FRISCO, Texas – Three individuals from UTEP volleyball were selected to Conference USA’s postseason award teams following the program’s historic regular season. This is the first time since 2012 that three Miners were honored in the same year.
Senior outside hitter Cheyenne Jones was tabbed to the All-Conference First Team, making her the first Miner to receive the award since Xitlali Herrera in 2013. This is Jones’s second postseason team selection following her All-Conference Second Team performance her junior year.
Jones led the Miners and ranked in Conference USA’s top-10 all season in hitting percentage, currently sitting at sixth at a .362 clip. She recorded double-digit kills as well as hit for a .350 hitting percentage or better on eight separate occasions. Jones connected for a season-high 22 kills versus North Texas on February 28. Jones also led the Miners in kills in seven of their 15 matches this season.
Jones improved by more than 100 percentage points from her .242 hitting percentage last season and saw her kills per set jump from 2.62 to 3.19 this season.
Junior outside hitter Serena Patterson was selected to the All-Conference Second Team for the first postseason award of her career. Patterson led the Miners with 177.5 points and 155 kills for the second consecutive season while hitting for a .217 hitting percentage. She also recorded double-digit kills in eight matches for UTEP including a career-high 19-kill performances versus UTSA on February 22. Patterson led the Miners in kills in three matches this season.
Freshman outside hitter Ava Palm rounded out the awards, earning All-Conference Freshman Team plaudits. Palm is the first UTEP freshman to be selected to the All-Freshman team since outside hitter Macey Austin in 2016.
Palm led Conference USA and ranks 18th in the country in service aces per set with 0.53. Palm is fourth in the conference in total service aces with 27. She is on pace to set the program record in service aces per set. Palm dealt a season-high six aces versus UTSA on February 23. She helped lead the Miners to a team average 1.91 service aces per set – their best since the 2005 season when they averaged 2.05.
Palm recorded three doubles this season (kills and digs) with all of them coming in the final four matches of the regular season. She notched five double-digit kill performances with a career-high 13 kills versus Stephen F. Austin on Oct. 3. Defensively, Palm had five double-digit dig performances including a career-high 14 versus UTSA on Feb. 22.
For complete coverage of UTEP Women’s Volleyball, be sure to follow the Miners on social media at @utepvb (Instagram) and @UTEP_VB (Twitter) or visit the official home of UTEP Athletics at UTEPMiners.com.
Photo via UTEP Athletics