EL PASO – UTEP Volleyball (7-2) is set to host the Southwest Showdown this weekend, Sep. 20-22, at Memorial Gym, wrapping up non-conference play with three matches. The Miners will face UTRGV on Friday, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday, and Texas State on Sunday as they prepare for the upcoming Conference USA schedule.

"This weekend presents a great challenge for us with three tough teams, each bringing different problems to the table," said head coach Ben Wallis. "It's a really good test right before we start conference play because all three teams are beatable, but they can also beat us if we're not ready to compete. They have players that can really impact our game."

  TICKETS   
Season ($85) and single-game tickets ($10) 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. Group tickets are also available for $5 (minimum of 10 tickets).      

  SCHEDULE    

DATE	TIME	MATCHUP	WATCH	STATS	PROMO
Fri, Sept. 20  Sat, Sept. 21   Sun, Sept. 22	5:30pm   12pm   12pm	UTEP vs. UTRGV  UTEP vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi   UTEP vs. Texas State	ESPN+ ESPN+ ESPN+	Live Stats Live Stats Live Stats	Student Appreciation Game  Green Game  Camp Day

^All Times Mountain Daylight   
Full Tournament Schedule here. 

  HITTING WITH CONSISTENCY    
UTEP is hitting .283 paced by two Miners who are killing it at or above the mark. Danika Washington (.421) leads the team among players with at least 50 kills. The UTEP offense sits 17th in the nation in hitting percentage while leading CUSA.      

  BLOCK PARTY    
The Miners registered 16 blocks in the 3-0 sweep against Utah State on Sept. 1. Kaya Weaver leads the team with 47 blocks. Nationally, UTEP is 10th in blocks per set (2.97) while leading CUSA and 32nd in team total blocks (89.0). 

  BALANCED ATTACK    
UTEP showed a balanced attack at the South Dakota Classic, with five Miners blasting home at least 2.0 kills per set. Among players with at least 30 kills over the weekend, Torrance Lovesee (3.27/set) led the way with Ema Uskokovic (2.91/set) getting after it as well.

  IN THE CUSA SPOTLIGHT    
Mattie Gantt and Kalia Kohler – Co-Setters of the Week (Sep. 16, Week 3) 

• Directed the Miners' offense at the South Dakota Classic, combining for 126 assists (11.45 per set) to help lead UTEP to a 2-1 record, including a dominant sweep over Power 4 opponent Iowa State. Gantt contributed 62 assists (5.64 per set), 23 digs (2.09 per set), two aces, and one kill, while Kohler added 64 assists (5.82 per set), 27 digs (2.45 per set), and four kills. Together, they guided the Miners to a .262 hitting percentage throughout the tournament. 

Mattie Gantt and Kalia Kohler – Co-Setters of the Week (Sept. 9, Week 2) 

• Played pivotal roles in UTEP's 3-0 weekend at the Borderland Invitational. Gantt tallied 50 assists, averaging 5.00 assists per set, while adding 2 kills, 4 aces, and 14 digs. Kohler, who started all three matches, recorded 62 assists (6.20 per set), a team-high 5 aces, and 19 digs. Together in UTEP's 6-2 system, the duo combined for 112 assists and guided the offense to 14.10 kills per set with a .307 hitting percentage.  

Kaya Weaver – Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 9, Week 2) 

• Had a standout weekend for UTEP at the Borderland Invitational, helping the team go 3-0 and was named the All-Tournament Team MVP. Weaver made three starts and played in 10 sets, delivering 27 kills. She led the team with a remarkable .641 hitting percentage and contributed 3 aces and 19 blocks. Her career-high 14 kills with a .765 hitting percentage were crucial in UTEP's win over Air Force for a four consecutive sweep.  

Kaya Weaver – Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 2, Week 1) 

• Delivered an impressive performance, earning all-tournament team honors at the Utah Classic. She led UTEP to a 2-1 record sweeping both Green Bay and Utah State. Against Utah, she recorded 11 kills with a .529 hitting percentage. Against Green Bay, she added 5 kills and 6 blocks. Her standout performance came against Utah State, where she notched 5 kills, hit .364, served 3 aces, and set new program records with 10 block assists and 12 total blocks in a 3-set match. Overall, Weaver tallied 21 kills, hit .366, a team-high 21 blocks, and accumulated a team-high 36.0 points.  

