EL PASO – The UTEP volleyball team (3-0) will kick-off its home opener by co-hosting the Borderland Invitational with NM State welcoming San Francisco and Arizona State to Memorial Gym this Thursday and Saturday.
UTEP will take on the Dons Thursday (Aug. 31) at 6 p.m. MT in Memorial Gym for its "915 Game" and then travel up I-10 to face off against the Sun Devils Friday (Sep. 1) at 4 p.m. MT at the Pan American Center. UTEP will host a neutral match between USF and ASU Saturday (Sep. 2) at 10 a.m. MT in Memorial Gym.
"We really need everyone in El Paso to pack Memorial Gym Thursday night," head coach Ben Wallis. "Our goal is to keep building, every year, a real serious home environment crowded with our Memorial Maniacs. We want this place to be loud and intense."
TICKETS
For the matches in Memorial Gym, tickets start at $8 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. Season tickets are also still on sale. Group tickets are also available for $5 (minimum of 10 tickets).
SCHEDULE
Thursday, Aug. 31
Match 4 vs. San Francisco | El Paso, Texas/Memorial Gym | Stream: ESPN+ | Live Stats | 915 Game
Friday, Sep. 1
Match 5 vs. Arizona State | Las Cruces, N.M./Pan American Center | Live Stats
Saturday, Sep. 2
Arizona State vs. San Francisco | El Paso, Texas/Memorial Gym | Live Stats
^All Times Mountain
"ASU and USF can both cause some problems for us," Wallis said. "They are two big, long, physical teams who are going to challenge us and that's why we brought them here to play. Our first task is to play against a competitive San Francisco team. They are going to be tough to be if we let them do what they want. Our plan is to make them uncomfortable and pressure them from the service line and steal a win from them. Task number two is to play one of the most dangerous teams in the country, ASU, and we are going to have our hands full with them."
HITTING WITH CONSISTENCY
UTEP hit a conference-leading .273 in its opening weekend at the Southeastern Showdown. Four Miners are swinging better than .250 after three matches.
Kaya Weaver (.438) leads the team among players with at least 10 kills.
BLOCK PARTY
The Miners registered a season-high 13 blocks in the 3-2 win against Washington on Aug. 25. UTEP posted at least 10 blocks in two of its three victories (Washington and Southeastern Louisiana) to kick off the season.
Kaya Weaver (12) and
Sara Pustahija (10) each tallied at least 10 blocks to lead the charge.
BALANCED ATTACK
MINER RANKINGS
In Conference USA, UTEP is ranked in the top three in nearly every category:
T1. Match W-L Pctg. (1.000, T1st NCAA)
1.Hitting Percentage (.273, 58th NCAA)
2. Team Service Aces (27, 18th NCAA)
2. Team Kills (163, 30th NCAA)
2. Team Assists (151, 31st NCAA)
2. Aces/Set (2.25, 38th NCAA)
2. Team Total Attacks (403, 75th NCAA)
3. Assists/Set (12.58, 64th NCAA)
3. Opp Hitting Percentage (0.166, 68th NCAA)
3. Kills/Set (13.58, 68th NCAA)
3. Team Digs (170, 75th NCAA)
3. Blocks/Set (2.25, 98th NCAA)
UTEP has six players ranked in the top 10 in seven categories in the conference:
|
Statistic
|
Player
|
C-USA Rank
|
Value
|
|
Blocks/Set
|
|
5
8
|
1.20
1.00
|
|
Digs/Set
|
|
3
|
4.58
|
|
Hitting %
(3.33 attacks/set)
|
|
5
|
0.387
|
|
Kills/Set
|
|
6
|
3.18
|
|
Service Aces
|
|
7
|
6
|
|
Total Blocks
|
|
4
|
12
|
|
Total Digs
|
|
3
|
55*
|
*NCAA Top 50
THE OPPONENTS
San Francisco
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San Francisco is entering this weekend at 2-1. USF defeated New Mexico and UC Irvine in four sets at the UC Irvine Invitational. The Dons are hitting .200 as a team, and seven players have at least 10 kills. Maria Petkova easily leads the way with 43 kills (4.3 kills/set). Aylen Ayub directs the offense with 100 assists (10 assists/set). Abby Wadas sets the tone defensively with 57 digs (5.18 digs/set). Both Petkova and Wadas were named to the All-Tournament Team.
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San Francisco is coming off a successful 2022 season where the team earned the most wins in a season since recording 17 in 2015.
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The Dons kick off the 2023 campaign with 10 returning players from a season ago while also welcoming eight newcomers who look to propel the Dons to another strong season.
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2022 WCC Honorable Mention and All-Freshman honoree Abby Wadas returns after leading the Dons defensively last season. Leading the team and ranking third in the league last season with 414 total digs, Wadas became the first Don to compile at least 400 digs in a season since Anna Dalla Vecchia in 2019.
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Last season, Maria Petkova finished second on the team with 317.0 total points and 270 total kills, while Aylen Ayub led the Dons with 656 total assists
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San Francisco has a 2-1 all-time record against UTEP. The most recent meeting was in 2014, with USF winning 3-1 at the Denver Invitational.
Arizona State
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The Sun Devils put up three-straight sweeps to win the FGCU Invitational. The Sun Devils are one of four undefeated Pac-12 teams, alongside other 3-0 teams Cal and Oregon, and Stanford, who is 2-0.
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ASU had its first 3-0 start since 2019. The best start to a season for a new head coach is 4-0, which happened back in 2017 with Sanja Tomasevic. That is also the last time the Sun Devils opened the season with three-straight sweeps.
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ASU is one of three Pac-12 schools to spend the entire non-conference schedule on the road. Oregon and UCLA are the other two.
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Senior right-side hitter Marta Levinska started off her fourth year strong, being named the FGCU Invitational MVP. She is currently on a streak of 15 matches in a row reaching double-digit kills (dating back to last season). Additionally, she moved up to 17th in the ASU record book for career kills (1,053). She is four away from 16th and 24 away from 15th.
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Two other Sun Devils made the FGCU All-Tournament Team. Graduate libero Mary Shroll made her ASU debut, starting at libero every match and providing a strong and steady presence for the defense. Junior outside hitter Geli Cyr also earned the nod, notching double-digit kills in two matches, including a career-high 16 kills in the season opening win.
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The Sun Devils have a 9-0 series record over the Miners, dating all the way back to their first meeting in 1975. Their last matchup was in 2012 where the Sun Devils won 3-1.
"We are looking forward to the challenge," Wallis said. "We love to be put in front of teams that are going to challenge us. We will see how good we are this weekend and how we match up against another Pac-12 opponent."
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.
