EL PASO, Texas – UTEP volleyball (13-9, 5-5 MW) hits the road for San Jose, California, for a two-match Mountain West series against San José State on Oct. 29-30, marking the first meeting between the programs in more than 20 years. First serve is set for 7 p.m. MT on both nights, with both matches streaming live on MW+.
SCHEDULE
WEEK NINE RECAP: AIR FORCE
UTEP volleyball split its two-match series against Air Force at Club Memorial, opening the weekend with a straight-set sweep (25-21, 25-20, 25-20) on Thursday before falling in a five-set battle (18-25, 25-23, 22-25, 28-26, 15-7) on Saturday. The Miners delivered a strong all-around performance in the opener, outhitting the Falcons .267 to .107 while recording 12 blocks, including a career-high nine from
Hannah Crowe.
Ema Uskokovic led UTEP with 10 kills in the sweep before exploding for a career-high 22 kills on Saturday.
Landry Braziel added a career-best 13 kills, while
Mackenzi Davis contributed 14 and
Luvina Oguntimehin tallied 12 as the Miners recorded a season-high 73 kills in a five-set match. UTEP won the first and third sets Saturday but couldn't close out the fourth, falling 28-26 before Air Force pulled away in the deciding frame.
WEEKLY WINNERS
SEP. 28 | Luvina Oguntimehin was named the Mountain West's Old Trapper Women's Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week following a dominant three-match stretch against Arizona and Wyoming. The honor marked the first conference weekly award of Oguntimehin's career and made her the second Miner to earn a Mountain West weekly honor this season. Oguntimehin started all three matches and played all 11 sets during the week, totaling 19 blocks, including five solo and 14 assisted, while averaging 1.73 blocks per set. She recorded 14 blocks across the two-match series at Wyoming, averaging 2.00 blocks per set. The Conroe, Texas, native also delivered offensively, totaling 34 kills while hitting .347 and recording a team-high 46.0 points. Against Wyoming, Oguntimehin tallied 22 kills and hit .385 while producing 31.5 points across the two matches.
SEP. 7 | Mackenzi Davis was named the Mountain West's Old Trapper Women's Volleyball Freshman of the Week following her performance at the Southwest Showdown. Davis becomes the first Miner to earn a conference freshman weekly honor since the 2023 season and just the seventh player in program history to receive a freshman weekly award. The freshman totaled 27 kills, 11 blocks—including eight solo blocks—and 36.5 points across UTEP's three matches. She averaged 1.93 kills per set while hitting .300 for the weekend. Davis saved her best performance for UTEP's five-set victory over UTRGV, recording a career-high 16 kills while hitting .500.
OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER
Through 22 matches, UTEP has recorded 1,113 kills while hitting .236 as a team.
Luvina Oguntimehin leads the Miners with 210 kills and a .366 hitting percentage, followed by
Mackenzi Davis with 199 kills. UTEP has hit above .300 as a team three times this season, posting a season-best .359 at Wyoming on Sept. 15, along with marks of .341 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and .336 against UC San Diego.
FOUR-HEADED ATTACK
UTEP features four players averaging at least 2.0 kills per set, providing the Miners with multiple offensive options. Oguntimehin leads the group at 2.53 kills per set, followed by Davis at 2.34, Uskokovic at 2.29 and Braziel at 2.00. As a team, UTEP is averaging 13.09 kills per set.
SETTING THE TABLE
The Miners' 6-2 offensive system is directed by senior
Kalia Kohler, who leads the team with 501 assists and averages 5.89 per set. Junior
Shea Bruntmyer has contributed 261 assists at 3.95 per set. UTEP's season high is 68 assists against Air Force.
SERVING UP PRESSURE
UTEP has recorded 124 service aces this season, with Perry accounting for 46 to lead the team. The Miners posted a season-high 13 aces in their Oct. 8 match at Nevada. Perry ranks first in the conference and ninth nationally with 46 aces, while her 0.54 aces per set rank 19th in the NCAA.
DIGGING DEEP
Lily-Rose Pichon leads UTEP with 213 digs, while Kohler has recorded 210 and Uskokovic has added 189. The Miners have demonstrated their defensive ability throughout the season, highlighted by a season-high 81 digs against Air Force.
BLOCK PARTY
The Miners have been dominant at the net, totaling 220 blocks to lead the Mountain West and rank 7th nationally. UTEP averages 2.59 blocks per set, good for 30th in the NCAA. Crowe leads the squad with 90 total blocks, including 10 solo blocks and 80 assisted blocks, while Oguntimehin follows with 89. Crowe averages 1.11 blocks per set, and Oguntimehin averages 1.07. UTEP's season high is 15 blocks at Wyoming on Sept. 26.
