EL PASO – The UTEP volleyball team (13-11, 7-4 Conference USA) will host Middle Tennessee Friday (Nov. 4) at 6 p.m. MT at Memorial Gym.
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, Nov. 4
6 p.m. vs. Middle Tennessee | Memorial Gym | CUSA.tv | Live Stats
Hitting with Consistency
Six Miners are swinging better than .200 after 24 matches. Kaya Weaver (.299) leads the team among players with at least 90 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 (113) and Kaya Weaver (94) each tallied at least 90 blocks to lead the charge.
Balanced Attack
Over 24 matches, three Miners are blasting home at least 2.0 kills pet set. Torrance Lovesee (239 kills, 2.66/set) leads the way with Serena Patterson (236 kills, 2.38/set) and Sara Pustahija (221 kills, 2.28/set) getting after it as well.
Miner Rankings
In Conference USA, UTEP is ranked in the top three in nine different categories:
1. Team Service Aces (192, 4th NCAA)
1. Team Total Blocks (240.5, 8th NCAA)
1. Aces per Set (1.94, 9th NCAA)
2. Team Assists (1134, 46th NCAA)
2. Blocks per Seet (2.43, 54th NCAA)
2. Team Kills (1199, 56th NCAA)
3. Opp Hitting Percentage (0.176, 46th NCAA)
UTEP has four players ranked in the top ten in five different categories in the conference:
Sara Pustahija currently is ranked 10th in the nation in service aces.
Scouting Middle Tennessee (15-9, 4-6 C-USA)
The Blue Raiders are hitting .255 as a team, and two players have at least 200 kills. Adri Rhoda leads the way with 216 kills (3.02 kills/set). Taylor Eisert directs the offense with 828 assists (9.41 assists/set). Marley Banton sets the tone defensively with 374 digs (4.07 digs/set).
The Series vs. Middle Tennessee
UTEP leads the all-time series versus Middle Tennessee, 7-1. The programs last met in 2019 where the Miners defeated the Blue Raiders, 3-1, in Memorial Gym. UTEP's lone loss was in 2018 when Middle Tennessee swept the Miners in Murfreesboro.
Coach Wallis on Middle Tennessee
"I'm excited to play. We're licking our wounds a little bit from last week when we were challenged at North Texas in a tough environment. We did a lot of things right and gave ourselves opportunities to win but faltered late in the match in execution. And then we were hung over against Rice and they played really well and came at us like a team that is perennially a conference champion and wants to win and we didn't respond very well. We've worked pretty diligently the last couple of days about making sure we're moving forward. We're sort of at a crossroads in our season where we need to go one direction or the other. And so, that starts at home on Friday against a good offensive Middle Tennessee team. They serve it tough. And they have a little different block and dig system from some of the teams we played, and they've got a really good freshman outside hitter that is probably, right now, the leading candidate for freshman of the year. They've got a good opposite that can score on her own and give us problems if we let her. They've got a good athletic setter that runs around and makes plays for her team. They've got solid pieces. So, they're actually playing well right now and they're playing hot. They're on a little roll and it's going to be a challenge for us. This is a match that we must win if we're going to give ourselves a chance to be seeded properly in this conference tournament to win it. We can't lose a match like this and still control our own destiny. And this is a match where we need to make sure we take care of business on our home floor and then rest our bodies for a couple of days after. The whole goal is to go 1-0. We only have the one match this week which is nice to prepare for them and they (MTSU) will have to prepare for two teams, which is harder. So, we're going to get locked in by Thursday night and be prepared with our brains on Friday morning to play a tough Middle Tennessee team who has got some dangerous pieces. It's not going to be easy, but we're thankful we're home in front of our Miner Maniacs, for sure."
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.
