UTEP volleyball set to compete at Cornell Invitational
EL PASO, Texas – The UTEP volleyball team will travel to Ithica, N.Y. this weekend to participate at the Cornell Invitational.
The Miners open with Niagara on Friday at 10 a.m. then return to the court at 5:00 p.m. for a match-up against tournament host Cornell. On Saturday, UTEP takes on American at 10 a.m. and concludes the tournament against Delaware State at 3:00 p.m.
UTEP is coming off a successful 4-0 weekend at the El Paso Sports Commission Volleyball Invitational to claim the tournament title. Three Miners received all-tournament first team honors.
LOOKING AHEAD After facing four teams at the Cornell Invitational, the Miners will head to Beaumont, Texas to take part in the Lamar Tournament. UTEP will open the invite with Baylor on Friday, Sept. 9. The Miners will face team host Lamar on Saturday and conclude with Mississippi State.
SCOUTING NIAGARA Series Record: First Meeting.
Scouting Report: The two-time defending Metro Atlantic Athletic champions are 1-2 heading into Friday’s match-up. The Purple Eagles dropped their season opener 2-3 against Oakland at the Blue-Gold Invitational. The Niagara volleyball team then split a pair of matches on Saturday. The Purple Eagles fell to Toledo in straight sets (25-18, 25-20, 25-18), but rebounded with a straight-set victory over Wright State. Hannah Hedrick tallied a total of 50 kills and 39 digs to be named to the 2011 Blue-Gold Invitational All-Tournament Team. Hedrick was named Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week for her outing against Oakland and Wright State. Helping Hedrick in the front court is setter Michelle James with 134 assist, 33 digs and 11 kills.
SCOUTING CORNELL UNIVERSITY Series Record: UTEP leads the series 1-0.
Scouting Report: The Big Red will be returning 10 letterwinners including five starters. The team is welcoming a new face on the Cornell sideline, as Patrick Lynch joins coach Sarah Bernson’s staff as an assistant coach. Leading the team offensively is senior Kelly Hansen with 241 kills and 70 blocks. Defensively, Risa Ka’awa has tallied a total of 333 digs and Jordan Reeder has compiled 821 assist.
The Last Time: The only meeting came on Sept. 26, 1995 where UTEP secured a 3-0 victory over Cornell at the Jayhawk Classic in Lawrence, Kan.
SCOUTING AMERICAN Series Record: First Meeting.
Scouting Report: The defending Patriot League Champions will be facing the Miners for the fist time at the Cornell Invitational. The volleyball team has been chosen to finish first in the 2011 Patriot League Preseason Poll. The Eagles are 1-1 heading into Friday’s match-up. They fell short against George Washington at the D.C. Volleyball Challenge. American will be returning five Eagles from last year’s squad, including seniors Rebecca Heath and Alexandra Hammer. Heath will be returning from two injury-plagued seasons after being named the Patriot League Rookie of the Year in 2008. Sophomore Juliana Crum leads the charge, posting double-doubles with 27 kills and 25 digs. Morgan Hendrix and Sara Rishell both delivered team-highs with 29 kills and 28 kills in two matches so far.
SCOUTING DELAWARE STATE Series Record: UTEP leads the Hornets 1-0.
Scouting Report: Due to severe weather conditions that hit the east coast the Hornets were unable to kick-off the 2011 on August 26. The volleyball team was originally scheduled to play Stetson, Bucknell and William and Mary in the Tribe Invitational in Williamsburg, Va. Delaware State is returning seven letterwinners (four starters) from 2010, including six upperclassmen. Senior libero Sonja Banicevic, a 2011 All-MEAC preseason first team pick and 2010 All-MEAC first team selection, lead the Hornets this coming season. As a junior in 2010, Banicevic led the MEAC and broke the DSU single-season digs record with 516 (4.61/set).
