UTEP Volleyball Hits the Road for Bobcat Invitational

EL PASO – UTEP Volleyball (4-1) will travel to Athens, Ohio, to participate in the Bobcat Invitational Sep. 7-9 at the Convocation Center. The Miners will open the weekend against host Ohio on Thursday, then take on William & Mary on Friday, and close out their time in Ohio on Saturday against their third Power 5 opponent this season, NC State.

SCHEDULE

Thursday, Sep. 7
Match 6 at Ohio – 4 pm | Stream: ESPN+ | Live Stats

Friday, Sep. 8
Match 7 vs. William & Mary – 2 pm | Stream: ESPN+ | Live Stats

Saturday, Sep. 9
Match 8 vs. NC State – 9 am | Stream: ESPN+ | Live Stats
^All Times Mountain

"This weekend is going to be tough," head coach Ben Wallis said. "To start the weekend, we're going up against Ohio- a big, physical, veteran, 20-win team...then we'll turn around and play William & Mary and then turn around and face NC State on Saturday – another power 5 team for the third week in a row."

HITTING WITH CONSISTENCY

UTEP is hitting .269 through five matches paced by eight Miners who are killing it at or above the mark. Kaya Weaver (.418) leads the team among players with at least 20 kills.

BLOCK PARTY

The Miners registered a season-high 18 blocks in the 3-1 win against San Francisco on Aug. 31. UTEP posted at least 10 blocks in three of its four victories – most recent: San Fracisco. Kaya Weaver (23) and Alianza Darley (17) each tallied at least 15 blocks to lead the charge.

BALANCED ATTACK

UTEP showed a balanced attack in the Borderland Invitational, with five Miners blasting home at least 2.0 kills per set. Sara Pustahija (19 kills, 2.38/set) led the charge with Alianza Darley (18 kills, 2.25/set) and Marian Ovalle (10 kills, 2.0/set) getting after it as well.

MINER RANKINGS

In Conference USA, UTEP is ranked in the top three in six categories:

2. Hitting % (0.269, 37th NCAA)
2. Match W-L Pctg. (0.800, 64th NCAA)
2. Team Total Blocks (50.0, 83rd NCAA)
3. Blocks/Set (2.50, 46th NCAA)
3. Aces/Set (1.85, 78th NCAA)
3. Opp Hitting % (0.194, 134th NCAA)

UTEP has two players ranked in the top five in four categories in the conference:

Statistic	Player	C-USA Rank	Value
Blocks/Set	Kaya Weaver	2	1.28*
Digs/Set	Alyssa Sianez	3	4.00
Total Blocks	Kaya Weaver	4	23
Total Digs	Alyssa Sianez	4	80

*NCAA Top 100

THE OPPONENTS

Ohio

Ohio is entering the weekend at 4-2. The team is ranked top-35 nationally in three team statistics – blocks (No. 17, 62.0), kills (No. 18, 341), and assists (No. 24, 310).
The Bobcats are hitting .236 as a team, and five players have at least 40 kills. Cailtin O'Farrell easily leads the way with 80 kills (3.20/set). Parker Kwiatkowski directs the offense with 257 assists (10.28/set). Sam Steele has racked up 126 digs (5.04/set) for the Bobcat defense.
As a team, the Bobcats rank first in the MAC for blocks per set (2.48) and blocks (62.0).
Parker Kwaitkowski ranks 10th in the nation with 257 assists and 41st in assists/set (10.28)
Head Coach Geoff Carlston sits at a 413-217 overall career record; 176-53 with the Bobcats.
Thursday will be the first meeting between the Miners and the Bobcats.

William & Mary

The Tribe is entering the weekend at 5-2. The Tribe is ranked top-30 nationally in three team statistics - attacks (No. 11, 956), blocks (No. 17, 62.0), and aces (No. 26, 48).
The W&M program is hitting .176 as a team, and four players have at least 30 kills. Taylor Burrell leads the way with 62 kills (2.38/set). Amy Schwem directs the offense with 131 assists (5.24/set). Lindsay Kahren sets the tone defensively with 82 digs (2.93/set).
Olivia Esposito ranks 19th in the nation with 33 total blocks and 20th in blocks/set (1.50).
As a team, the Tribe ranks second in the CAA for total attacks with 956.
In his first year at W&M, Head Coach Ryan Adams sits at a 48-74 overall career record, the majority from his five-year stint at Lafayette College.
Friday will be the first meeting between the Miners and the Tribe.

NC State

NC State is entering the weekend at 5-1. The team is ranked top-50 nationally in two team statistics – W-L % (No. 39, 0.833) and assists (No. 45, 293).
The Pack is hitting .222 as a team, and five players have at least 35 kills. Ava Brizard leads the way with 86 kills (3.58/set). Kristen McDaniel directs the offense with 157 assists (6.54/set). Skye Stokes leads the team with 3.38 digs per set (81 digs).
Ava Brizard leads the ACC in points (96.5), attacks (241), and kills (86).
As a team, the Wolfpack ranks first in the ACC for digs per set with 14.92
Head Coach Luka Slabe sits at a 45-35 career record, with 27 wins over ACC opponents
Saturday will be the first meeting between the Miners and the Pack.

"All three of those teams are going to test us in different ways," Wallis said. "This week we've been grinding and making sure we do a better job at dealing with the stress when people pressure us from the service line. If we can get that solved over these next few weeks, I feel good about moving into conference play. We're licking our wounds from the Arizona State match, but we'll get back to work and go back to doing what we want to do and that's serve it nasty, slow people down at the net as a big blocking team, and really bring some thunder offensively this weekend."

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