November 8, 1998
The UNLV volleyball team, which has a three-match winning streak, will go on the road for the final time this season as it travels to TCU and SMU. The Rebels will face TCU on Friday, Nov. 13, at the Rickel Center in Fort Worth, Texas, then travel across town to battle SMU on Saturday, Nov. 14, at the Moody Coliseum in Dallas, Texas. Both matches will begin at 7:00 p.m. CST.
THE OPPONENTS
TCU (4-21, 1-9 WAC) is in the midst of a four-match losing streak, most recently falling at Wyoming and at Colordao State both in three games...The Volleyfrogs are led by Marci King who is averaging 3.44 kills per game and Jill Pape who is averaging 2.99 digs per game...Head Coach Sandy Troudt is in her thrid year at TCU with a record of 21-69...She is in her 14th year overall as a head coach with a career record of 215-230.
SMU (13-13, 4-6 WAC) lost last week at Colorado State and at Wyoming both in three games...The Mustangs are led by Erin Pryor who is averaging 4.00 kills per game and Leslie Olson who is averaging 2.71 digs per game...Head Coach Lisa Seifert is in her third year at SMU with a career record of 35-56.
Fri., Nov. 13 UNLV Rebels at TCU Volleyfrogs 7:00 p.m. CSTMatch at Rickel Center (500), Fort Worth, Texas
Sat., Nov. 14 UNLV Rebels at SMU Mustangs 7:00 p.m. CSTMatch at Moody Coliseum (8,998), Dallas, Texas
THE REBELS UNLV (19-6, 8-2 WAC) is currently on a three-match winning streak most recently defeating Tulsa 3-0 and Rice 3-1 last week...The Rebels currently sit all alone in third place in the WAC's Mountain Division only 1 1/2 matches out of first place and 1/2 a match out of second place...UNLV is led by junior Angie Sylvas who is sixth in the WAC in kills per game at 3.94...Sophomore Justine Kamelamela is seventh in the WAC in kills per game at 3.93...Kamelamela is 19th in the WAC in digs with 2.68 per game, while Sylvas is 20th with 2.67...Senior Meri-de Boyer is second in the WAC in assists with 13.66 per game...The Rebels return nine players and four starters from last year's squad that finished the season with an overall record of 9-18...The Rebels finished seventh in the Western Athletic Conference's Mountain Division with a mark of 2-12...Head Coach Deitre Collins is in her third season and has a career record of 33-46.
POSSIBLE REBEL STARTERS
No. Player Pos. Ht. Yr.-Exp. Hometown/Last School 1998 Statistics 9 Meri-de Boyer S 6-0 Sr.-2V Poway, Calif./UCSB 13.66 apg, 2.63 dpg, 0.83 bpg14 Christel Eves OH/MB 5-10 Jr.-2V Henderson, Nev./Basic HS 2.74 kpg, 1.79 dpg, 1.09 bpg, .338 hp 7 Danielle Gerlach OH/MB 6-0 Jr.-2V Edwards, Calif./Desert HS 2.17 kpg, 1.57 dpg, 0.76 bpg13 Amber Graham MB 6-0 Fr.-HS Las Vegas, Nev./Cimmaron HS 2.00 kpg, 0.97 bpg, .299 hp 6 Jeanette Graves OH 6-1 Jr.-TR West Jordan, Utah/Salt Lake City CC 3.19 kpg, 0.60 bpg, 1.04 dpg 4 Justine Kamelamela OH 6-0 So.-1V Aiea, Hawai'i/Kamehameha HS 3.93 kpg, 2.68 dpg, .223 hp16 Michele Peoples MB 6-3 So-1V Stockton, Calif./Bear Creek HS 1.97 kpg, 1.03 bpg 2 Ana Ramos DS 5-4 So.-1V Honolulu, Hawai'i/Kamehameha HS 2.00 dpg, 0.26 sapg15 Angie Sylvas OH 5-11 Jr.-RS* Las Vegas, Nev./San Jose State 3.94 kpg, 2.67 dpg, 0.47 sapg
* Medical
UNLV DEFEATS TULSA
Rebels double last year's win total and run WAC record to 7-2.
