UTEP Notes - Week 8
EL PASO, Texas - The UTEP volleyball team (5-14, 1-5), returns home after two weekends on the road to face Marshall and East Carolina University in a pair of Conference-USA matches.
UTEP will host Marshall on Friday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. during the Miners’ “Dig for the Cure” night. Fans wearing pink will receive free admission and can enter for a chance to win limited edition UTEP pink sweatshirts.
East Carolina travels to El Paso for a Sunday matchup scheduled for a noon start at Memorial Gym.
LAST WEEK
The Miners dropped a pair of close matches at SMU, 3-2, and Tulsa, 3-1, last weekend. UTEP fell to the Mustangs 25-22, 21-25, 22-25, 25-22 and 12-15 on Friday afternoon. Junior Amy Sanders recorded her eighth double-double of the weekend with 20 kills and 21 digs.
Senior Casey McAnelly recorded a match-high 18 kills in the Miners’ 3-1 loss to the Golden Hurricane on Sunday afternoon. Sanders had her second double-double of the weekend when she registered 15 kills and 10 digs.
SCOUTING MARSHALL
The Thundering Herd, (9-8, 2-5) is led by a pair of juniors, Emily Sullivan and Kristin Marcum. Sullivan, a double threat at the net, has 180 kills and 35 total blocks for the season. She’s also recorded 12 serving aces and 69 digs through 17 matches.
Kristin Marcum tallies 161 kills, 156 digs, 28 blocks and 12 serving aces. Senior outside hitter Jalicia Ross leads the league in hitting percentage with .442 in 175 kills and adds a team-high 52 total blocks.
Marshall lost to Rice, 3-0, and defeated Houston, 3-0, last week at home. They come into Friday night’s game with a 1-4 record away from home. The Thundering Herd is 4-1 all-time against the Miners including last year’s 3-1 win at UTEP.
SCOUTING ECU
The Pirates will travel to the Sun City after a Friday night matchup against second-place Tulane in New Orleans, La., ECU goes into Friday’s match looking to snap a seven-match losing streak. Stephanie Turner, a junior outside hitter, leads the Pirates with 164 kills, 150 digs, 31 total blocks and 23 serving aces.
Last week, the Pirates lost a pair of home matches to Rice and Houston, both by scores of 3-0. UTEP holds a 3-2 all-time record against East Carolina. The Pirates defeated the Miners, 3-0, in the teams’ last meeting in Greenville, N.C., on Oct. 5, 2007.
SERVES UP!
UTEP currently ranks 17th against all NCAA Division I Programs in aces per set with 1.75. Leading the way for the Miners is Sanders, ranked 47th in the nation averaging 0.43 per set.
MENDENHALL TIES RECORD
Senior middle blocker Daidre Mendenhall tied a school record with 11 block assists in a five-set match against Weber State on Sept. 13 at the Gonzaga Tournament. Mendenhall finished the weekend with 19 blocks and 20 kills.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS
Two Miners earned a pair of All-Tournament teams this season, junior outside hitters Amy Sanders and Catherine Chavez.
Chavez earned her first honor at the Sun Bowl Invitational during the Miners’ opening weekend on Aug. 30. The Eastwood graduate earned her second honor at the Doublewood Inn Classic hosted by NDSU.
Sanders had two double-double performances at the Gonzaga Tournament where she registered 58 kills, 27 digs and eight blocks. She picked up her second All-Tournament team award at the Friars Classic.
Senior Daidre Mendenhall was named to the Sun Bowl Invitational All-Tournament team, while sophomore Patty Jarmoc’s 71 assists, 11 kills, 10 aces and 10 block assists earned her a spot in the Friars Classic All-tournament Team.
THE 2008 MINERS
UTEP returns five starters from the 2007 season, in the form of outside hitters Catherine Chavez and Amy Sanders; middle blockers Aidan Mooney and Daidre Mendehall; and Patty Jarmoc at setter. Six newcomers will reinforce the nine returning letterwinners.
Two-year veterans Chavez and Sanders led the team in kills last season and will provide the leadership at that position. A starter in every match, Sanders’ team-leading 399 kills placed her third in UTEP annals for a single season. Chavez finished second in kills (311) and digs (332) with respective averages of 2.99 and 3.19.
A trio of talented middles made up of senior Keisha Hyman-Gifth, Mendenhall and Mooney will be bolstered with the arrival of newcomers Cassandra Burruel and Kelsey Moore. Mooney’s 89 blocks, 1.07 per game, led all Miners, while Jarmoc finished second on the team with 76 blocks and 41 aces.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Senior Daidre Mendenhall and junior Catherine Chavez were named to the 2008 Sun Bowl Invitational All-Tournament team this past weekend. The honor was Chavez’s second consecutive and Mendenhall’s first.
Chavez recorded consecutive double-doubles against Butler and New Jersey Institute of Technology and finished the weekend leading all Miners in the attacks and kills (36) category with a .301 hitting percentage.
Mendenhall registered a team-high 13 blocks in three matches, and ranked third amongst all Miners in kills with 28.
THE NATIVES
The Miners have five natives on the roster this season - Irma Blanco, Catherine Chavez, Jennifer Nolasco, Sarah Rodarte and Amy Sanders. Blanco, Nolasco, Chavez and Sanders are from Bel Air, Horizon, Eastwood and Burges, respectively...three are juniors (Blanco, Chavez and Sanders), Nolasco enters her sophomore season, while Rodarte is the only newcomer to the team. Chavez, Nolasco and Sanders all played for the club team - Sun Spots - coached by UTEP assistant, Angela Mooney.
OH CANADA!
Aidan Mooney and Patty Jarmoc are Canadian natives...the Miners have not had a northern neighbor on the team since Krystal Gabriel during the 2003 season...Gabriel, a setter, left after just one season with the Miners. In addition, new assistant coach Azadeh Boroumand joins the Miners from Red Deer, Alberta, Canada.
THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
The Miners totaled 4,404 fans during the 2007 season averaging 550 fans at home per match. UTEP registered five home matches over the 500 mark - vs. Texas Southern (623), North Dakota State (819), Tulane (568), Memphis (602) and SMU (593).
