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(RV) UTEP Volleyball Opens CUSA Tournament Friday vs. Missouri State

11/20/2025 1:30:00 PM

EL PASO, Texas – No. 1–seeded (RV) UTEP Volleyball opens the 2025 Conference USA Tournament on Friday, Nov. 21, at 12 p.m. ET against No. 8 seed Missouri State in the quarterfinal round. The tournament is being hosted by FIU in Miami, Florida, at the Ocean Convention Center. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.

MATCH COVERAGE
Match 1: (1) UTEP vs. (8) Missouri State | Nov. 21 | 10 am MT / 12 pm ET
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Watch: ESPN+
Location: Miami, Florida | Ocean Bank Convention Center

LAST TIME OUT     
(RV) UTEP Volleyball closed out the regular season with back-to-back sweeps over FIU, punctuating a dominant home weekend inside Club Memorial. On Friday, the Miners snapped FIU's 10-match CUSA win streak with a decisive 3–0 victory. 

The Miners carried that momentum into Saturday's Senior Day finale, sweeping FIU once again to cap a historic 25–3 regular season and secure the program's first-ever Conference USA Regular Season Championship. UTEP finished 15–1 in league play—its best conference record in program history—and earned the No. 1 overall seed in the CUSA Tournament. 

NATIONAL RECOGNITION     
UTEP continues to gain national attention, earning 49 votes in the latest AVCA/Taraflex Coaches Poll this week (Nov. 17). The Miners also achieved an RPI of 15.

OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER     
UTEP enters the postseason hitting .301 as a team, a mark that ranks among the top hitting offenses nationally. Two active Miners are hitting .300 or better with at least 167 kills: Danika Washington leads the team at .367 (167 kills), followed by Landry Braziel at .310 (194 kills). UTEP's best single-match hitting percentage this year was .459 against Oral Roberts (Sept. 13). The Miners have hit .300+ in 14 matches this season, including two .400+ performances.

BLOCK PARTY     
UTEP has recorded 240.0 total blocks this year and has posted double-digit blocks 13 times, highlighted by a season-high 14 against Louisiana Tech. The Miners have out-blocked opponents by a staggering margin of 240.0 to 76.5. Danika Washington leads the team with 103.0 total blocks, anchoring one of the most disruptive front lines in Conference USA.

BALANCED ATTACK     
Three active Miners are averaging at least 2.0 kills per set with a minimum of 190 kills: Torrance Lovesee (3.27 k/s), Sara Pustahija (2.57 k/s), and Landry Braziel (2.11 k/s). Lovesee and Pustahija have started all 28 matches and appeared in all 94 sets, each surpassing 240 kills on the season. As a unit, UTEP is producing 13.77 kills per set.
 
CHAMPS CHECKED       
Four of UTEP's 23 victories this season have come against defending conference champions and 2024 NCAA Tournament teams: Sacramento State (Big Sky), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Southland), Texas State (Sun Belt), Western Kentucky (CUSA). The Miners also added a win over Arizona on Sept. 16, the reigning NIVC champion.       

NEW RECORD WHO DIS?       
Sophomore outside hitter Landry Braziel delivered a record-breaking performance in UTEP's sweep of Oral Roberts on Sept. 13 to close out the Sun City Classic. Braziel hit .846 with 11 kills on 13 error-free swings, marking the best hitting percentage in program history for a three-set match with at least 10 kills.    

1K KILL CLUB     
Torrance Lovesee became the 14th Miner to eclipse 1,000 career kills at UTEP. She reached the milestone with a 17-kill performance against Arizona and now stands at 1,218 career kills, ranking fifth in program history.    

HEAVY HITTERS     
UTEP's season-high in kills is 65, achieved in its four-set win over Kennesaw State—also the most in any four-set match this season. The Miners' highest kill total in a three-set match is 47 against Western Kentucky. Two Miners have surpassed 200 kills this season, with Lovesee pacing the team at 307, followed by Sara Pustahija with 242.

LEAGUE PLAY  

The Miners posted a 15–1 Conference USA record, the best league finish in program history, earning a share of the regular-season title with WKU and securing the No. 1 overall seed in the CUSA Tournament.

HISTORY AGAINST POWER CONFERENCES       
UTEP has now defeated a Power Conference opponent in three consecutive seasons, matching the longest such streak in program history (1983–85). The Miners have earned notable wins over Iowa State (2024), Washington and Clemson (2023), and Northwestern and Arizona (2021). Prior to head coach Ben Wallis's arrival in 2019, UTEP had not beaten a Power 5 opponent since 2005.  