LAS VEGAS (11/6) - Led by junior Angie Sylvas' match-high 13 kills, the UNLV volleyball team defeated Tulsa 15-4, 15-6, 15-5, in a Western Athletic Conference match Friday at Lied Gymnasium.
The Rebels, who won their 18th game of the season, doubled last year's win total when they recorded a mark of 9-18.
UNLV (18-6, 7-2 WAC) was assisted in the win by senior Meri-de Boyer's nine digs and match-high 28 assists. Sylvas only had two errors in 20 attempts for a hitting percentage of .550.
Tulsa (9-13, 1-9 WAC) was led by junior Juliet Klemm's seven kills.
UNLV out-hit the Golden Hurricane .378 to .024 for the match and recorded 37 kills to TU's 22. The Rebels also out-dug Tulsa 39-22 and recorded 37 assists to TU's 21.
UNLV DOWNS RICE
Rebels win ninth straight at home and improve WAC mark to 8-2.
LAS VEGAS (11/7) - Led by junior Angie Sylvas' match-high 17 kills, the UNLV volleyball team defeated Rice 16-14, 8-15, 15-9, 15-7, in a Western Athletic Conference match Saturday at Lied Gymnasium.
The Rebels, who won their 19th game of the season, are now 11-1 at home and have won nine straight at Lied Gym.
UNLV (19-6, 8-2 WAC) was assisted by junior Danielle Gerlach's double-double of 13 kills and 12 digs and senior Meri-de Boyer's 12 digs and match-high 59 assists. Junior Jeanette Graves added 16 kills, while sophomore Justine Kamelamela recorded a team-high 14 digs.
Rice (19-8, 7-4 WAC) was led by freshman Leigh Leman's 15 kills and 16 digs. Four Owls recorded double figures in kills, while five had double digits in digs.
UNLV out-hit the Owls .212 to .192 for the match and recorded 69 kills to RU's 62. The Rebels were out-dug 75-71, however UNLV recorded 62 assists to RU's 60.
NEXT WEEK
UNLV will be at home for its final homestand of the season next week vs. Colorado State and Wyoming. The Rebels will face Colorado State on Thursday, Nov. 19, and Wyoming on Saturday, Nov. 21. Both matches will begin at 7:00 p.m. PST at Lied Gymnasium.
LAST YEAR
The 1997 UNLV volleyball team opened the season with a best-ever start of 7-1...After suffering some critical injuries the team struggled and finished with an overall record of 9-18 and seventh in the WAC's Mountain Divison with a 2-14 mark, failing to make the conference tournament.
IN ONLY ITS THIRD YEAR
This is UNLV's third season with volleyball since the program was restarted in '96 after 11 years off.
REBELS EXCEED LAST YEAR'S WIN TOTAL
With its win over Nevada, Reno, on Sept. 28, UNLV won its 10th match of the season in only its 13th try...Last season the Rebels won nine matches total, while losing 18.
UNLV ON PACE TO HAVE RECORD-SETTING YEAR
UNLV's current win percentage is .760. The best winning percentage a Rebel volleyball team has ever recorded was .588 in 1978 when the squad went 10-7. The most wins a UNLV volleyball team has had was 23 in 1984 when the team was 23-17. The Rebels would need to win the remainder of their regular season matches to meet that total and can exceed it with a WAC Tourney win.
REBELS SET RECORD FOR CONSECUTIVE WINS
With its win over TCU on Oct. 17, UNLV won its 10th match in a row, which set the program record for most consecutive vicories. The old mark was seven-in-a-row set in 1984. The Rebels had their streak snapped with the loss at Wyoming on Oct. 23.
UNLV EXCEEDS WIN TOTAL OF LAST TWO YEARS COMBINED
With their 15th win of the season vs. SMU on Oct. 15, the Rebels exceeded their win total of the last two years combined. UNLV won five matches in 1996, its first season after 11 years off, and won nine matches in 1997.
UNLV EXCEEDS LAST YEAR'S CONFERENCE WIN TOTAL
The win at Tulsa on Oct. 10 was UNLV's third conference victory of the season. That exceeds last year's total of two as UNLV was 2-14 in WAC play. UNLV also matched its win total in conference play of the last two years combined with its win over SMU on Oct. 15. UNLV won three WAC matches in 1996 and two in 1997.
