EL PASO - UTEP Volleyball (10-2) kicks off Conference USA play with a two-match series against FIU on Sept. 27-28 in Miami, Florida. The Miners will face the Panthers inside the Ocean Bank Convocation Center, with the first match set for 3 p.m. MT on Friday and a second showdown at 9 a.m. MT on Saturday.
"We're excited to start conference play—this is what we build our whole preseason schedule for, to see how good our team is and where our strengths lie," Head Coach Ben Wallis said. "While we're nervous about the travel to Miami due to the hurricane in our path, we know potential challenges may arise, and we're prepared for anything."
SCHEDULE
^All Times Mountain Daylight
HITTING WITH CONSISTENCY
UTEP is hitting .282 paced by two Miners who are killing it at or above the mark. Kaya Weaver (.433) leads the team among players with at least 75 kills. The UTEP offense sits 20th 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 60 blocks. Nationally, UTEP is 11th in blocks per set (2.93) while leading CUSA and 17th in team total blocks (123.0).
BALANCED ATTACK
UTEP showed a balanced attack at the Southwest Showdown, with five Miners blasting home at least 2.0 kills per set. Among players with at least 40 kills over the weekend, Ema Uskokovic (3.33k/s) led the way.
IN THE CUSA SPOTLIGHT
Mattie Gantt and Kalia Kohler – Co-Setters of the Week (Sep. 23, Week 4)
- Led the Miners in UTEP's perfect 3-0 record at the UTEP Southwest Showdown, earning them spots on the All-Tournament Team. Gantt recorded 65 assists, averaging 5.42 assists per set, and registered her second double-double of the season with 25 assists and 11 digs against Texas State. Kohler, meanwhile, tallied 64 assists (5.33 assists per set) and posted her third double-double of the season with 27 assists and 10 digs against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Together, they combined for 129 assists (10.75 assists per set), directing the Miners' offense to an impressive .282 hitting percentage.
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 10 categories:
11. Blocks per Set (2.93)*
15. Aces per Set (2.05)*
17. Team Total Blocks (123.0)
20. Hitting Percentage (0.282)*
29. Match W-L Percentage (0.833)*
38. Team Service Aces (86)
42. Kills per Set (13.52)*
T43. Opponent Hitting Percentage (0.162)*
68. Assists per Set (12.31)*
95. Team Kills (568)
*CUSA Leader
UTEP has two players ranked in the Top 25 in NCAA while holding the top 2 spots in the conference
THE OPPONENT
FIU
- FIU enters the weekend at 2-11.
- Last Week: FIU volleyball had a challenging weekend at the 305 Challenge, dropping all three matches. The Panthers (2-11) were swept in straight sets by Texas Tech in their home opener on Thursday, despite Jillian Huckabey's double-double performance with 10 kills and 11 digs. FIU then mounted an impressive comeback from a 2-0 deficit against 25th-ranked Arkansas on Friday, forcing a fifth set before ultimately falling short in the final frame. To close the weekend, FIU took an early set from Miami but couldn't sustain the momentum, losing the next three sets to finish the match 3-1 in favor of the Hurricanes.
- Team Ranks: FIU is nationally ranked 60th in team digs with 691, placing them 3rd in Conference USA. The team is also ranked 44th in total attacks with 1,693, holding 2nd place in the conference.
- Player Ranks: Individually, Jillian Huckabey is nationally ranked 75th in total attacks with 445, making her 2nd in the conference, and she's ranked 87th in total kills with 157, placing her 4th in Conference USA. Mandi Morioka is ranked 73rd nationally in total digs with 189, earning her 4th place in the conference.
- Series: UTEP leads the all-time series against FIU 8-3, with the teams' first meeting in 2013, when UTEP swept FIU. In their most recent encounter in 2023, UTEP swept both matches in a two-match home series. Overall, UTEP has won 27 sets and dropped 18 sets in the series.
"Ultimately, I feel really good and confident in this team; we're very dangerous and have a lot of weapons," Wallis said. "FIU may be struggling to win, but they're not struggling to play good volleyball—they've taken sets off at least seven Top 50 teams. They're tough and dangerous, and they're going to give us some trouble. We'll have to earn those victories on Friday and Saturday against a tough opponent that's already faced strong competition and won't be afraid."
Give a gift to UTEP Women's Volleyball by donating to the Point Miners Club.
Stay up to date with UTEP Volleyball by subscribing to the team's newsletter here.
For complete coverage of UTEP Women's Volleyball, be sure to follow the Miners on social media at @utepvb (Instagram) @UTEPVolleyball (Facebook) and @UTEPVB (X) or visit the official home of UTEP Athletics at UTEPMiners.com.
