EARNING SCHOLARSHIP AT UTEP WAS A GAME-CHANGER FOR ALIANZA DARLEY

By Jeff Darby, UTEP Athletics Alianza Darley grew up in Las Vegas – but not under the bright lights of Sin City. Her hometown, rather, is Las Vegas, N.M. – population 13,000, about two hours from Albuquerque. “Being from a small town, athletes like myself don’t get the exposure needed to be seen by Division I programs,” she said. Darley was a three-sport standout at Robertson High School. She was a member of a state championship team in basketball, and state champ in the 400 meters in track and field. But after compiling more than 200 kills in each of her three varsity seasons, she decided that she wanted to play volleyball in college. Ben Wallis, set to embark on his first season as UTEP’s head coach, saw a diamond in the rough. “She’s a high level athlete,” Wallis said after Darley signed her national letter of intent. “We’re very excited to get her away from a number of D-I and D-II schools that were recruiting her to play basketball.” Making the choice of volleyball over basketball turned out to be a triple win for Darley, Wallis and the UTEP Miners. As a freshman in 2019, Darley played in 24 matches, earned 10 starting assignments, and finished fifth on the team in kills (132). “My favorite moment was when we played Marshall, and we had a water leak [in Memorial Gym] and had to delay the game,” she said. “That turned into a dance battle with the Marshall team. And in the third set, Paydirt Pete accidentally turned off all the lights in the gym. Memorial is an older gym, so it took forever to turn the lights back on. We ended up beating Marshall in three [sets].” The Miners’ 2020 season won’t officially begin until next spring, but Darley is already turning heads in practice. “There are days right now where Alianza is the best player on the court,” Wallis said. “She’s starting to develop from an athlete that was a basketball player into a physical volleyball player. To go along with her athleticism, she has a fire to compete. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if at the end of our season, she was able to lead us in points (kills/blocks/aces) because of how much she has grown. “If she’s able to grow as much from year two to year three as she grew this past season, we could be talking about a player that is vying for All-Conference USA honors. That means she’s really helping us win.” For Darley, earning a scholarship at UTEP was a life-changing experience. “I have a great support staff with my coaches, and I’ve built lifetime friendships,” she said. “Without volleyball, I wouldn’t really have the motivation to stay in school. My teammates and coaches are always pushing me to do better on and off the court.” She has excelled academically as well as athletically, earning a Conference USA Commissioner’s Academic Medal this spring. The minimum requirement for inclusion is a 3.75 cumulative grade point average. For Darley, success as an athlete and student are intrinsically linked. “If I’m not performing off the court, I can’t perform on the court,” she said. Darley has a personal message of gratitude for UTEP supporters. “Thank you for your continued love and support,” she said. “We can’t begin to express how thankful we are for your generous donations. Without you, athletes like myself wouldn’t be able to receive a quality education.” Learn how you can make your impact by visiting MinerAthleticClub.com