The UTEP Miners' volleyball team is the city's top sports team. It's a program that is picked to win the conference title in UTEP's new Mountain West Conference. It's in the hunt for its third straight NCAA national tournament bid.
It's star player, Ema Uskokovic, made the 2026 Mountain West Preseason Team.
The obvious feature about the UTEP volleyball roster, however, is how homegrown it is. Of the 18 players on the roster, 15 came to UTEP straight out of high school and have stayed loyal to the school since.
The roster features seven freshmen, three sophomores, five juniors and three seniors, and that latter group includes Ema Uskokovic, who is in her sixth year with the program.
Uskokovic, a Serbian has been in El Paso longer than any other player on the team, is one of two foreign athletes on the roster. Newcomer transfer Lily-Rose Pichon from France is the other.
The only El Pasoan on this year's roster is former America High School star Lexee Salas.
UTEP volleyball starters, top players
No. Player Pos Ht. Yr. Previous
1 Kohler, Kalia S 5-7 Sr. Lone Peak HS (Utah)
Kohler, from Alpine, Utah's Lone Peak High School, has spent the entirety of her four-year career at UTEP. She has 95 assists in four matches this season.
10 Crowe, Hannah MB/RS 6-2 Jr. Summit HS
Crowe, from Dillon, Colorado's Summit High School, has spent the entirety of her three-year career at UTEP. She has 19 kills and is hitting .355 this season.
12 Pichon, Lily-Rose L/DS 5-6 Sr. Norfolk State
Pichon, from Saint-Saturnin, France, transferred to UTEP after a season at Norfolk State, which followed two seasons at Colby Community College (Kan.). The libero has 39 digs this season.
13 Perry, Lauren OH/RS 6-0 Jr. Denton HS
Perry, from Little Elm, Texas who went to Denton High School, has spent the entirety of her three-year career at UTEP. She has 42 kills this season and is hitting .302.
14 Uskokovic, Ema OH 6-0 Gr. Belgrade, Serbia
Uskokovic, who attended Third Belgrade Gymnasium in the Serbian capital, is in her sixth season with UTEP. She missed the missed 2025 and 2023 seasons to a knee injury and was granted a sixth year by the NCAA. A preseason all-Mountain West player, she has 27 kills this season.
15 Braziel, Landry OH/RS 6-0 Jr. Norman, Okla. Community Christian High School
Braziel, who attended Community Christian High School in Norman, Okla., has spent the entirety of her three-year career at UTEP. She has 33 kills this season.
16 Davis, Mackenzi OH 5-8 R-Fr. Melissa (Texas) High School
Davis, from Melissa High School in Melissa, Texas, is in her second year with UTEP. She missed her true freshman season with a knee injury. She has 42 kills and is hitting .316.
19 Oguntimehin, Luvina RS/MB 6-2 Jr. Conroe Oak Ridge High School
Oguntimehin, who went to Oak Ridge High School in the Houston suburb of Conroe, has spent the entirety of her three-yar career at UTEP. She has a team-leading 44 kills and is hitting .322.
UTEP volleyball El Pasoan
23 Salas, Lexee S 5-8 So. Americas HS
Salas, an Americas High School graduate, is in her second year with UTEP.
UTEP volleyball roster
3 Frazier, Sydney MB 6-2 So. Atlanta IMG Academy
4 Bruntmyer, Shea S 5-8 Jr. Samford
5 Pickett, Elizabeth OH 5-10 Fr. Fort Worth Covenant Classical High School
6 Amos, Laila OH 5-11 Fr. Fairburn (Ga.) High School
7 Pardue, Kaylynn MH 6-0 Fr. Greeley (Colo.) Resurrection Christian HS
8 Meador, Ella L/DS 5-5 So. Aledo (Texas) High School
11 Widmer, Bella L/DS 5-6 Fr. Norfolk State
17 Voskuhl, Daisy OH 6-3 Fr. Fulshear (Texas) High School
18 Molina, Caryme S 5-7 Fr. Pasadena (Texas) High School
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: From Serbia to El Paso: Key players, hometowns on UTEP's volleyball roster