UNLV MORE THAN DOUBLES LAST YEAR'S WIN TOTAL
With the win over Tulsa on Nov. 6, UNLV won its 18th match of the year. That doubled last year's win total of nine. With the win over Rice on Nov. 7, UNLV more than doubled last year's win total.
UNLV DOMINANT AT HOME
UNLV's record at Lied Gymnasium is 11-1...The Rebels have won their last nine matches at home.
SERIES HISTORY
UNLV leads the all-time series both TCU and SMU 1-0. The only meeting in each series was earlier this season.
THE LAST TIME
UNLV defeated TCU in Las Vegas on Oct. 17 of this year the last time the two met 15-4, 13-15, 14-16, 15-7, 15-8. UNLV defeated SMU in Las Vegas on Oct. 15 of this year the last time the two met 15-8, 13-15, 15-2, 6-15, 20-18.
HEAD COACH DEITRE COLLINS
Head Coach Deitre Collins (Hawaii, '95) is in her third season at UNLV. A former member of the U.S. National Team and a three-time NCAA All-American middle blocker at Hawaii, Collins, led her first Rebel team to a 1996 WAC Tournament berth and this past summer led the U.S. Junior National Team to a gold medal performance at the NORCECA Zonal Championships, qualifying the team for the junior world championships in 1999. Before being named head coach of the 15th intercollegiate athletics program at UNLV on July 10, 1995, she served as an assistant at the University of South Alabama for one season (1994). Prior to that, she was an assistant at Houston (1993) and Northern Arizona (1993-94). The fourth coach in the history of Rebel volleyball, Collins is the only volleyball player ever to be named the Broderick Cup recipient, earning the award as the best collegiate athlete in 1983. She also is a two-time Broderick Award honoree, being named the best collegiate volleyball player in 1983 and 1984. In 1982 and 1983, she led the Rainbow Wahine to consecutive NCAA Championships as well as a record of 110-5 in her final three seasons. Her career head coaching record is 33-46.
ASSISTANT COACH KEVIN HAMBLY
Kevin Hambly (BYU, '98) is in his second year as assistant coach at UNLV. He is a former Brigham Young standout volleyball player, playing for the Cougars from 1992-95. The starting middle blocker from 1993-95, Hambly was a first-team All-American in 1995. He was the head coach of Highline, a men's club team in Northridge, Calif., prior to joining the Rebel coaching staff.
ASSISTANT COACH KEE WILLIAMS
Kee Williams (Hawaii '95) was named to the UNLV coaching staff this past summer. Williams, in her first year, came to UNLV from the U.S. National Team where she was training before suffering a career-ending injury. A star at Hawai'i from 1990-94, she was a first-team All-American selection and a three-time All-Big West Conference Honoree.
TWO REBELS EARN WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Senior Meri-de Boyer was named the Western Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Week for the Mountain Division on Oct. 19. It marked the second time this season a UNLV volleyball player has received the honor and the third time in the program's history. Boyer led the Rebels to a 2-0 record during the week with wins against SMU and TCU. Against TCU, she recorded a triple-double with 55 assists, 10 digs and 11 block assists. Her block assists tied a single-match school record. She also added eight kills with only one error in 15 attempts for a .467 hitting percentage. Against SMU, she notched 70 assists with 13 digs.
Sophomore Justine Kamelamela received the same honor on Sept. 28. Kamelamela led the Rebels to a 2-0 record that week with wins against Utah State and San Diego State. Against Utah State, she had a match-high 14 kills, with only two errors on 28 attempts for a .429 hitting percentage. She also added 10 digs and four total blocks in the match. Against San Diego State, she hit .375 (15-3-32) along with five digs, one assist and one service ace.
MORE REBEL HONORS
Sophomore Justine Kamelamela and junior Christel Eves were both named to the all-tournament team of the Carolina Classic in Chapel Hill, N.C....Kamelamela was named to the all-tournament team of the Official All-Star Cafe/UNLV Volleyball Classic in Las Vegas...Junior Angie Sylvas was named tournament MVP of the Nanook Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska...Senior Meri-de Boyer Kamelamela were both selected to that all-tournament team.
