UTEP volleyball coach Ben Wallis is almost done with the sixth offseason of his UTEP tenure and in all the best ways, he's never seen one like this.
In one respect, few coaches these days do: In this transfer portal era, UTEP is integrating six newcomers into its 19-player roster and all six are freshmen. He's also seen more leadership and maturity; he's seen his team get more things done in summer conditioning and open gyms than any team he's had, and given the success the Miners are building on, that's saying quite a bit.
UTEP returns several key pieces from the team that sold out its last three games last year on its run to the NIVC finals. Expectations have never been higher, and the Conference USA tournament is coming to UTEP's fortress at Memorial Gym.
Wallis has another two weeks before official practices begin and more than a month before the Aug. 24 exhibition opener against Grand Canyon, and these are going to be long weeks for a man quickly becoming the most successful UTEP volleyball coach ever.
"It's a hard thing for volleyball coaches in the summertime," Wallis said. "We have all of our players on campus, but it's voluntary activities for them. They get together with their strength coaches. They can work with them. And they do open gyms, they get to know their teammates.
"They'll be involved with camps but we can't really instruct them. It's like seeing a Christmas present and watching it sit there because we can't open it yet. We can't really tear off the package and get going with our team. So it's a little frustrating and exciting at the same time."
The team gathered Friday for UTEP's summer volleyball camp, which serves as a major recruiting tool. It wasn't the first time they've been together since their season ended in December.
"The amount of time they get to spend together and getting their bodies back in the right kind of shape was germane," Wallis said. "And they do things like spending time with each other at the pool and going out to dinner.
"Our team right now is doing a lot of stuff right. They are meeting with each other in position groups on their own. These are things we've been talking about for three or four years that they have taken and run with. It's impactful.
"That's a big part of the culture of our program now, five or six years into this. It's exciting to see them take hold of it and do it on their own."
That's especially important for the freshmen, who should start well ahead of previous classes.
"We've set up training regimens for them so they could get used to El Paso and get used to what it's like to be here as freshmen," Wallis said. "We've never done that before. It's like a little freshmen orientation for them. The six of them are going to be much better prepared when August gets here, and we start training. They'll know a lot more about what they are looking at than any other freshmen class we've ever had."
Outside hitter Lauren Perry, who comes to UTEP from Denton High, is taking advantage and realizes she needs this.
"It's difficult; I thought I came in prepared, I thought I came in ready and I am ready, but it's definitely been harder than I expected," Perry said. "We're doing a lot at one time. We're trying to get prepared for the season without the season having actually started yet.
"Time management (is hardest). Everybody says that but you're not expecting it. There's a lot of volleyball and there's summer classes while also learning how to take care of yourself, alone with your roommate."
Having said that, she's reminded every day of why she chose to come to El Paso.
"The culture here is amazing. I love the city," Perry said. "I went out to see (assistant) Nick (Petrovic) on my visit and it was beautiful. The program itself, the coaches are amazing. I went to a lot of programs where I didn't really click with the coaches but here, every coach is awesome. The team, the girls, were so inviting when I came onto campus.
"All the time I'm spending with the team, we're hyping up the season. We're so excited for the season to start and to get the ball rolling."
One of the players tasked with getting the freshmen orientated is junior middle blocker Kaya Weaver, a star of last season's team.
"I love them, I love all the freshmen," she said. "I've been in contact with them since they committed. It's going to take a minute to adjust; everything is harder in college, but they'll be good."
Weaver is excited to see the calendar hit July and even more excited about what's ahead.
"I love coming back here, I love seeing the parents here for camps, I love seeing people in here instead of it being empty like it was in the spring for those few months," Weaver said of Memorial Gym. "I'm excited that we're hosting conference, that we have 18 home games this season.
"It's all very exciting."
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
UTEP 2024 volleyball schedule
Aug 24 (Sat) Grand Canyon (exhibition)at Utah ClassicAug 30 (Fri) at UtahAug 31 (Sat) vs. Green Bay Salt Lake City, UTSep 1 (Sun) vs. Utah State Salt Lake City, UTBorderland InvitationalSep 5 (Thu)Air Force vs. Stephen F. AustinSep 5 (Thu) vs. Southeastern LouisianaSep 6 (Fri) Southeastern Louisiana vs. Stephen F. AustinSep 6 (Fri) vs. Home Air ForceSep 7 (Sat) Southeastern Louisiana vs. Air ForceSep 7 (Sat) vs. Stephen F. AustinSouth Dakota Classic (Varmillion, S.D.)Sep 13 (Fri) vs. Iowa StateDSep 14 (Sat) vs. Montana StateSep 15 (Sun) vs. South DakotaUTEP Southwest ShowdownSep 20 (Fri) Texas State vs. Texas A&M-CCSep 20 (Fri) vs. UTRGVSep 21 (Sat) Texas State vs. UTRGVSep 21 (Sat) vs. A&M-Corpus ChristiSep 22 (Sun) vs. Texas State*Sep 27 (Fri) at FIU*Sep 28 (Sat) at FIU*Oct 4 (Fri) vs. Sam Houston*Oct 5 (Sat) vs. Sam Houston*Oct 8 (Tue) vs. New Mexico State*Oct 9 (Wed) vs. New Mexico State*Oct 12 (Sat) at Louisiana Tech*Oct 13 (Sun) at Louisiana Tech Ruston*Oct 18 (Fri) at Jacksonville State*Oct 19 (Sat) at Jacksonville State*Oct 25 (Fri) vs. Western Kentucky*Oct 26 (Sat) vs. Western Kentucky*Oct 31 (Thu) vs. Middle Tennessee*Nov 1 (Fri) vs. Middle Tennessee*Nov 8 (Fri) at Liberty*Nov 9 (Sat) at Liberty*Nov 15 (Fri) vs. Kennesaw State*Nov 16 (Sat) vs. Kennesaw StateConference USA Championships at UTEPNov 22 (Fri)-Nov 24 (Sunday) Conference USA Championships
*CUSA game
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