action. UTEP needs just one win to tie and two to top the win totals of that season. The Miners could go over the 1996 win mark of 19-10 (10-6 WAC). With seven matches left, the Miners could see themselves 22-7, 12-4 in C-USA play, should they win the rest of the season outright. In 1982, the Miners won a season-high 30 matches while dropping 18 as independents.
Stacy Tops the 1,000 Kill Mark...
Kari Stacy became just the sixth player in UTEP history to hit the 1,000 kills mark after recording 19 against Rice on Oct. 2 to total 1,001. Jennifer Abbruzzese (2000-03) currently holds the record in school annals with 1,511. Abbruzzese also holds the career dig record with 1, 368.
Stacy vs. Career Records...
After recording a total of 37 kills over the weekend, Kari Stacy boosted herself to 1,097 career kills which rates third in school annals. She needs just 84 kills (an average of 12 kpm) to move into second and 414 to pass Jennifer Abbruzzese who is currently UTEP’s career kill leader. Stacy ranks second in UTEP recordbooks for total career attempts with 3,248. Stacy also ranks fifth in career aces with 92.
Batting Below .200...
UTEP is 4-4 when hitting below 200 including a 3-0 loss to NMSU where UTEP hit just .024. It marked the only time this season the Miners hit below the century mark. It is quite a difference from the 2004 season when the Miners had seven matches under 200 and nine matches under 100 including a season-low -.009 against Tulsa. The Miners hit .150 in the 3-0 win over UCF on Oct. 21. The match marked just the fourth match during the 2005 season in which UTEP has come out ahead when hitting less than 200. The Miners also hit below the 200 mark against Alabama A&M (.194), Marist (.163) and Tulane (.182).
Hats Off To Kari..
Kari Stacy was named C-USA Player of the Week on Monday. The senior outside hitter recorded her sixth double-double performance of the season, as the UTEP volleyball team defeated UCF, 3-0, on Friday. Stacy totaled 14 kills and 12 digs for the match. In the 3-1 win over Southern Miss on Sunday, the Arizona native hit a career-high .440 going 26 of 50 while committing just four errors. She recorded her seventh double-double of the season with 26 kills and 12 digs. Her total kills mark the sixth time this season she has hit over 20 in a match.
For the weekend, the senior totaled 40 kills and hit .309. She contributed 24 digs while tallying a team-high 41.0 points. Stacy leads the team in kills with 353 and points with 399.5 and is second on the team in aces with 30 and digs with 200.
This is the second honor for Stacy and the third for UTEP this season. Brooke Peugh earned C-USA Player of the Week honors for the week of Oct. 3. This is the first time the honor has been awarded to UTEP three times in a season. The last time the Miners received POW honors was in 2000 when Veronica Acosta (S) and Jacqui Nosan (MB) received the Western Athletic Conference award. In total, 10 Miners (including Stacy and Peugh) have received the prestigious honor.
The Defensive Machine...
Brittany Stowers is hard to notice. Standing at just 5’3”, the freshman-redshirt libero is as swift in the back courts as a lioness is to its prey. Stowers made her debut last season posting 36 digs against North Texas (Sept. 10), placing her in a three-way tie for fourth in NCAA recordbooks, while her 32 digs against UT-Pan American (Sept. 11) tied for eight. In 2005 she returns, a relentless staple to UTEP’s defense. So far this season, she has notched 378 digs while averaging 4.78 per game. She has already hit the 30-mark, recording 35 digs against Tulsa on Oct. 14. She has had five matches with 20+ digs. Stowers ranks third in UTEP annals for season total digs and has already paced herself to break the season digs per game record held by All-WAC performer Sarah Davis who ended the 2002 season averaging 4.23 digs per game. Since Stowers’ tenure as a Miner, she has posted 507 digs in her career and after this season, she will have three years remaining, putting her on pace to become UTEP’s all-time career digs leader held by UTEP-great Jennifer Abbruzzese (1,368 career from 2000-03).
Quarterback Backing...
Back-up setter Jaymie Swift recorded her second double-double performance of the season in the 3-0 win against UCF on Friday. She totaled 35 assists (11.7 apg) and a team-high 13 digs in the win, while adding five kills with no errors to hit .500 for the match. She also put up three blocks and one ace for 7.5 points for the Miners. Against Southern Miss, Swift notched 42 assists, 10.5 apg, while leading the Miners past the Golden Eagles 3-1. She led the Miners to a season-high .344 hitting percentage. She posted eight digs, two kills, two aces and one block for 4.5 points. Swift combined for 77 assists and averaged 11.0 per game in the Miners’ sweep over the weekend. She contributed 21 digs and three aces while putting up four blocks in the two matches. Swift took over the reigns at the quarterback position after starting setter, Katie Smith, injured her hand during the off season. So far Swift boasts 640 assists while averaging 8.10 per game for the 2005 season. She has 43 kills (.231) and leads the team in aces with 37 while adding 196 digs which rates second on the team.
Miners Make Move...
On July 1, 2005, UTEP, along with WAC brethren Rice, SMU and Tulsa, made the move to Conference USA. The new league, compromised of 12 teams, is set to feature a high intensity atmosphere. Volleyball will be divided into two divisions, East and West. C-USA schools have made 15 NCAA tournament appearances and the head coaches have a combined 73 years of coaching experience. Five C-USA programs have reached the 20-win plateau three times, while two schools have tallied the 30-win feat. C-USA boasts 13 Academic All-Americans, 13 All-District selections and two conference Freshman of the Year honors.
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