The Last Time: The UTEP volleyball team opened its 2010 campaign against Delaware State on August 27. The Miners (1-0) showed their strength at the net, slamming 52 kills to hit .450 for the match. UTEP held DSU to just 32 Ks and forced 18 errors to push a .135 hitting percentage from the Hornets. Figueroa recorded 16 digs and Cason hit a team-best .615 (8-0-13) in the sweep.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK Senior Stephanie Figueroa was named the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week on Monday marking her third career defensive player of the week honor (9/27/10, 10/11/10 and 8/29/11). Figueroa was selected as the Most Valuable Player of the El Paso Sports Commission Volleyball Invitational leading the Miners to claim the first-place title as they won four consecutive matches to begin the 2011 campaign. The Sabana Seca, Puerto Rico native posted a tournament-high 71 digs and averaged 5.46 digs per set. She tallied a team-best 19 digs in three of the four victories.
MOVE TO MIDDLE Senior M.T. Joyce has made a move after three years from outside hitter for the Miners. The Tacoma, Wash. native, is making the move to middle blocker. In the first tournament of the 2011 season, Joyce turned heads posting 33 kills, 27 digs and 20 blocks. At that rate, the senior will likely break her season record of 70 kills and 73 digs in the coming weeks.
MINERS CLIMB POLL The Miners were one of six teams in C-USA to open the 2011 campaign with flawless records. The Miners, alongside Memphis stand atop the leaderboards with 4-0 records. Houston, UAB and Southern Miss are third and East Carolina closes out the top-six after going 1-0 to open the slate. UTEP ranks second in the league in assists with an average of 13.92 per set. The Miners are second in kills and hitting percentage with 193 and .279 respectively. Stephanie Figueroa ranks first in the league in service aces with 13 and is forth on the leaderboards in digs 71 (5.46/set).
BACK ON TOP Conference USA All-Freshman selection Jeane Horton picked up where she left off a season ago. Last season Horton ranked fifth in blocks per set averaging 1.04 and was the only freshman in the league to rank among the conference leaders. This weekend the sophomore was named to the El Paso Sports Commission Invitational All-Tournament team. She helped the Miners secure a 4-0 record as they opened the season with 39 kills, eight digs and five total blocks. Horton registered a total of three double-digit kills with a match-high of 12.
BLOCKING TO VICTORY Newcomer Xitlali Herrera competed for the first time as a Miner in the El Paso Sports Commission Volleyball Invitational and has already garnered her first all-tournament first team. The middle blocker posted 39 kills, 17 digs and a total of 20 blocks (4s/16a). The sophomore is currently ranked second in the C-USA poll in blocks with an average of 1.54/set. UTEP is ranked fifth in C-USA for blocks with an average of 2.54/set.
LOGAN FOR THE KILL As a sophomore Bridget Logan pounded 185 kills and averaged 2.40 kills per set to rank third on the team. Logan returns to the Miners stronger then ever leading the team in kills with 45 and a .319 percentage. After opening weekend, the junior is ranked sixth in the league and posted a career-high of 18 kills against Portland State. Last season the Kenmore, Wash. native registered a total of six double-digit kill performances. Logan has already tailed two double-digit contest this season.
CLOSE CALL The Miners closed out the El Paso Sports Commission Volleyball Invitational with a nail bitting match against UTA. UTEP defeated the Maverick in three straight sets with a score of 25-23 in all three sets. This is the closest margin of victory in the Ken Murphy era. The Miners secured a victory over the Mavericks to continue their winning streak 4-0.
OFF TO A GOOD START UTEP wrapped up a successful 4-0 season opener at the El Paso Sports Commission Volleyball Invitational. The Miners have opened the season 4-0 just six times over their 36 year history. This marks the second time that the Miners have accomplished a 4-0 start under the direction of head coach Ken Murphy (2009, 2011), second only to Norm Brandl who started 4-0 four times in his 22-year career (1978, 1988, 1994, 1997).
Source: UTEP Athletics
