Sept. 2, 2010

UTEP Weekly Release 2 

EL PASO, Texas - The UTEP volleyball heads to Las Cruces, N.M. to battle I-10 rival NM State on Friday at 7 p.m. in the Pan American Center. The contest is the first of two meetings in less than a week, as the two teams will duke it out for the final time on Tues., Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. in Memorial Gym.

FOR STARTERS

The Miners and I-10 rival NM State will square off in the first of two meetings in 2010 on Friday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. in Las Cruces. The pair will duke it out for the final round of the "Battle of I-10" in El Paso on Tues., Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. in Memorial Gym. Admission is free if fans wear orange or $7 for adults and $4 for children.

UTEP is coming off a successful 4-1 weekend at the Hilton RTP/NCCU Tournament. The Miners' only loss came at the hands of Elon, losing 3-1. NM State wrapped up its opening weekend 2-1 at the Florida State Tournament. The Aggies fell 3-1 to tournament host, Florida State.

MINERS ON THE AIRWAVES

The match will be broadcast live online at www.ESPN3.com (formerly ESPN360). The game will also have live stats cast at www.nmstatesports.com. Both links are available on the UTEP volleyball schedule page at www.utepathletics.com. A tape delayed broadcast of the match will also be aired on FSN-Arizona at 11:30 p.m. MDT.

LOOKING AHEAD

After two head-to-head I-10 battles with I-10 rival NM State, the Miners will head to San Antonio, Texas to take part in the UTSA Classic. UTEP will open the invite with Davidson and tournament host UTSA on Friday and conclude with a single match on Saturday versus UT-Pan American.

SCOUTING NM STATE

SERIES RECORD: NM State leads the series 53-21-1. The Aggies have won 11 consecutive matches since the Miners upset NM State, 3-1, in Las Cruces on Sept. 28, 2004.

AGGIE NOTABLES: The Aggies are 3-1 heading into Friday's match-up. They swept CSU Bakersfield in their home opener on Wednesday. The Aggies had a 2-1 opening weekend at the Florida State Tournament. NM State defeated Florida International and Florida A&M but fell to host Florida State 3-1. Senior OH Kayleigh Giddens leads the charge, posting a team-high 62 kills while averaging 4.43 per set. Kelsey Brennan, a junior middle, helps lift the Aggie frontcourt. Brennan is hitting a .470 clip with 38 kills on the season. Jenna Devries is the Aggie helper, dishing out 151 assists in three matches so far. Four players have posted 20-plus digs, including Elin Miks who has a team-best 46.

THE LAST TIME UTEP fell 3-1 to the Aggies on Sept. 22, 2009 in Memorial Gym. Despite the loss, the Miners kept it close, winning the second set, 25-23 but followed with 23-25 a third-frame loss. The match witnessed 36 ties and 17 lead changes in the rivalry duel. Former Miner Catherine Chavez recorded a double-double in the outing, registering 16 kills and 13 digs. The Aggies held the Miners to just .174 hitting while posting a .316 clip for the match. In the end the Miners succumbed to their I-10 foes, losing 3-1.

"SET" THE RECORD

Senior setter Patty Jarmoc combined for 161 assists in UTEP's five matches over the weekend to bring her career total to 3,348 placing her 20th among all-time Conference USA's career leaders. Jarmoc needs just 39 helpers to rank third in UTEP's career annals, 62 to take over second and 863 to become UTEP's all-time assists career leader.

SHE'S AN ACE OF A PLAYER!

Patty Jarmoc served up four aces over the weekend to rank tied for fifth in UTEP's career charts. Jarmoc ties Tina Vidouria (1992-95) with 114 career aces. Here is a look at how far she has to go at breaking the record.

Career Total Service Aces

148  •  Chris Brandl  •  88, 89, 90, 91

137  •  Catherine Porter  •  96, 97, 98, 99

133  •   Jennifer Abbruzzese  •  00, 01, 02, 03

122  •  Amy Sanders  •  06, 07, 08, 09

114  •  Patty Jarmoc  •  07, 08, 09, 10

114  •  Tina Vidouria  •  92, 93, 94, 95

THEY ARE ALL THAT

Melissa Toth and Patty Jarmoc received all-tournament honors at the Hilton RTP/NCCU Tournament over the weekend. Toth led the Miners at the net, slamming 62 kills to average 4.43 per set. She could not have done it without Jarmoc, who tallied 161 assists while chipping in four aces and 13 blocks.

