EL PASO, Texas – Following a postponed start to the 2020-21 season, a two-month winter hibernation from Memorial Gym and a five-day quarantine last week, UTEP volleyball (2-2, 0-0 C-USA) opens its string of 2021 spring Conference USA competition with the program's first-ever matches in the month of February versus UAB (3-2, 2-0 C-USA) in Birmingham, Ala., Sunday and Monday, Feb. 14 and 15, at 12 p.m. and 10 a.m. MT, respectively.
 
MATCH INFORMATION
TIME: 12 p.m. (Sun.) and 10 a.m. (Mon.)
VENUE: Bartow Arena; Birmingham, Ala.
VIDEO: C-USA.TV
 
"Opening our C-USA season against UAB is going to be a tough task," UTEP Volleyball Head Coach Ben Wallis said. "They're going to challenge us from the service line, and while I know that we're a solid ball handling team, it's going to be problematic early on without any spring competition for us yet.
 
"I feel good about how we match up physically, but a lot of games will be won and lost in between the ears. If we can deal with all of the distractions, the lack of practice and just go out and execute, we'll have a good shot."
 
The Miners' last competition came in October when they had just completed their four-match preseason schedule on Oct. 3, 2020, which featured upsets over then-No. 15 Texas State and North Texas when UTEP Volleyball Head Coach Ben Wallis received word of C-USA's move to spring-only competition.
 
"(The start of this season) has been completely different," Wallis said. "I've never had a preseason with a team (in which) we got them prepared physically and mentally, and the last day of preseason we shut everything down."
 
The preparation for Wallis's athletes was reconfigured; in addition to the two-month long offseason program in the summer, they had to prepare in just a matter of weeks in the winter. Helping with this were trainers Traimain Johnson and Mindy Hamilton who, on some days, scheduled multiple workout sessions in order to prepare the team physically for this Sunday.
 
"We had to amp it up in a matter of seven days in Jan. after they got all of that Thanksgiving turkey… and Christmas cookies," Wallis said. "Getting some of them back in shape was a task."
 
Nearly every Miner on the roster will be available for Sunday including senior outside hitter Cheyenne Jones after sitting out UTEP's preseason. Jones will be making both her season and senior year debut for the Miners as she takes the court following selections to the C-USA Second Team in 2019 and C-USA Preseason Team on Jan. 14.
 
Jones was tied with outside hitter Serena Patterson for a team-high in kills a season ago (259).
 
Through four matches this season, sophomore outside hitter Alianza Darley has filled Jones's shoes, leading the Miners with 62 kills, 71 points and 16 blocks defensively.
 
Junior libero Hula Crisostomo has become the pulse of the Miners' defense (READ) in just her first year in the Sun City after transferring from nearby New Mexico Military Institute. Crisostomo is leading the team with 79 digs (fourth-best in C-USA) and 4.39 digs per set.
 
SCOUTING UAB
The Blazers were picked to finish fifth behind the Miners in the 2020-21 C-USA Preseason Poll announced on Jan. 14.
 
Last week, UAB swept North Texas – a team UTEP faced in its fall preseason – 3-2 and 3-0. The first match marked the first UAB program victory against UNT in Denton, Texas, and the first win over the Mean Green since 2013. The next day, the Blazers also recorded their first three-set sweep over the Mean Green since 2013.
 
Junior defensive specialist set a school record with six service aces in the first set last Monday.
 
"They wreck serves at people and that is how they took down North Texas last week," Wallis said.