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Miners Hit the Road to Take on Sam Houston

10/12/2023 3:30:00 PM

EL PASO – UTEP Volleyball (13-6, 5-3 Conference USA) will go up against Sam Houston, Oct. 13-14, in Huntsville, Texas at Johnson Coliseum. Friday's match is set for a 5:30 p.m. first serve, while Saturday's contest is slated for 1 p.m. MT.   

 UTEP_Pick_OrangeSCHEDULE      

Friday, Oct. 13  
Match 20 at Sam Houston – 5:30pm | Stream: ESPN+ | Live Stats  

Saturday, Oct. 14   
Match 21 at Sam Houston – 1pm | Stream: ESPN+ | Live Stats  
^All Times Mountain      

 HITTING WITH CONSISTENCY       

UTEP is hitting .274 paced by 10 Miners who are killing it at or above the mark. Kaya Weaver (.423) leads the team among players with at least 100 kills. The UTEP offense sits 20th in the nation in hitting percentage.     

 BLOCK PARTY      

The Miners registered a season-high 18 blocks in the 3-1 win against San Francisco on Aug. 31. UTEP posted at least 10 blocks on 12 occasions – most recently against FIU with 10 blocks in game one and 12 in game two. Kaya Weaver (88) leads the charge among players with at least 50 blocks. Nationally, UTEP is 4th in team total blocks (193.0) and 19th in blocks per set (2.68).  

 BALANCED ATTACK     

UTEP showed a balanced attack versus NM State and FIU with four Miners blasting home at least 2.0 kills per set. Marian Ovalee (38 kills, 2.53/set) led the charge with Sakira Lacour, Danika Washington, and Kaya Weaver getting after it as well.  

 IN THE CUSA SPOTLIGHT      

  • Danika Washington was tabbed Defensive Player of the Week (Sep. 11) after picking up 17 blocks at the Bobcat Invitational, averaging 1.42 blocks per set. Washington totaled 35.5 points that included 27 kills with a .489 hitting percentage and was named to the Bobcat Invitational All-Tournament Team.      
  • Kalia Kohler was named Freshman of the Week (Sep. 11) after she averaged 5.54 assists per set through 13 sets leading the Miners to wins over Ohio and William & Mary. In a 6-2 system, she registered 20 or more assists in each match while she helped the UTEP defense to a .241 hitting clip. Kohler also racked up four aces, two kills and 20 digs on the weekend.     
  • Kohler earned her second CUSA Freshman of the Week award (Oct. 2) after her performance was influential in the Miner's success with a pair of sweeps over Jacksonville State. She led UTEP with a total of 29 assists (5.80/set) across the weekend and combined with Mattie Gantt for over 55 percent of assists in a 6-2 system. Kohler produced a .448 hitting clip and racked up one kill, three service aces and two digs in six sets.  
  • Gantt and Kohler split the Setter of the Week honor (Oct. 9) as they combined for 82 percent of the team's assists in a 6-2 system. Gantt averaged 5.08 assists per set while Kohler averaged 5.87 in a 3-1 week for the Miners. Gantt recorded 61 total assists including 20 in their win over FIU on Sunday while Kohler collected 88 total assists as she reached a new career-high with 30 in a five-set loss to New Mexico State. 
  • Kaya Weaver was named Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 9) as she played a major role in helping the Miners go 3-1 over the week, posting a team-high 24 blocks and 32 kills in 15 sets. The sophomore middle blocker averaged 1.56 blocks per set in their split with New Mexico State and 1.67 blocks per set in the back-to-back sweeps over FIU. In total, Weaver collected a team-high 47.5 points, three assists, three aces and three digs.  

 MINER RANKINGS     

In Conference USA, UTEP is ranked in the top three in six categories:      
 
1. Team Total Blocks (193.0, 4th NCAA) 
1. Team Service Aces (139, 9th NCAA) 
1. Aces per Set (1.93, 18th NCAA) 
1. Blocks per Set (2.68, 19th NCAA) 
2. Match W-L Pctg. (0.684, 77th NCAA) 
3. Hitting Percentage (0.274, 20th NCAA) 

UTEP has four players ranked in the top 10 in three categories in the conference:               

Statistic              

Player              

CUSA Rank     

Value              

Blocks per Set    
1.28* 
1.11 
Total Service Aces 
25 
Total Blocks    
88** 
68 
Total Digs    
228 
* NCAA Top 50 
** NCAA Top 15

 THE OPPONENT     

Sam Houston 
  • Sam Houston is entering the weekend at 7-14 overall and 1-7 in CUSA. The team is ranked top-5 nationally in two team statistics – total attacks (No. 2, 2,919) and digs (No. 5, 1,240).  
  • The Bearkats are hitting .160 as a team, and four players have at least 100 kills. McKenzie Morvant leads the way with 193 kills (2.54/set). Avery Fowler directs the offense with 480 assists (6.32/set). Hannah Baker paces the squad as the conference leader with 379 digs (4.99/set).     
  • Baker ranks 6th in the nation in digs and 23rd in digs per set.   
  • As a team, the Bearkats are leading CUSA in digs, total attacks, and attacks per set.  
  • Brenda Gray enters her 40th season as the Sam Houston head coach. Gray is a three-time Southland Conference Coach of the Year with a 748-531 career record.  
  • Friday's matchup will be the first meeting between UTEP and Sam Houston. 
 
 

Give a gift to UTEP Women's Volleyball by donating to the Point Miners Club.          

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. 
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