EL PASO – UTEP Volleyball (2-4) will travel to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to take on Tulsa (2-4), Abilene Christian (2-3), and Oral Roberts (2-4) this weekend in the Oral Roberts Tournament. The Miners start with a double-header on Friday (Sept. 9) against Tulsa at 12 p.m. MT and Abilene Christian at 3 p.m. MT. UTEP will close out the tournament with a match against home team Oral Roberts on Saturday (Sept. 10) at 12 p.m. MT.
Friday, Sep. 9
12 p.m. – UTEP vs. Tulsa | Live Stats
3 p.m. - UTEP vs. Abilene Christian | Live Stats
Saturday, Sep. 10
12 p.m. - UTEP vs. Oral Roberts | Stream: ORU Sports Network | Live Stats
^All Times Mountain
"I'm excited to get rolling," head coach Ben Wallis said. "We want to get out, compete again, and just see another team on the other side of the net. That's a really important part of turning the page in college volleyball. All three teams have good athletes that can bother us and have gotten some good wins over some decent opponents. We're looking forward to getting out there and proving our worth. At times last weekend we looked really, really dangerous and at times we were very dangerous to ourselves and that's what we're trying to iron out."
Hitting with Consistency
A pair of Miners are swinging better than .250 after six matches. Vittoria Price (.347) leads the team among players with at least 25 kills.
Block Party
The Miners registered a season-high 15 blocks against Portland State on Sep. 2. UTEP posted at least 10 blocks in four matches this season. Alianza Darley (34), Price (27), and Sara Pustahija (15) each tallied at least 15 blocks to lead the charge.
Miner Rankings
In Conference USA, UTEP is ranked in the top three in four different categories:
1. Team Service Aces (62, 4th NCAA)
1. Team Total Blocks (70, 6th NCAA)
1. Blocks per Set (2.50, 48th NCAA)
2. Aces per Set (2.21, 22nd NCAA)
UTEP has five players ranked in the top ten in eight different categories in the conference:
Balanced Attack
Over six matches, two Miners are blasting home at least 2.0 kills pet set. Serena Patterson (75 kills, 2.68 kills/set) leads the way with Marian Ovalle (51 kills, 2.05 kills/set) getting after it as well.
Scouting Tulsa
Tulsa is entering this weekend at 2-4. The Hurricane are hitting .170 as a team, and five different players have at least 20 kills. Kayley Cassaday easily leads the way with 98 kills (4.26 kills/set). Brayden Hipp directs the offense with 106 assists (4.61 assists/set). Marta Pecalli sets the tone defensively with 110 digs (4.78 digs/set).
The Series vs. Tulsa
UTEP is 29-26 against former Conference USA member Tulsa. The last meeting between the two teams was in the first round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship last year, where the Miners won 3-1 in a tightly contested match.
Scouting Abilene Christian
Abilene Christian is 2-3 on the year. Six different players have produced at least 20 kills for ACU, with Ashli Edmiston leading the squad with 52 kills (2.89 kills/set). Madeline Guffy quarterbacks the offense with 74 assists (4.11 assists/set), while five different players have amassed between 35-75 digs on the season.
The Series vs. Abilene Christian
Friday's matchup will be the third meeting between the teams as each school has one win a piece. The programs first met in 2015 as UTEP walked away with a 3-1 win over the Wildcats. ACU defeated the Miners in 2017 in five sets.
Scouting Oral Roberts
Oral Roberts is 2-4 on the year. The Golden Eagles are led offensively by Trinity Freeman (81 kills, 3.24 kills/set), while Bryanne Soares (148 assists, 5.92 assists/set) directs the offense. Kaia Dunford (67 digs, 2.68 digs/set) has been the catalysts for digs.
The Series vs. Oral Roberts
The Golden Eagles hold a 10-9 record against the Miners, including most recently a 3-1 setback for the Miners at the 2016 edition of the Oklahoma Invitational. The Miners secured the first ever meeting between the programs back in 1981.
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.
