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UTEP Volleyball To Play Road Finale at Middle Tennessee

10/26/2023 4:30:00 PM

EL PASO – UTEP Volleyball (17-6, 9-3 Conference USA) will go up against Middle Tennessee, Oct. 27-28, in Murfreesboro, Tenn., inside Alumni Memorial Gym. Friday's match is set for a 5 p.m. first serve, while Saturday's contest is slated for 1 p.m. MT.   

"It's going to be a battle, it's going to be a war," head coach Ben Wallis said. "It's been a couple of weeks since we've been challenged. They are a good offensive team and could put pressure on you offensively and from the service line. I like how we match up with them and in the end, it's going to come down to which team is a little more composed and executes better." 

 UTEP_Pick_OrangeSCHEDULE             

Friday, Oct. 27
Match 24 at Middle Tennessee – 5pm | Stream: ESPN+ | Live Stats 

Saturday, Oct. 28
Match 25 at Middle Tennessee – 1pm | Stream: ESPN+ | Live Stats 
^All Times Mountain       

 HITTING WITH CONSISTENCY      

UTEP is hitting .279 paced by seven Miners who are killing it at or above the mark. Danika Washington (.440) leads the team among players with at least 140 kills. The UTEP offense sits 16th 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 16 occasions – most recently stuffing 10 blocks in each sweep over LA Tech. Kaya Weaver (104) leads the charge among players with at least 65 blocks. Nationally, UTEP is 2nd in team total blocks (234) and 16th in blocks per set (2.69).   

 BALANCED ATTACK      

UTEP showed a balanced attack versus LA Tech with five Miners blasting home at least 2.0 kills per set. Alianza Darley (18 kills, 3.00/set) led the charge with Torrance Lovesee, Danika Washington, Sakira LaCour, and Marian Ovalle 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.   
  • Washington earned her second Defensive Player of the Week honor (Oct. 23) and was a dominating force for UTEP as she picked up 11 blocks in back-to-back sweeps over Louisiana Tech, averaging 1.83 blocks per set. To go along with her strong defensive performance, she also added 15 kills and hit .565 to register 20.5 points for the Miners. 
  • Kohler earned her third Freshman of the Week honor (Oct. 23) as she put on a big performance averaging 6.00 assists per set in a 6-2 system in a pair of sweeps over Louisiana Tech at home. She led the Miners with a total of 36 assists over the weekend and helped the offense to a .344 hitting percentage. Kohler also recorded three aces and eight digs. 

 MINER RANKINGS      

In Conference USA, UTEP is ranked in the top three in nine categories:       

1. Team Total Blocks (234, 2nd NCAA)  
1. Team Service Aces (166, 9th NCAA)  
1. Blocks per Set (2.69, 16th NCAA)  
1. Aces per Set (1.89, 25th NCAA)  
2. Team Assists (1,025, 42nd NCAA) 
2. Match W-L Pctg. (0.739, 44th NCAA)  
3. Hitting Percentage (0.279, 16th NCAA) 
3. Aces per Set (1.91, 23rd NCAA) 
3. Team Kills (1,104, 43rd NCAA) 
3. Opp Hitting Percentage (0.187, 91st NCAA) 
 
UTEP has five players ranked in the top 10 in three categories in the conference:                

Statistic               

Player               

CUSA Rank      

Value               

Blocks per Set     

Kaya Weaver 

Danika Washington 

1.24* 

1.16* 

Hitting Percentage 

Marian Ovalle 

0.340 

Total Service Aces  

Torrance Lovesee 

29 

Total Blocks     

Kaya Weaver 

Danika Washington 

104** 

88* 

Total Digs     

Alyssa Sianez 

276 

** NCAA Top 20 
* NCAA Top 100 

 THE OPPONENT      

Middle Tennessee  
  • MTSU is entering the weekend at 16-6 overall and 7-3 in CUSA. The team is ranked in the top 10 nationally in hitting percentage (No. 8, 0.296). 
  • The Red Raiders are hitting .296 as a team, and three players have at least 100 kills. Kayla Henley leads the way with 256 kills (3.20/set). Taylor Eisert directs the offense with 887 assists (11.09/set). Erin Eisenhart paces the squad with 264 digs (3.30/set).      
  • Five players rank in the top 100 nationally: While leading the conference, Eisert ranks seventh in total assists and assists per set. Henley sits at No. 41 in service aces (36), No. 52 in aces per set (0.45), and No. 73 in hitting percentage (0.362). Two more players are in the ranks in attack percentage, Kaylee Oscarson (No. 37, 0.384) and Dasia Smith (No. 80, 0.355). 
  • Head Coach Chuck Crawford enters his seventh year as the 11th head coach of the MTSU Volleyball program with a 72-104 record.  
  • UTEP is 9-1 against MTSU. 
     

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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