EL PASO – UTEP volleyball (11-9, 5-2 Conference USA) has a split week of matches this weekend, hosting UTSA on Friday at 6 p.m. MT and will travel to Charlotte for a match scheduled for Sunday at 11 a.m. MT
For Friday's match, tickets start at $8 and can be purchased through the Eisenberg Family Ticket Office by calling (915) 747-UTEP, emailing tickets@utep.edu, visiting www.UTEPMiners.com/Tickets or in person at 201 Glory Road (Brumbelow Building, UTEP campus) Monday thru Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Season tickets are also still on sale. Group tickets are also available for $5 (minimum of 10 tickets).
Friday, Oct. 21
6 p.m. vs. UTSA | Memorial Gym | CUSA.tv | Live Stats | Military Appreciation Night
Sunday, Oct. 23
11 a.m. at Charlotte | Charlotte, N.C. | Halton Arena | ESPN+ | Live Stats
Hitting with Consistency
Three Miners are swinging better than .300 after 20 matches. Kaya Weaver (.322) leads the team among players with at least 80 kills.
Block Party
The Miners registered a season-high 17 blocks against North Texas on Oct. 2. UTEP posted at least 10 blocks in 11 matches this season. Alianza Darley (103), Serena Patterson (57), and Kaya Weaver (56) each tallied at least 50 blocks to lead the charge.
Balanced Attack
Over 20 matches, three Miners are blasting home at least 2.0 kills pet set. Torrance Lovesee (197, 2.56/set) leads the way with Sara Pustahija (197, 2.37/set) and Serena Patterson (200, 2.35/set) getting after it as well.
Miner Rankings
In Conference USA, UTEP is ranked in the top three in eight different categories:
1. Team Total Blocks (214, 3rd NCAA)
1. Team Service Aces (162, 4th NCAA)
1. Opp Hitting Percentage (0.169, 26th NCAA)
2. Aces per Set (1.91, 13th NCAA)
2. Team Assists (969, 31st NCAA)
2. Blocks per Set (2.52, 36th NCAA)
2. Team Kills (1,026, 39th NCAA)
2. Team Total Attacks (2,721, 81st NCAA)
UTEP has four players ranked in the top ten in six different categories in the conference:
Scouting UTSA (7-12, 2-5 C-USA)
The Roadrunners are hitting .216 as a team, and five players have at least 100 kills. Cansu Gunaydin leads the way with 214 kills (2.93 kills/set). Courtney Walters directs the offense with 514 assists (7.34 assists/set). Ava Camacho sets the tone defensively with 330 digs (4.46 digs/set).
The Series vs. UTSA
UTSA is 24-22 against UTEP. The programs split a pair of five-set matches last season in San Antonio, Texas.
Scouting Charlotte (8-11, 2-5 C-USA)
The 49ers are hitting .253 as a team. Emani' Foster leads the conference and ranks third in the nation in attacks per set (13.27), points (435), and total kills (391). Setter Annika Wetterstrom leads the team with 571 assists (7.61/set) while Sophie Whaler sets the tone defensively with 240 digs (3.20/set).
The Series vs. Charlotte
Charlotte is 5-2 over the Miners. The programs last met in 2019 where Charlotte swept UTEP in the "Queen City."
Coach Wallis on the Competition
"We're pretty fired up to get another chance to play in front of our Miner Maniacs on Friday here in El Paso. UTSA is a team that is playing very well right now. They're beating and losing to people very close in five sets. They just came off a heartbreaker to North Texas where they had a couple of match points and just couldn't close it out so they're playing well and they're very dangerous. They've got a couple of very capable setters and historically they always dig it very well and have a new coaching staff that has them playing really hard. A lot of what they do runs through they're very athletic and very skilled middles, but they have a couple of different pin players that can really hurt you if you're not prepared to defend or serve them tough. They're also in a five-way dog fight in the middle to bottom of the conference right now and so they're still playing for something later in the year which is the postseason conference tournament. We're still licking our wounds a little bit from a tough lost to Western Kentucky but we're watching the film making sure that we're addressing our deficiencies and looking forward to playing home on Friday before we have to get on the road and fly across the country- two time zones- to play Charlotte on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. CT. They're a very dangerous opponent as well and have a potential conference player of the year in Emani' Foster who is leading the conference in points per set and kills per set. She's going to give us trouble if we allow her to. They're playing at home where they play very well and they're big and long and physical and athletic and so we're going to have to make sure we have a solid plan and execute that plan in order to get out of Charlotte with a victory on Sunday."
For complete coverage of UTEP Women's Volleyball, be sure to follow the Miners on social media at @utepvb (Instagram) @UTEPVolleyball (Facebook) and @UTEPVB (Twitter) or visit the official home of UTEP Athletics at UTEPMiners.com.