REBEL RECORDS SET
UNLV set four team records vs. Southwest Texas State...They are most kills in a match (102), most attack attempts in a match (254), most assists in a match (89) and most digs in a match (96)...Angie Sylvas set the UNLV individual record for most attack attempts in a match with 75 vs. Southwest Texas State...Against TCU Meri-de Boyer tied the record for most block assists in a match with 11.
DOUBLE-TROUBLE
Six Rebels have recorded double-doubles this season...senior Meri-de Boyer has 13 in assists and digs, sophomore Justine Kamelamela has 11 in kills and digs, junior Angie Sylvas has nine in kills and digs, junior Christel Eves has four in kills and digs, junior Jeanette Graves has one is kills and digs, and junior Danielle Gerlach has one in kills and digs.
TRIPLE-DOUBLE
Senior Meri-de Boyer recorded the team's first triple-double of the season when she had 55 assists, 11 block assists and 10 digs vs. TCU.
CAREER HIGHS SET
UNLV players are putting up some impressive numbers this season and have added to their career highs...Meri-de Boyer had 11 block assists vs. TCU...Christel Eves had 16 kills vs. Idaho, five service aces vs. Fresno State, nine block assists, and tied her career-high three times with 11 digs vs. New Mexico State, George Mason and San Diego State...Danielle Gerlach had 15 kills vs. SWT...Justine Kamelamela had 29 kills at Rice and 16 digs vs. Duke...Keala Nihipali had 19 digs vs. SWT and 10 assists vs. Air Force...Michele Peoples had 11 kills vs. SWT...Ana Ramos recorded 19 digs vs. Southwest Texas State...Angie Sylvas had 27 kills vs. SWT.
NEWCOMERS STANDOUT
Freshman Nora Bernson turned in a solid performance recording 11 digs and nine kills in the victory over Iowa State and added 14 kills vs. Youngstown State and 12 kills vs. Cincinnati...Most recently she had 15 digs vs. UC Irvine...Sophomore Keala Nihipali has had four games with double figures in digs including a career-high 19 digs vs. SWT...Junior Jeanette Graves was impressive vs. Duke, recording 14 kills and seven digs before recording 20 kills vs. Cincinnati...Most recently she recorded a career-high 25 kills and 12 digs at UC Irvine...Freshman Amber Graham recorded 12 kills vs. SWT and 13 kills vs. SMU before recording a career-high 19 kills at Colorado State.
LEADERS OF THE WAC
The Rebels are second in the WAC in assists with 15.13 per game, third in kills with 17.03 per game, third in service aces (1.81), seventh in hitting efficiency (.223) and seventh in digs (15.51)...Individually Meri-de Boyer, Christel Eves, Amber Graham, Justine Kamelamela and Angie Sylvas are all among the WAC leaders...Boyer is second in the WAC in assists with 13.66 per game...Eves is 10th in hitting efficiency at .338 and 17th in blockeing with 1.09 per game...Graham is 16th in hitting efficiency at .299...Kamelamela is seventh in kills with 3.93 per game and 19th in digs with 2.68 per game...Sylvas is third in service aces with 0.47 per game, is sixth in kills with 3.94 per game, and 20th in digs with 2.67 per game.
AMONG NCAA LEADERS
Through matches of Nov. 1, UNLV was 15th in the nation in kills with 17.18 per game...UNLV was 17th in the nation in assists with 15.21 per game...Individually, senior setter Meri-de Boyer was 13th in the nation in assists per game at 13.76...Stats are updated every Tuesday.
REBEL POWER RATING
In the AVCA/Sagarin Power Ratings through Nov. 1, UNLV was 68th in the nation...TCU was 183rd and SMU was 107th...As a conference the WAC was sixth in the nation out of 32...The new ratings come out every Wednesday.
