EL PASO - On the schedule for the Miners this week is a trip south to Houston, Texas, for the teams first set of Conference USA road games. After a pair of wins over SMU and Tulsa this past weekend, the Miners find themselves tied for third in league standings with a 2-1 C-USA record, 9-7 overall.
UTEP did everything but dwell following a 3-1 loss to the NM State Aggies on Tuesday night rebounding for a clean sweep of the visiting Mustangs to fully kick in the 2009 conference schedule. Senior Catherine Chavez posted her second consecutive double-double blasting 11 kills and 13 digs as the Miners defeated SMU with scores of 25-22, 25-23 and 25-16. Amy Sanders downed a match-high 12 kills while also tallying 13 digs for the night. Libero Jennifer Nolasco was two digs short of matching her career high notching a match-best 22 digs.
With a conference win in their pockets, the Miners returned to Memorial Gym for a Sunday afternoon meeting with Tulsa. Chavez recorded her third-straight double-double leading the Miners with 19 kills and 13 digs. The outside hitter got help from fellow seniors Irma Blanco (12 kills), Aidan Mooney (14 kills) and Sanders (13 digs). Nolasco obliterated her previous best for a career-high 32 digs. After taking the first set 25-23, UTEP came back from a 2-1 deficit to take the match with wins of 25-21 in the fourth and 15-13 in the final set.
Scouting the competition
-The Miners will have their hands full in the first of two matches in the Bayou City. Rice, 10-3 and 2-0 in conference play, received nine votes in this weeks Bison/AVCA Top 25 poll. Nationally the Owls rank seventh in assists per set (13.53), ninth in digs per set (17.76), 12th in kills per set (14.41) and their .242 hitting percentage is 55 amongst all Division I schools. In league rankings, the Owls rank first in assists, kills, digs and hitting percentage, while allowing opponents to the lowest hitting percentage of all C-USA teams.
Rice is led by middle blocker Natalie Bogan, libero Tracey Lam and setter Meredith Schamun. Bogan. Lam, a junior, is averaging a league-best 5.37 digs per set, the 12th best average amongst the nations defensive specialists. Schamum, also a junior, ranks 13th in the assists category posting 11.55 assists per set also a C-USA best. Bogan, a senior, goes into Fridays match with a .381 clip that ranks 33rd in the NCAA and third in the league while posting up for 52 total blocks this season.
The last time the teams met was at the 2008 C-USA Championships in Memphis. UTEP bowed out of the conference tournament with a 3-0 loss to the Owls. The Miners were at the losing end of the spectrum against Rice in 2008 falling at home, 3-0, and on the road 3-1.
-Houston will host the Miners on Saturday after a Friday night match-up against Tulane. The Cougars bring their 4-13 and 1-1 C-USA record into this weekends competition after last weeks split on the road taking a 3-1 loss at UAB and a 3-1 win at Memphis.
Kinsey Cave leads all hitters with 230 kills and contributing 90 digs and 18 total blocks. Junior libero Amanda Carson tallies 237 digs this season with help from four other Houston players posting triple-digit digs. Freshman Tara Roenicke is the power behind the Cougar offense dishing out 580 assists through 17 matches for a 9.35 average per set.
The teams split the 2008 series with each winning at home. UTEP upended the Cougars, 3-0, on Sept. 26 at Memorial Gym and Houston returned the favor with a 3-1 win in the Bayou City.
A tale of two cities
Seven miles separates two very different worlds on the campuses of Rice and Houston. With the absence of a preseason poll, the Owls are a favorite to win the C-USA regular season title, while Houston might find itself in a rebuilding year. The Owls are better than their opponents in just about every statistical category, while Houstons opponents stats look better in all but two categories.
For the first time
The Miners did a lot more than improve to 2-1 with Sundays win over Tulsa. For starters, UTEP
won two-consecutive conference matches for the first time since Oct. 2007 (UCF, Southern Miss).
won a regular season five-set match for the first time since Sept. 16, 2006. UTEPs last two wins in five were at C-USA championships (2006, 2008).
registered the best start after three league matches since joining C-USA in 2005.
had three players post five career highs.
...bettered last years win total.
broke a four-year drought in the leagues weekly player awards.
The good stuff
Lets break those career-highs down: Irma Blancos 12 kills and eight blocks against Tulsa were both career highs. Fellow senior Aidan Mooney matched her career-best with 14 kills and 19.5 scored points. Jennifer Nolascos 32 digs eclipsed her previous best of 24 recorded against Tulane on Sept. 17. Additionally, setter Patty Jarmoc matched her previous-high eight kills against the Hurricane.
Ending the drought
For her performance through the week, Nolasco was named the C-USA Defensive Player of the Week ending UTEPs four-year absence in the weekly honor. Kari Stacy was the last Miner player tabbed to the weekly award on Sept. 19, 2005. Stacy picked up the award three times that season.