  MINER RANKINGS    
Nationally, UTEP is ranked in the top 100 in nine categories:    
10. Blocks per Set (2.97)* 
17. Hitting Percentage (0.283)* 
24. Aces per Set (2.07)* 
32. Team Total Blocks (89.0) 
38. Kills per Set (13.60)* 
45. Opponent Hitting Percentage (0.159) 
47. Match W-L Pct (0.778)* 
61. Assists per Set (12.43) 
63. Team Service Aces (62) 
*CUSA Leader   

UTEP has one player ranked in the Top 30 in NCAA while leading the conference   

STATISTICS	PLAYER	NCAA/CUSA RANK	VALUE
Blocks per Set  Hitting Percentage  Total Blocks	Kaya Weaver	8/1  27/1  23/2	1.57  0.409  47

  THE OPPONENTS    
UTRGV 

• UTRV enters the weekend at 4-4. 
• Last Week: The Vaqueros had a tough week at the UTRGV Tournament. On Friday, they lost a heartbreaking five-set battle to Texas Tech in front of a program-record crowd of 2,771 at the UTRGV Fieldhouse. The following day, the Vaqueros fell 3-0 to the San Francisco, wrapping up their tournament run. 
• Team Ranks: The Vaqueros rank in the top 100 nationally in five categories—aces-, assists-, and kills per set, hitting percentage, and team aces—while leading the Southland Conference in all five.  
• Player Ranks: Ilana De Assis ranks in the top 50 nationally and leads the conference in kills per set (4.16) and points per set (4.63), while Isabella Costantini is 7th nationally in assists per set (11.21) and leads the conference. 
• Series: UTEP leads the all-time series 18-1, first meeting in 1984 when UTRGV was formerly UT-Pan American. The teams last met in 2022, with UTEP's only loss occurring in 2003 on Halloween, the final year before UT-Pan American became UTRGV. UTEP has won 53 sets, losing just 7. 

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 

• TAMUCC enters the weekend at 4-4. 
• Last Week: Texas A&M-Corpus Christi made history by securing their first-ever win over a Power 4 opponent, defeating Texas Tech 3-1 in a neutral court matchup on Friday to open the UTRGV Tournament. However, the Islanders could not carry that momentum into Saturday's match against San Francisco, falling 3-0 to close out their weekend. 
• Player Ranks: Alex Hoglund is ranked 76th in the nation with 9.46 assists per set and holds the fourth spot in the conference. 
• Series: UTEP leads the all-time series 5-0, first meeting in 2003 and last facing off in 2022. UTEP has only dropped 6 sets to the Islanders. 

Texas State 

• Texas State enters the weekend at 4-4. 
• Last Week: Texas State opened the Outrigger Invitational with a 3-1 loss to Hawaii on Tuesday night. The Bobcats bounced back on Thursday, earning their first sweep of the season with a 3-0 victory over Oregon State. In a five-set thriller on Saturday, Texas State fell narrowly to Hawaii, 3-2, despite career-high performances from McCurdy (17 kills), Jade Defraeye (13 kills), and Samantha Wunsch (6 blocks) to close out the tournament. 
• Team Ranks: The Bobcats rank in the top 100 for team hitting percentage (.231), sitting 3rd in the Sun Belt Conference.  
• Player Ranks: Ryann Torres ranks 79th nationally and second in the conference with 9.32 assists per set, while Jade Defraeye is 100th nationally and fourth in the conference with 1.19 blocks per set. 
• Series: Texas State leads the all-time series 11-9, with the first meeting in 1980 when Texas State was Southwest Texas State. The teams last met in 2021, with UTEP winning 6 of the last 10 meetings. 

"I feel confident in our depth and the dangerous potential we have, and I like the numbers we're putting up right now," Wallis said. "We've shown the ability to play different styles of volleyball, but this weekend is going to test us mentally, physically, and competitively. By Sunday, we'll have a better understanding of ourselves and what we need to work on heading into conference play. I'm excited to compete in the Southwest Showdown." 

 

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