November 16, 2011
 
GRAND FORKS, N. D.- The University of Texas-Pan American women's volleyball team head to Grand Forks, North Dakota to face off against Houston Baptist in the first round of the Great West Conference Tournament Thursday night at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
 
The Broncs earned the sixth seed in the tournament are coming off a 3-0 (15-25, 9-25, 13-25) loss to the Huskies on Saturday Nov. 12 to close out the regular season.  The Huskies grabbed control in each set as they completed the sweep of the Broncs at Sharp Gym. 
 
Diara Reynolds led the way for the Broncs against the Huskies as she recorded nine kills and chipped in six digs.  Juri Franzen paced the defense with 10 digs and Ijanae Holman added six digs with two kills.
 
UTPA enters the GWC Tournament with a 8-23 overall record and a 1-9 GWC record.  On the season, Holman leads the offense with 2.05 kills per set and Reynolds is right behind her with 1.87 kills per set.  Juri Franzen averages 4.25 digs per set to lead the defense and also has a team-high 33 service aces.  Senior Sarah Davis has 73 blocks to lead the team and Shauna Miller paces the offense with 7.18 assists per set.
 
The Huskies earned the third seed in the tournament with a 21-8 overall record and a 7-3 Great West Conference record.  Heather Leaverton leads the offense with 2.58 kills per set and Isis Gardner chips in 2.21 kills per set.  Courtney Whittleman paces the defense with 5.41 digs per set.
 
The Broncs dropped both matches against the Huskies this season.  Both matches were sweeps.  HBU leads the all-time series 6-5.
 
The match Thursday night is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.  You can follow all the GWC Tournament action including the Broncs' match at http://www.fightingsioux.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=205327993.