EL PASO, Texas – UTEP volleyball (10-4, 2-0 MW) continues Mountain West play this week as the Miners welcome UNLV to Club Memorial for their league home opening weekend on Oct. 1 and 3. Both matches will be streamed live on MW+.
Thursday's 6 p.m. MT contest will serve as UTEP's Pink Game, while Saturday's 1 p.m. MT match will be the program's Spike Out Cancer match.
SCHEDULE
TICKET INFORMATION
Single-game tickets are available starting at $10.68. Fans can secure their seats through the Eisenberg Family Ticket Office by calling (915) 747-UTEP, emailing
tickets@utep.edu, visiting UTEPMiners.com/Tickets, or in person at 201 Glory Road (Brumbelow Building, UTEP Campus) during business hours Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
WEEK FIVE RECAP: ARIZONA AND WYOMING
UTEP wrapped up non-conference play last Tuesday with a hard-fought four-set battle against Arizona, falling 3-1 (20-25, 25-27, 25-19, 24-26) at Club Memorial. The Miners pushed the Wildcats throughout the four-set contest, rallying late in the opening set and forcing extra points in the second before answering with a dominant third-set performance. Arizona ultimately edged UTEP in a back-and-forth fourth set to close the non-conference slate.
The Miners responded by opening Mountain West play with a historic weekend at Wyoming. UTEP swept the Cowgirls, 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-19), on Friday before completing the series sweep with a 3-1 (25-21, 25-22, 24-26, 25-16) victory Saturday.
Friday's victory marked UTEP's first-ever win in Laramie and snapped a seven-match losing streak against Wyoming. The Miners also became the first UTEP team to open Mountain West play with a victory since joining the league.
The weekend's first victory also marked the 150th career win for head coach
Ben Wallis.
WEEKLY WINNERS
SEPT. 28 | UTEP middle blocker
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.
SEPT. 7 | UTEP freshman
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 14 matches, redshirt freshman
Mackenzi Davis leads the Miners with 134 kills, followed closely by Oguntimehin with 132 and
Ema Uskokovic with 117.
UTEP has recorded 718 kills on the season and is hitting .249 as a team. The Miners' single-match high is 65 kills against Arizona.
Oguntimehin leads the team with a .336 hitting percentage. UTEP has hit above .300 as a team three times this season, including a .359 mark at Wyoming, .341 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and .336 against UC San Diego.
THREE-HEADED ATTACK
UTEP's offense has featured a balanced attack, with three Miners averaging at least 2.0 kills per set. Oguntimehin leads the group at 2.44 kills per set, followed by Davis at 2.39 and Uskokovic at 2.13.
SETTING THE TABLE
Working in a 6-2 system, senior
Kalia Kohler leads the UTEP offense with 321 assists while averaging 5.73 assists per set. Junior
Shea Bruntmyer has added 124 assists at 3.35 per set, while freshman
Caryme Molina has recorded 115 assists and averages 2.45 per set. UTEP's single-match high is 59 assists against Arizona.
SERVING UP PRESSURE
Lauren Perry has accounted for 30 of UTEP's 81 service aces this season, helping the Miners consistently apply pressure from the service line. UTEP's season high is 11 service aces, recorded against Pacific during the Borderland Classic.
DIGGING DEEP
Three Miners have surpassed 130 digs this season, led by
Lily-Rose Pichon with 154. Kohler and Uskokovic have each recorded 131 digs. UTEP recorded a season-best 76 digs against Texas State in the Southwest Showdown.
BLOCK PARTY
Hannah Crowe leads the Miners at the net with 61.0 total blocks and averages 1.13 blocks per set. Davis and Oguntimehin lead UTEP with 11 solo blocks apiece, while Crowe has recorded a team-high 54 assisted blocks. The Miners' single-match high is 15.0 total blocks, recorded at Wyoming on Sept. 26.
POINT TAKEN
Oguntimehin leads the Miners with 170.0 points while averaging 3.15 points per set. Davis follows with 161.0 points and an average of 2.88 points per set.
THE FULL STAT SHEET
Through 14 matches, UTEP holds the statistical advantage over its opponents in kills (718-688), assists (653-618), service aces (81-59) and total blocks (149.0-98.5). Opponents have the edge in digs, 739-731. UTEP is hitting .249 as a team and has held opponents to a .188 hitting percentage.
CONFERENCE RANKINGS
UTEP currently leads the Mountain West in six statistical categories:
- assists per set (11.66)
- blocks per set (2.66)
- kills per set (12.84)
- team assists (653)
- team kills (718)
- team total blocks (149.0)
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Among 343 NCAA Division I teams, UTEP ranks inside the top 100 nationally in eight statistical categories.
- 5th in total blocks (149.0)
- 28th in blocks per set (2.66)
- 31st in team kills (718)
- 39th in team assists (653)
- 64th in hitting percentage (.249)
- 65th in match winning percentage (.714)
- 91st in team total attacks (1,834)
- 100th in opponent hitting percentage (.189)
INDIVIDUAL IMPACT
Perry currently leads the Mountain West in two statistical categories and ranks inside the top 35 nationally. Her 30 service aces rank 11th in the NCAA, while her 0.54 aces per set rank 33rd nationally. Crowe also leads the Mountain West in two categories, ranking first in total blocks with 61.0 and blocks per set at 1.13. Her total blocks rank 49th nationally.
MINERS AT A GLANCE
| Overall: 10-4 |
Home: 3-1
Away: 4-2
Neutral: 3-1 |
Three Sets: 3-1
Four Sets: 4-2
Five Sets: 3-1 |
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, four 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 REBELS
UNLV enters the weekend with a 4-9 overall record and 0-2 mark in Mountain West play. The Rebels are coached by Malia Shoji, who is in her fourth season at the helm with a 51-51 overall record. UNLV is hitting .188 as a team and leads the Mountain West with 750 digs. The Rebels rank second in the league and 53rd nationally in team total attacks with 1,925, while their 35.65 attacks per set rank third in the Mountain West and 58th in the NCAA. Basia Latos leads UNLV with 192 kills, followed by Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year Jaida Harris with 156. Rheanna Deen-Jackson leads the Rebels with 43.0 total blocks. Latos leads the Mountain West in total kills, ranking 46th nationally. She also ranks second in the league in total attacks (554), attacks per set (10.26), points (206.5) and kills per set (3.56).
SERIES HISTORY
- UTEP leads the all-time series against UNLV, 3-1, holding a 10-6 advantage in sets.
- The first meeting between the programs came in 1979, when UTEP claimed a 3-1 victory. The teams met twice more as conference opponents in 1997, with the Miners winning both matches, 3-0 and 3-2.
- The most recent meeting came on Dec. 9, 2021, when the teams faced off in the NIVC semifinals. UNLV won the contest, 3-1.
- UTEP is 1-1 against UNLV in El Paso.
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