POINT TAKEN
Oguntimehin leads UTEP with 265.0 points, averaging 3.19 per set, while Uskokovic ranks second with 238.9 points at 2.83 per set.
THE FULL STAT SHEET
UTEP holds statistical advantages over its opponents in several key categories, including kills (1113-1040), assists (1027-943), service aces (124-87) and blocks (220-149.5). The Miners are hitting .236 as a team while limiting opponents to a .194 hitting percentage. Opponents hold a slight edge in digs, 116-1141, making defensive consistency an important factor as UTEP continues Mountain West play.
TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN
UTEP leads the Mountain West in five statistical categories, ranking first in assists per set (12.08), blocks per set (2.59), team assists (1027), team kills (1114), and team total blocks (220.0).
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Among 343 NCAA Division I teams, UTEP ranks inside the top 100 nationally in nine statistical categories:
- 7th in Total Blocks (220.0)
- 30th in Blocks per Set (2.59)
- 38th in Kills (1114)
- 42nd in Assists (1027)
- 84th in Hitting Percentage (0.236)
- 90th in Kills per Set (13.11)
- 90th in Total Attacks (2902)
- 97th in Opponent H% (0.194)
- 98th in Assists per Set (12.08)
INDIVIDUAL IMPACT
Perry leads the Mountain West in two service categories while ranking among the nation's top 20, sitting ninth nationally with 46 service aces and 19th in service aces per set at 0.54. Crowe ranks second in the conference in both total blocks and blocks per set, recording 90 total blocks (90th nationally) and averaging 1.11 blocks per set. Oguntimehin ranks among the Mountain West's top three in three categories, including second in hitting percentage at .366, which ranks 65th nationally. She also ranks third in the conference with 89 total blocks and 1.07 blocks per set, with her total blocks ranking 77th in the country.
MINERS AT A GLANCE
Overall: 13-9
MW: 5-5 |
Home: 6-3
Away: 4-5
Neutral: 3-1 |
3 sets: 6-3
4 sets: 4-3
5 sets: 3-3 |
PRESEASON EXPECTATIONS
UTEP enters its first season as a member of the Mountain West with high expectations after being selected to finish first in the league's 2026 preseason poll.
The Miners received four first-place votes and 84 points in the preseason balloting.
Graduate student outside hitter
Ema Uskokovic was also named to the 2026 Mountain West Preseason Team. Uskokovic returns for her final season after missing the 2025 campaign due to injury. The two-time preseason team selection was an All-Conference USA First Team honoree and AVCA All-Region selection in 2024.
IN THE MINE SHAFT
- The 2026 season marks the 53rd season of UTEP volleyball.
- The Miners' roster features six freshmen, three sophomores, five juniors, two seniors and one sixth-year player.
- Kalia Kohler, Ema Uskokovic and Hannah Crowe serve as team captains for the 2026 season.
- On Sept. 1, UTEP announced a contract extension for head coach Ben Wallis, while Courtney Johnson was promoted to associate head coach.
- Wallis reached 150 career victories on Sept. 25 after leading the Miners to a 3-0 sweep at Wyoming in UTEP's Mountain West opener.
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
San José State enters the series with a 7-14 overall record and a 2-8 mark in Mountain West play. As a team, the Spartans are hitting .201 with 938 kills, 107 service aces and 164 total blocks. Morgan Graves leads the offense with 157 kills and 179.5 points, followed by Zuzana Kosikova with 135 kills and 171.5 points, including a team-high 27 service aces. Fatimah Hall paces the setting game with 398 assists, while Hanna Darvas follows with 336. Defensively, Orian Drore leads the Spartans with 222 digs, while Learden Lee tops the team with 57 blocks and Ava Hewitt follows with 53.
SERIES HISTORY
- San José State leads the all-time series against UTEP, 8-4, with a 29-16 advantage in sets.
- All 12 meetings between the programs have come as conference opponents, with the Spartans holding an 8-4 edge in league play.
- The Miners won the first two meetings in 1996, both by 3-1 scores, marking UTEP's longest winning streak in the series.
- San José State later claimed five consecutive victories from 1998 to 2000, the longest winning streak by either program.
- The Spartans swept the Miners in the most recent meeting in 2004 and enter the upcoming matchup riding a two-match winning streak in the series.
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