One step up
Setter Patty Jarmoc climbed into the top five in UTEPs all-time career assists list during opening weekend of the 2009 season. With 2,748 career assists to date, the junior needs 95 more to tie Katie Smiths 2,843 career assists for a fourth-place ranking.
Lets compare
The Miners 2.39 blocks per set are tops amongst C-USA schools and 48th nationally. UTEP is top five in the league in three other categories ranking fourth in hitting percentage (.224) and service aces (1.49/s) and fifth in opponent hitting percentage (.176). Defensively, UTEP is best in giving up the lowest average in blocks (1.70/s) and digs (12.72/s).
Individually
Chavez has posted 19 service aces this season, for an average of .36 per set, to rank third amongst all C-USA players. Mooneys 1.05 blocks per set (58 total) and Sanders 4.06 points per set are both fifth in the conference.
In conference matches only
UTEP is first in opponent hitting percentage with a league-low of .162 and second in blocks averaging 3.19 per set. Incidentally, Mooney ranks second in blocks (1.77/s), Nolasco is third in digs (5.77/s). The Miners are also third allowing just 1.92 blocks per set early in league play.
On the clock
Sanders 14 kills in the Miners win against Coppin State matched and surpassed Kari Stacys 1,218 career kills to rank second in the UTEP recordbooks. The senior entered this season with 1,086 career kills and surpassed third-ranked Cynthia Ruelas-Macias earlier this season. The currently has 1,286 and will need 226 more blasts this season to dethrone UTEPs all-time leader Jennifer Abbruzzese (1,511).
Look who joins the party!
Senior Catherine Chavez began her senior campaign with 806 career kills. With 957 to date, Chavez entered the top-10 career leaders and is currently ranked eighth all-time. The Eastwood alum needs 43 to crack the 1,000-kill club (and in doing so will be the shortest player in school to join the elite company), 52 to tie for seventh, 70 to tie sixth and 90 to enter the top-five.
So far, Chavez is averaging 2.85 kills per set this season (3.46 in league games) and with at least 13 conference matches remaining she is well on her way to etching her name in the top five. She needs to average 2.31 per set to reach the feat, that is seven kills a match - very doable as the outside hitter has posted double-digit kills in seven of 15 matches played this season.
Wait...theres more
Chavez has registered 91 service aces in her career, 19 this season. Fifteen more will also put her in the top-five all-time leaders in the category.
UTEP did everything but dwell following a 3-1 loss to the NM State Aggies on Tuesday night rebounding for a clean sweep of the visiting Mustangs to fully kick in the 2009 conference schedule. Senior Catherine Chavez posted her second consecutive double-double blasting 11 kills and 13 digs as the Miners defeated SMU with scores of 25-22, 25-23 and 25-16. Amy Sanders downed a match-high 12 kills while also tallying 13 digs for the night. Libero Jennifer Nolasco was two digs short of matching her career high notching a match-best 22 digs.
With a conference win in their pockets, the Miners returned to Memorial Gym for a Sunday afternoon meeting with Tulsa. Chavez recorded her third-straight double-double leading the Miners with 19 kills and 13 digs. The outside hitter got help from fellow seniors Irma Blanco (12 kills), Aidan Mooney (14 kills) and Sanders (13 digs). Nolasco obliterated her previous best for a career-high 32 digs. After taking the first set 25-23, UTEP came back from a 2-1 deficit to take the match with wins of 25-21 in the fourth and 15-13 in the final set.
Scouting the competition
-The Miners will have their hands full in the first of two matches in the Bayou City. Rice, 10-3 and 2-0 in conference play, received nine votes in this weeks Bison/AVCA Top 25 poll. Nationally the Owls rank seventh in assists per set (13.53), ninth in digs per set (17.76), 12th in kills per set (14.41) and their .242 hitting percentage is 55 amongst all Division I schools. In league rankings, the Owls rank first in assists, kills, digs and hitting percentage, while allowing opponents to the lowest hitting percentage of all C-USA teams.
Rice is led by middle blocker Natalie Bogan, libero Tracey Lam and setter Meredith Schamun. Bogan. Lam, a junior, is averaging a league-best 5.37 digs per set, the 12th best average amongst the nations defensive specialists. Schamum, also a junior, ranks 13th in the assists category posting 11.55 assists per set also a C-USA best. Bogan, a senior, goes into Fridays match with a .381 clip that ranks 33rd in the NCAA and third in the league while posting up for 52 total blocks this season.
The last time the teams met was at the 2008 C-USA Championships in Memphis. UTEP bowed out of the conference tournament with a 3-0 loss to the Owls. The Miners were at the losing end of the spectrum against Rice in 2008 falling at home, 3-0, and on the road 3-1.
