EL PASO – UTEP Volleyball (4-5) will travel to Tucson, Ariz. to take on Cal State Northridge (3-6), Arizona (7-1) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (0-11) this weekend in the Wildcats Classic. The Miners start with a double-header on Friday (Sept. 16) against CSUN at 1:30 p.m. MT and Arizona at 7:30 p.m. MT. UTEP will close out the tournament with a match against A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday (Sept. 17) at 11:30 a.m. MT.
Friday, Sep. 16
1:30 p.m. - UTEP vs. CSUN | Live Stats
7:30 p.m. - UTEP at Arizona | Stream: Pac-12 Network | Live Stats
Saturday, Sep. 17
11:30 a.m. - UTEP vs. A&M-Corpus Christi | Live Stats
^All Times Mountain
"We're definitely looking forward to challenging ourselves this weekend," head coach Ben Wallis. "We're dealing with some adversity right now, which I think is good to see how we're going to respond to it. We're not going to be at full strength like we would want to be, but that's why we have a big roster that's deep, that's athletic, and it's time for us to go out there and start building our conference mentality, which is searching for the attack minded, tough, nasty, grind-it-out type of team that wants to win a conference championship and hoist that trophy up at the end of the year."
Hitting with Consistency
A trio of Miners are swinging better than .250 after nine matches. Vittoria Price (.331) leads the team among players with at least 40 kills.
Block Party
The Miners registered a season-high 15 blocks against Portland State on Sep. 2. UTEP posted at least 10 blocks in six matches this season. Alianza Darley (52), Vittoria Price (31) and Serena Patterson (26) each tallied at least 25 blocks to lead the charge.
Miner Rankings
In Conference USA, UTEP is ranked in the top five in eight different categories:
1. Team Service Aces (82, 9th NCAA)
2. Team Total Blocks (98.0, 10th NCAA)
2. Aces per Set (2.10, 25th NCAA)
2. Blocks per Set (2.51, 50th NCAA)
4. Team Total Attacks (1,297, 53rd NCAA)
5. Team Assists (450, 30th NCAA)
5. Team Digs (554, 54th NCAA)
5. Opp Hitting Percentage (0.184, 108th NCAA)
UTEP has four players ranked in the top ten in seven different categories in the conference:
Balanced Attack
Over nine matches, four Miners are blasting home at least 2.0 kills pet set. Serena Patterson (108, 2.77/set) leads the way with Marian Ovalle (81, 2.25/set), Torrance Lovesee (76, 2.17/set) and Sara Pustahija (75, 2.03/set) getting after it as well.
Scouting CSUN
CSUN is entering this weekend at 3-6. The Matadors are hitting .161 as a team, and three different players have at least 70 kills. Nicole Nevarez easily leads the way with 101 kills (3.16 kills/set). Carisa Barron directs the offense with 177 assists (5.53 assists/set). Breanna Mitchell sets the tone defensively with 141 digs (4.41 digs/set).
The Series vs. CSUN
Friday's matchup will be the third meeting between the teams as CSUN is 2-0 over the Miners. The programs first met in 1990 and most recently in 2017 as the Matadors swept the Miners, 3-0.
Scouting Arizona
Arizona is 7-1 on the year. Five different players have produced at least 50 kills for Arizona, with Jaelyn Hodge leading the squad with 99 kills (3.30 kills/set). Emry Herman quarterbacks the offense with 262 assists (8.73 assists/set), while Kamaile Hiapo has amassed 135 digs (4.35/set) on the season.
The Series vs. Arizona
The Wildcats hold a 6-4 record against the Miners. Most recently UTEP walked away with a 3-2 win over the Wildcats last season at the Borderland Invitational.
Scouting A&M-Corpus Christi
A&M-Corpus Christi is 0-11 on the year. The Islanders are led offensively by Kyndal Payne (115 kills, 2.95 kills/set), while Faith Panhans (340 assists, 8.72 assists/set) directs the offense. Carissa Barnes (183 digs, 4.69 digs/set) has been the catalysts for digs.
The Series vs. A&M-Corpus Christi
The Miners are undefeated against the Islanders, 4-0, including most recently a 3-1 win for the Miners last season at the Islanders Classic. The Miners secured the first ever meeting between the programs back in 2003.
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.
