Oct. 22, 2008
EL PASO, Texas - The Miners, (6-15, 2-6), begin the week’s competition with a Wednesday night non-conference matchup against I-10 rival NMSU. UTEP will then hit the road south on 1-10 to Houston for weekend matches against Houston and Rice. The Owls defeated the Cougars, 3-0, on Tuesday night at Fox Gymnasium.
The Aggies come to El Paso for round two of the 2008 I-10 rivalry after defeating the Miners, 3-0, on Sept. 3, at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces, The Houston Cougars will play host to the Miners on Friday, Oct. 24, at the Athletics/Alumni Center as the teams face for the second time this season. UTEP will also face the Rice Owls for the second time in 2008 on Sunday, Oct. 26, at Fox Gymnasium.
LAST WEEK
UTEP goes into Wednesday night’s game after defeating ECU, 3-1, on Sunday afternoon. The Miners fell to Marshall, 3-0, on Friday night. UTEP comes into tonight’s game after a 3-1 victory over East Carolina on Sunday afternoon at Memorial Gym.
Junior KeAnne Langford recorded a season-high 25 digs in the contest against ECU, while Amy Sanders had a match-high 25 kills. Middle blocker Daidre Mendenhall added 10 kills for a .400 hitting percentage and tallied eight total blocks against the Pirates.
SCOUTING NMSU
The Aggies bring their 13-7 overall record to Memorial Gym and tied for first with No. 9 Hawaii in WAC standings with a conference record of 8-1. The Aggies are fresh off a 2-0 weekend collecting wins over Idaho, 3-0, and Boise State, 3-1.
Lindsey Yon leads the Aggies with a team-high 268 kills, 169 digs, 32 total blocks and 18 serving aces for the season.
NMSU began the season ranked 23th in the nation and despite falling off the Top 25, continues to receive votes in the AVC poll. The Aggies defeated Hawaii, 3-0, on Oct. 12. The Rainbow Wahine were then ranked No. 6.
NMSU leads the all-time series, 50-21-1, dating back to 1974. The last time UTEP defeated the Aggies was on Sept. 28, 2004, 3-1, at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces.
SCOUTING HOUSTON
Currently fourth in C-USA standings, the Cougars are 13-9 overall and 5-4 in league play. The Cougars are coming off a 3-1 Tuesday night loss at Rice. Last weekend, Houston picked up wins against UCF, 3-2, and Southern Miss, 3-0, at home.
Houston is powered by El Paso product Justine Farmer and Lucy Charuk. Farmer has a league-leading 319 kills, 194 digs and 42 blocks up-to-date, while Charuk is averaging a .318 hitting percentage with 201 kills and111 blocks. Amanda Carson’s 34 aces are the most in C-USA, UTEP’s Amy Sanders has 33.
The Miners defeated the Cougars on Sept. 28, 3-0, in El Paso. Houston leads the all-time series, 8-3.
SCOUTING RICE
With a 16-4 overall record, and 7-2 in C-USA competition, the Owls are on the heels of second place Tulane who is 7-1 in league play. Rice, riding a six-match win streak, will have an opportunity to get sole possession of second place after they meet the Green Wave on Friday night at home.
The Owls defeated Houston, 3-1, on Tuesday night at home and collected wins against Southern Miss and UCF, both 3-0, last weekend. Before Tuesday night’s 3-1 win, Rice had blanked their last five opponents, the last time the Owls lost a set was in a 3-2 loss to...Tulane on Sept. 28.
Karyn Morgan leads all Owls with 231 kills, 199 digs, 33 blocks and 12 serves. The Owls currently lead the conference in kills (14.52/set), opponent hitting percentage (.146), assists (13.52/set) and digs (16.82/set). Setter Mereditih Schamun is the C-USA leader in assists (11.56), while libero Tracey Lam is tops with 5 digs per set.
SERVES UP!
UTEP currently ranks 24th against all NCAA Division I Programs in aces per set with 1.7. Leading the way for the Miners is Sanders, ranked 54th in the nation averaging 0.42 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).
