EL PASO – The UTEP volleyball team (6-7) opens Conference USA competition against FIU (3-10) in Miami, Fla., on Sep. 23 at 5 p.m. MT and against Florida Atlantic (10-2) in Boca Raton, Fla., on Sep. 25 at 10 a.m. MT.
Friday, Sep. 23
5 p.m. - at FIU | Ocean Bank Convocation Center | CUSA.tv | Live Stats
Sunday, Sep. 25
10 a.m. - at Florida Atlantic | Abessinio Court | CUSA.tv | Live Stats
"We're excited to get going in conference and start the second part of the season which is the most important part," head coach Ben Wallis said. "We've been talking all week about continuing to get our brain back to being physical and competing really hard against what is a very tough conference in Conference USA."
Hitting with Consistency
Five Miners are swinging better than .200 after 13 matches. Alianza Darley (.230) leads the team among players with at least 60 kills.
Block Party
The Miners registered a season-high 15 blocks against Portland State on Sep. 2. UTEP posted at least 10 blocks in eight matches this season. Alianza Darley (71), Serena Patterson (41) and Vittoria Price (31) each tallied at least 30 blocks to lead the charge.
Miner Rankings
In Conference USA, UTEP is ranked in the top three in nine different categories:
1. Team Total Blocks (142.0, 2nd NCAA)
2. Team Assists (638, 9th NCAA)
2. Team Service Aces (101, 9th NCAA)
2. Team Total Attacks (1,832, 15th NCAA)
2. Team Digs (794, 17th NCAA)
2. Blocks per Set (2.58, 30th NCAA)
3. Team Kills (673, 12th NCAA)
3. Opp Hitting Percentage (0.163, 40th NCAA)
3. Aces per Set (1.84, 55th NCAA)
UTEP has three players ranked in the top ten in seven different categories in the conference:
Balanced Attack
Over 13 matches, three Miners are blasting home at least 2.0 kills pet set. Serena Patterson (136, 2.47/set) leads the way Torrance Lovesee (123, 2.46/set) and Sara Pustahija (130, 2.45/set) getting after it as well.
Scouting FIU
FIU is entering this weekend at 3-10. The Panthers are hitting .170 as a team, and two players have at least 100 kills. Emily Meyer leads the way with 128 kills (2.98 kills/set). Sarah Nading directs the offense with 315 assists (9.26 assists/set). Katie Turner sets the tone defensively with 201 digs (4.57 digs/set).
The Series vs. FIU
UTEP is 5-3 against FIU. The last meeting between the two teams was in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA Championship last year, where the Miners won 3-2 in a tightly contested match.
Coach Wallis on FIU
"They're big, long and physical and they're giant. They're maybe one of the biggest teams we've faced all year. I think we're going to have a good opportunity out there to attack them in ways that they haven't seen yet this year, even though they played a really tough schedule, but they're very different with a lot of transfer kids and they look very, very different than what we saw last season.
Scouting Florida Atlantic
Florida Atlantic is entering this weekend at 10-2. The Owls are hitting .268 as a team, and two players have at least 100 kills. Valeria Rosado leads the way with 148 kills (3.79 kills/set). Noelle Stephens directs the offense with 392 assists (10.05 assists/set). Camryn Vogler sets the tone defensively with 133 digs (3.41 digs/set).
The Series vs. Florida Atlantic
Florida Atlantic is 5-2 against UTEP. The last meeting between the two teams was in 2019, when the Owls swept the Miners, 3-0, in Boca Raton, Fla.
Coach Wallis on FAU
"They have a really good record and they've been playing pretty well this year. They haven't played as tough a schedule as FIU and as we've played but they've won their matches. They've got three good pin players that are putting out good numbers and hitting for good percentages. They're going to test us in a different way than the way FIU will test us with good middles and length.
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.