-Houston will host the Miners on Saturday after a Friday night match-up against Tulane. The Cougars bring their 4-13 and 1-1 C-USA record into this weekends competition after last weeks split on the road taking a 3-1 loss at UAB and a 3-1 win at Memphis.
Kinsey Cave leads all hitters with 230 kills and contributing 90 digs and 18 total blocks. Junior libero Amanda Carson tallies 237 digs this season with help from four other Houston players posting triple-digit digs. Freshman Tara Roenicke is the power behind the Cougar offense dishing out 580 assists through 17 matches for a 9.35 average per set.
The teams split the 2008 series with each winning at home. UTEP upended the Cougars, 3-0, on Sept. 26 at Memorial Gym and Houston returned the favor with a 3-1 win in the Bayou City.
A tale of two cities
Seven miles separates two very different worlds on the campuses of Rice and Houston. With the absence of a preseason poll, the Owls are a favorite to win the C-USA regular season title, while Houston might find itself in a rebuilding year. The Owls are better than their opponents in just about every statistical category, while Houstons opponents stats look better in all but two categories.
For the first time
The Miners did a lot more than improve to 2-1 with Sundays win over Tulsa. For starters, UTEP
won two-consecutive conference matches for the first time since Oct. 2007 (UCF, Southern Miss).
won a regular season five-set match for the first time since Sept. 16, 2006. UTEPs last two wins in five were at C-USA championships (2006, 2008).
registered the best start after three league matches since joining C-USA in 2005.
had three players post five career highs.
...bettered last years win total.
broke a four-year drought in the leagues weekly player awards.
The good stuff
Lets break those career-highs down: Irma Blancos 12 kills and eight blocks against Tulsa were both career highs. Fellow senior Aidan Mooney matched her career-best with 14 kills and 19.5 scored points. Jennifer Nolascos 32 digs eclipsed her previous best of 24 recorded against Tulane on Sept. 17. Additionally, setter Patty Jarmoc matched her previous-high eight kills against the Hurricane.
Ending the drought
For her performance through the week, Nolasco was named the C-USA Defensive Player of the Week ending UTEPs four-year absence in the weekly honor. Kari Stacy was the last Miner player tabbed to the weekly award on Sept. 19, 2005. Stacy picked up the award three times that season.
One step up
Setter Patty Jarmoc climbed into the top five in UTEPs all-time career assists list during opening weekend of the 2009 season. With 2,748 career assists to date, the junior needs 95 more to tie Katie Smiths 2,843 career assists for a fourth-place ranking.
Lets compare
The Miners 2.39 blocks per set are tops amongst C-USA schools and 48th nationally. UTEP is top five in the league in three other categories ranking fourth in hitting percentage (.224) and service aces (1.49/s) and fifth in opponent hitting percentage (.176). Defensively, UTEP is best in giving up the lowest average in blocks (1.70/s) and digs (12.72/s).
Individually
Chavez has posted 19 service aces this season, for an average of .36 per set, to rank third amongst all C-USA players. Mooneys 1.05 blocks per set (58 total) and Sanders 4.06 points per set are both fifth in the conference.
In conference matches only
UTEP is first in opponent hitting percentage with a league-low of .162 and second in blocks averaging 3.19 per set. Incidentally, Mooney ranks second in blocks (1.77/s), Nolasco is third in digs (5.77/s). The Miners are also third allowing just 1.92 blocks per set early in league play.
On the clock
Sanders 14 kills in the Miners win against Coppin State matched and surpassed Kari Stacys 1,218 career kills to rank second in the UTEP recordbooks. The senior entered this season with 1,086 career kills and surpassed third-ranked Cynthia Ruelas-Macias earlier this season. The currently has 1,286 and will need 226 more blasts this season to dethrone UTEPs all-time leader Jennifer Abbruzzese (1,511).
Look who joins the party!
Senior Catherine Chavez began her senior campaign with 806 career kills. With 957 to date, Chavez entered the top-10 career leaders and is currently ranked eighth all-time. The Eastwood alum needs 43 to crack the 1,000-kill club (and in doing so will be the shortest player in school to join the elite company), 52 to tie for seventh, 70 to tie sixth and 90 to enter the top-five.
So far, Chavez is averaging 2.85 kills per set this season (3.46 in league games) and with at least 13 conference matches remaining she is well on her way to etching her name in the top five. She needs to average 2.31 per set to reach the feat, that is seven kills a match - very doable as the outside hitter has posted double-digit kills in seven of 15 matches played this season.
Wait...theres more
Chavez has registered 91 service aces in her career, 19 this season. Fifteen more will also put her in the top-five all-time leaders in the category.
