EL PASO – UTEP volleyball will continue its 2023 season on Friday, Dec. 1, hosting Rounds 1 & 2 inside Memorial Gym in its second National Invitational Volleyball Championship appearance. The Miners face North Texas following the conclusion of the UT Arlington vs. Florida Atlantic matchup.
"Our players are really excited and they're in the mindset now where postseason is what we do," head coach Ben Wallis said. "To host a first and second round postseason tournament here in El Paso in front of our Memorial Maniacs is a big, giant deal. To be one of those teams in Division I volleyball that gets to host here and be a mid-major program that it gets an opportunity to host at home, it's a huge deal – a giant deal for the city."
TICKETS
Tickets are $10 general admission, $5 for students and can be purchased through the Eisenberg Family Ticket Office by calling (915) 747-UTEP, emailing tickets@utep.edu, visiting www.UTEPMiners.com/Tickets or in person at 201 Glory Road (Brumbelow Building, UTEP campus) Monday thru Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
SCHEDULE
Friday, Dec. 1 | Round 1
UT Arlington vs. Florida Atlantic – 5 pm MT | Stream: ESPN+ | Live Stats
Match 31 vs. North Texas – 7:30 pm MT | Stream: ESPN+ | Live Stats
Saturday, Dec. 2 | Round 2
Round 1 Winners – 2 pm MT
"We are opening up the NIVC against a really good Texas team and old Conference USA foe in North Texas," Wallis said. "They're nasty, athletic and competitive and so we have a lot of respect for them and we're looking forward to playing on Friday."
LOOKING BACK
The Miners' historic 2021 season featured the program's first ever postseason appearance. UTEP made an impactful NIVC run resulting in the squad hosting the quarterfinals and semifinals inside Memorial Gym. UTEP lost 3-1 in the semifinals against UNLV who went on to win the title crown.
HITTING WITH CONSISTENCY
UTEP is hitting .274 paced by seven Miners who are killing it at or above the mark. Danika Washington (.390) leads the team among players with at least 170 kills. The UTEP offense sits 25th 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 20 occasions – most recently stuffing 14.5 blocks against Liberty in the CUSA Quarterfinals. Kaya Weaver (141.0) leads the charge among players with at least 85 blocks. Nationally, UTEP is 11th in team total blocks (301.5) and 19th in blocks per set (2.67).
BALANCED ATTACK
Torrance Lovesee (293 kills, 2.62/set) leads the charge with Alianza Darley and Marian Ovalle getting after it as well with a minimum 2.0 kills per set on the year.
IN THE CUSA SPOTLIGHT
UTEP's Kaya Weaver landed on the 2023 All-Conference First Team, with Alianza Darley and Danika Washington securing spots on the Second Team and Kalia Kohler being selected for the All-Freshman Team.
- Kaya Weaver: two-time Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 9; Nov. 13)
- Alianza Darley: three-time All-CUSA (2021, 2022, 2023)
- Danika Washington: two-time Defensive Player of the Week (Sep. 11; Oct. 23)
- Kalia Kohler: four-time Freshman of the Week (Sep. 11; Oct. 2, 23, Nov. 13); Co-Setter of the Week (Oct. 9)
OFF THE COURT
UTEP's Alianza Darley, Alyssa Sianez, and Torrance Lovesee were selected to the 11-member 2023 Conference USA Volleyball All-Academic Team.
MINER RANKINGS
In Conference USA, UTEP is ranked in the top three in eight categories:
1. Team Total Blocks (301.5, 11th NCAA)
1. Blocks per Set (2.67, 19th NCAA)
2. Team Service Aces (210, 25th NCAA)
2. Aces per Set (1.86, 25th NCAA)
2. Match W-L Pct. (0.700, 56th NCAA)
3. Hitting Percentage (0.274, 25th NCAA)
3. Team Assists (1,333, 107th NCAA)
3. Opp Hitting Pct. (0.194, 113th NCAA)
UTEP has five players ranked in the top 10 in four categories in the conference:
THE OPPONENT
North Texas
- North Texas is entering the weekend at 17-15
- Treyaunna Rush leads North Texas with 341 kills and 840 attacks while middle Sh'Diamond Holly registered a .415 attack percentage.
- Setters Ceci Harness (669) and Kamryn Scroggins (616) are the first pair of UNT teammates with 600+ assists in the same season.
- Libero Aleeyah Galdeira posted 498 digs and 26 aces.
- UNT makes its third appearance in the NIVC and holds a 3-2 record in the annual tournament. The Mean Green won a pair of home matches in 2018 over Tulsa (3-1) in the first round and Wichita State (3-1) in the second before it fell at Iowa State (1-3) in the quarterfinals.
- UNT holds an all-time 13-12 record against the Miners.
Give a gift to UTEP Women's Volleyball by donating to the Point Miners Club.
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