One-on-one with UTEP’s Ben Wallis; volleyball team prepares for home opener against San Francisco

(Courtesy: UTEP Athletics)

EL PASO, Texas -The UTEP volleyball team (3-0) will kick-off its home opener by co-hosting the Borderland Invitational with NM State welcoming San Francisco and Arizona State to Memorial Gym this Thursday and Saturday.  

UTEP will take on the Dons Thursday (Aug. 31) at 6 p.m. MT in Memorial Gym for its "915 Game" and then travel up I-10 to face off against the Sun Devils Friday (Sep. 1) at 4 p.m. MT at the Pan American Center. UTEP will host a neutral match between USF and ASU Saturday (Sep. 2) at 10 a.m. MT in Memorial Gym. 

"We really need everyone in El Paso to pack Memorial Gym Thursday night," head coach Ben Wallis. "Our goal is to keep building, every year, a real serious home environment crowded with our Memorial Maniacs. We want this place to be loud and intense." 

For the matches in Memorial Gym, tickets start at $8 and can be purchased through the Eisenberg Family Ticket Office by calling (915) 747-UTEP, emailing tickets@utep.edu, visiting www.UTEPMiners.com/Tickets or in person at 201 Glory Road (Brumbelow Building, UTEP campus) Monday thru Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Season tickets are also still on sale. Group tickets are also available for $5 (minimum of 10 tickets).  

Thursday, Aug. 31 
Match 4 vs. San Francisco | El Paso, Texas/Memorial Gym | Stream: ESPN+ | Live Stats | 915 Game 

Friday, Sep. 1 
Match 5 vs. Arizona State | Las Cruces, N.M./Pan American Center | Live Stats

Saturday, Sep. 2 
Arizona State vs. San Francisco | El Paso, Texas/Memorial Gym | Live Stats
^All Times Mountain 

"ASU and USF can both cause some problems for us," Wallis said. "They are two big, long, physical teams who are going to challenge us and that's why we brought them here to play. Our first task is to play against a competitive San Francisco team. They are going to be tough to be if we let them do what they want. Our plan is to make them uncomfortable and pressure them from the service line and steal a win from them. Task number two is to play one of the most dangerous teams in the country, ASU, and we are going to have our hands full with them."