CUSA POSTSEASON HONORS

Head Coach Ben Wallis was named CUSA Coach of the Year for the first time in his career after guiding the Miners to a 25–3 overall record, a 15–1 conference slate, and the program's first regular-season championship. UTEP also received 49 votes in the latest AVCA/Taraflex Coaches Poll and reached an all-time-best RPI of 15.

Three Miners earned First Team All-Conference honors—Torrance Lovesee, Sara Pustahija, and Danika Washington—while Kalia Kohler and Kaya Weaver were named to the Second Team.
 
IN THE CUSA SPOTLIGHT           

  • Pustahija earned Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week on Week 12 after powering UTEP to two sweeps over FIU. She finished the weekend with 18 kills on .309 hitting, seven blocks (including two solos), nine digs, two aces, and a team-high 24.5 points (4.08 per set). Her two-way impact helped UTEP hold FIU to a .203 hitting percentage.

  • Lovesee was named Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week in Week 11. She delivered 37 kills (5.29 k/s) while hitting .400 in the weekend sweep at Kennesaw State. Her 22 kills Friday set a new career high. This is her fourth career CUSA weekly honor.

  • The Miners also claimed Conference USA Co-Setter of the Week honors in Week 11 behind the combined efforts of Kalia Kohler and Mattie Gantt who orchestrated UTEP's 6-2 offense with precision. The duo totaled 84 assists (12 per set) across the two matches, guiding the Miners to a .298 team hitting percentage while adding a combined 29 digs. Kohler finished the weekend with 48 assists and 13 digs, while Gantt added 36 assists and 16 digs. The recognition marks Kohler's 12th career CUSA weekly honor and Gantt's eighth.

  • Washington was named Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week in Week 10 after an exceptional showing against Missouri State. Washington posted 21 kills on 32 error-free swings for an incredible .656 hitting percentage, while adding a team-high 10 blocks. She averaged 2.63 kills, 1.25 blocks, and 3.25 points per set across the series.

  • Weaver was named Conference USA Co-Defensive Player of the Week in Week 5 after leading the Miners to a 2-0 start in league play. Weaver anchored the net with 12 blocks (1.71/set), including three solo, in back-to-back wins at Sam Houston. She also chipped in four digs and an ace while contributing offensively with 19 kills (2.71/set) on a .300 hitting percentage, showcasing a two-way impact in UTEP's undefeated weekend.     

  • Setter Kalia Kohler was named CUSA Setter of the Week in Week 2. The honor is her 11th career weekly award, setting the program record for the most all-time. Kohler also becomes just the fifth Miner setter to earn a solo weekly honor from the conference.         

  • Setter Duo Honored: Mattie Gantt and Kalia Kohler earned the first 2025 C-USA Co-Setter of the Week award. The pair combined for 110 assists over 10 sets in Sacramento, while also adding digs, aces, and kills to fuel the Miners' .310 team hitting percentage. This marks the sixth career co-award for the duo.          

  • Weaver Headlines Preseason Team: Middle blocker Kaya Weaver was named the 2025 Conference USA Preseason Player of the Year, leading a league-best four UTEP honorees on the Preseason All-CUSA Team. She was joined by Ema Uskokovic, Sara Pustahija, and Danika Washington. The Miners were picked second in the preseason poll, earning four first-place votes.        

MINER RANKINGS     
UTEP remains one of the most efficient and well-rounded teams in the nation, ranking inside the NCAA top 50 in multiple categories:

  • 4th – Match W-L Percentage (.893)

  • 8th – Hitting Percentage (.301)

  • 19th – Opponent Hitting Percentage (.169)

  • 25th – Kills per Set (13.77)

  • 26th – Assists per Set (12.86)

  • 27th – Aces per Set (1.83)

  • 35th – Blocks per Set (2.55)

Individually, Danika Washington ranks second in CUSA and 63rd nationally in hitting percentage (.367). She also sits fourth in CUSA in total blocks (102) and ninth in blocks per set (1.09). Torrance Lovesee ranks eighth in CUSA in kills per set (3.27), while Fuka Sekita ranks seventh in CUSA in total digs (341).

UTEP VS. MISSOURI STATE

UTEP won the regular-season series against Missouri State, taking both matches in four sets. 

BY THE NUMBERS 

  • Sets Played: UTEP – 94 (28 matches); Missouri State – 104 (27 matches) 

  • Conference Records: UTEP (15-1, 1-seed), Missouri State (6-10, 8-seed) 

  • National RPI: UTEP – 15, Missouri State – 207

  • AVCA Coaches Poll: UTEP is receiving 49 votes (Nov. 17) 


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