EL PASO – UTEP volleyball will open its 2023 season by playing three matches in two days at the Southeastern Louisiana Tournament Friday through Saturday, (Aug. 25-26) in Hammond, La. The Miners will take on (RV) Washington at 9a.m. MT and Grambling State at 3 p.m. MT on Friday (Aug. 25). UTEP will go up against the defending Southland Conference Champions, SEL, at 12:30 p.m. MT on Saturday (Aug. 26) to wrap up the weekend.
Schedule
Friday
Match 1 vs. (RV) Washington – 9 a.m. MT | Live Stats
Match 2 vs. Grambling State – 3 p.m. MT | Live Stats
Saturday
Match 3 vs. Southeastern Louisiana – 12:30 p.m. | Stream: ESPN+ | Live Stats
(RV) Washington
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Leslie Gabriel takes the reins as the ninth Head Coach in UW Volleyball history after spending the previous 22 years as an assistant coach and associate head coach, helping Washington to 552 wins over that span, including seven Pac-12 titles, five Final Four appearances, a 2005 NCAA Championship, and 21 consecutive NCAA tourney bids. She was the 2020 AVCA National Assistant Coach of the Year. The Huskies are just outside the AVCA top-25 to start the year, in the receiving votes category. It is the first time since 2003 that the Dawgs are not ranked to start the year. Washington was also picked just seventh in the Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Poll.
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The Miners will take on the Huskies for the first time in program history on Friday.
Grambling State
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The Tigers of Grambling State were 15-12 a year ago and 12-4 in the SWAC. Ana Calderon has been named Preseason SWAC Setter of the Year.
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The Miners will take on the Tigers for the first time in program history on Friday.
Southeastern Louisiana
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Southeastern Louisiana is the defending Southland Conference Champions, advancing to the NCAA tourney last year after going 25-8, falling to Minnesota in the first round of the postseason. The squad is led by SLC Tournament MVP Kailin Newsome.
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UTEP is 1-0 against the Lady Lions with the lone five-set win in 1996 at the Southern Miss Invitational in Hattiesburg, Miss.
In the Mine Shaft
UTEP returned 10 players from last year's team that finished in the top 50 in four categories in the NCAA while setting historic program numbers. The team finished fifth in the country in team service aces (240). Leading the way are 2022 All-CUSA second team honorees Alianza Darley and Torrance Lovesee along with the dominant CUSA All-Freshman trio Mattie Gantt, Kaya Weaver, and Sara Pustahija. UTEP also added three transfer players: graduate student Sakira LaCour, and JuCo duo Deanna Almaguer and Danika Washington. The true freshmen joining the squad are Kalia Kohler, Ava Martindale, Beatrice Gennari, Lauren Wallis, Trinity Gomez, and Genavi Oyoyo.
2023 Tournaments
This weekend marks the first of four tournaments that the Miners have on tap for nonconference play, including the Borderland Invitational (Aug. 31-Sep. 2). UTEP will also partake in the Ohio Tournament (Sep. 7-9) and the Tulane Tournament (Sep. 14-16).
Preseason Accolades
UTEP's Alianza Darley and Torrance Lovesee were named to the CUSA Preseason Team as the Miners were tabbed to finish second, as announced by the league's office Aug. 17. Last season, Darley earned Preseason recognition and was ranked third in CUSA in total blocks (126) and fifth in blocks per set (1.04). Darley led the team with 126 total blocks combined of 13 solo and 113 assisted and hit for .300 or better on 10 occasions. Last season, Lovesee was three-time CUSA Player of the Week: 2x-Offensive Player of the Week, Co-Freshman of the Week and ranked 16th in CUSA in kills/set (2.73). Lovesee paced the Miner offense in kills (295), kills per set (2.73), and points per set (3.25). She ranked second on the team in total points (350.5) while hitting for .300 or better on seven occasions.
"We spend a lot of time on team chemistry," head coach Ben Wallis said. "We felt that was something that kept us from winning those close matches last year was our chemistry and how we spoke to each other, how we leaned on and supported each other. We have put more time on that than we do on skill in some ways. We hope it will pay off for us this year. Our coaching staff feels more connected to the team because we can be more honest with them, and they understand that we have got their backs and they have ours."
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