MINERS MAKE IT CLOSE...TOO CLOSE

UTEP had some pretty close calls over the weekend with six sets going past the 25-point win plateau. The Miners won 4-of-6 of the sets, including a 26-24 victory to win the match against Gardner-Webb. The Miners forced Elon to three sets over 25 (13-25, 26-24, 24-26, 24-26) with the Miners losing two sets to the Phoenix for UTEP's only loss of the season. The Miners took it to 27 points in the second set against Charleston Southern for the 3-0 sweep.

BREAK ON THROUGH

The Miners have never been ones for four-set matches. In fact, they had lost 11-consecutive four-game matches dating to Oct. 19, 2008, when they defeated East Carolina in Memorial Gym. UTEP broke through the plateau in its 3-1 defeat of Gardner-Webb on Saturday. The Miners lost the second set to GW, 19-25. Coincidentally, the Miners did their best in the second set, winning 55 percent of the time.

SWEEPING THE COURTS

The Miners pulled out the brooms in their 2010 debut, sweeping Delaware State, 3-0, at the Hilton RTP/NCCU Tournament held in Durham, NC. The match marked the third time since head coach Ken Murphy took over the reigns of the program that the Miners have swept their season opener and just the10^th time in program history. Murphy becomes just the first coach since Norm Brandl (1976-1998) and second overall at the school to open the season with a 3-0 sweep over an opponent more than once in a career.

OFF TO A GOOD START

UTEP wrapped up a successful 4-1 season opener at the Hilton RTP/NCCU Tournament over the weekend. The Miners have opened the season 4-1 or better just 14 times over their 36-year history. The Miners have accomplished the feat three times under the direction of head coach Ken Murphy - 2007, 2009, 2010 - second only to Norm Brandl who started 4-1 or better 10 times in his 22-year career.

GIRL YOU KNOW IT'S TRUE

Melissa Toth has proven she can hang with the big girls. It is true. The redshirt freshman averaged a team-high 4.43 kills per set over the weekend. In the process, she recorded double-digit kill performances in four matches and had two double-doubles in her debut versus Delaware State and Gardner-Webb in the Orange and Blue. She registered 38 digs - second on the team - to average 2.71 digs per set and served up seven aces, dished out seven assists and put up four blocks over the weekend.

CASON DOESN'T SHOW FRESHMAN

True freshman Jacqueline Cason has been a dominant force on the front court. The youngest starter on the squad, she saw action in all five contests in UTEP's season opener. She ranks third on the team in kills with 39 for 2010 and ranks fourth in blocks with 11. Cason posted her first double-digit kill performance against Elon with 10 and hit a stellar .889 clip versus at NC Central. Look for Cason to have more breakout performances.

LOGAN, NOT THE WOLVERINE

Bridget Logan has stormed onto the scene in 2010 after playing in just 16 sets (nine matches) as a redshirt freshman in 2009. The sophomore has already surpassed her 2009 season cumulatives after just five matches in 2010. Logan has tallied 45 kills in 2010 including a career-high 17 against Gardner-Webb, eclipsing her season total of 16 in all of 2009. Hitting just .183 a year ago, Logan has a .366 clip in 2010 and has registered eight total blocks (1S/7A) compared with just three in her freshman campaign.

YOU CAN'T GET THROUGH HERE

The UTEP front court, which ranked 28th nationally and second in the league in blocks (2.6 per set) in 2009, continues to dominate the net. The 2.38 blocks per set compared with 1.88 of their opponents. The Orange and Blue have combined for seven solo blocks and 67 block assists. Kyla Muela leads UTEP's front court defense with 19 (1.12 b/s) including a team-best two solos. Jeane Horton (17), Patty Jarmoc (13), Jacqueline Cason (11) have all produced double-digit blocks in 2010.

CONFERENCE SHAKES IT UP

A new Conference USA volleyball format for schedule begins in 2010. The league eliminated its conference championship. The league's teams will now play 20 conference matches instead of 16. The regular-season champion will earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.