OTHER REBEL NOTES
The Rebels had five players record double figures in digs vs. Duke, while three had double figures in kills...UNLV had four players record double figures in digs vs. New Mexico State...The Rebels had five players record double figures in digs vs. SWT and five had double-digits in kills, two with more than 25...UNLV had four players record double-figures in kills vs. Idaho...The Rebels had three players in double figures in digs vs. North Carolina...UNLV had four players in double figures in kills and digs vs. Cincinnati...The win over #24 Fresno State was UNLV's first over a ranked opponent since the program restarted in 1996...It was also the first time UNLV has won more than one game in a match against a ranked team since the program restarted in 1996...UNLV allowed Air Force to hit only -.051 for the match which is the lowest opponent hitting percentage of the season against UNLV...Air Force recorded only 17 kills which is also the lowest for a UNLV opponent this season...UNLV had four players record double figures in kills vs. SMU...The Rebels had 32 block assists vs. TCU, which is the most they have had in a match this season...For the first time since the program restarted in 1996, the UNLV volleyball team received votes in the USA Today/AVCA collegiate volleyball poll...In the Oct. 5 poll the Rebels received 12 votes and in the Oct. 12 poll UNLV received seven votes...At Colorado State, UNLV had four players in double figures in kills and three in digs...At UC Irvine three players recorded double figures in kills and four in digs...The Rebels recorded their highest hitting percentage of the season vs. Tulsa with .378...UNLV had three players record double-figures in kills and four in digs vs. Rice.
USA TODAY/AVCA TOP 25 POLL
Poll No. 9, Nov. 2
Rank Team Pts Rec. Lst Wk1 Lng Bch St. (35) 1475 22-0 12 Penn State (24) 1459 22-0 23 Nebraska (1) 1381 21-0 34 BYU 1316 21-1 45 Stanford 1263 19-2 56 Florida 1178 22-2 67 UCSB 1129 22-3 78 Wisconsin 1066 20-3 89 Hawaii 1026 18-2 910 Pacific 958 19-4 1011 USC 891 15-4 1112 Texas 869 17-3 1213 Colorado 792 17-2 1314 Arkansas 724 19-3 1415 Illinois 641 16-6 1716 Michigan State 581 16-4 1817 San Diego 492 18-3 2018 Arizona 469 18-4 1619 L. Marymount 444 15-6 1520 UCLA 234 9-10 2321 Kansas State 205 14-7 2122 Texas A&M 202 12-8 1923 Minnesota 136 15-8 2524 Texas Tech 106 17-8 N/R25 Louisville 100 18-4 22
Others receiving points: Northern Iowa (79), Colorado State (38), North Carolina (31), Miami, Ohio (25), Florida State (21), Santa Clara (21), Ohio State (13), Oral Roberts (11), Fairfield (11), Sacramento State (9), Northern Illinois (7), Georgetown (7), Arizona State (6), Western Michigan (4), San Jose State (4), South Carolina (2), Auburn (2), Eastern Washington (2), Nevada, Reno (1), Indiana (1), Rice (1), South Florida (1). Italics indicate 1998 UNLV opponent
1998 WAC TOURNAMENT
The 1998 WAC Tournament makes its return to Las Vegas after a successful 1997 event. The tournament will be held Tuesday-Saturday, Nov. 24-28, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The top six teams from each division will participate in the four-round tournament, with matches every day except Thanksgiving (Nov. 26). The MGM Grand Hotel will serve as the tournament headquarters. Ticket prices are $30 for an all-session pass (11 matches) or $8 per single session (six total sessions).
UNLV'S RECORD WHEN IT:
wins the first game.. 17-2
wins the second game.. 13-1
wins the third game.. 17-2
wins the fourth game.. 8-1
plays a three-game match.. 9-1
plays a four-game match.. 7-4
plays a five-game match.. 3-1
has more kills than opp.. 19-6
has fewer kills than opp.. 0-0
has equal kills as opp.. 0-0
has higher hitting % than opp.. 19-0
has lower hitting % than opp.. 0-6
has equal hitting % as opp.. 0-0
has more team blocks than opp.. 14-0
has fewer team blocks than opp.. 4-4
has equal team blocks as opp.. 1-2
has more digs than opp.. 14-3
has fewer digs than opp.. 5-3
has equal digs as opp.. 1-0
has more assists than opp.. 18-4
has fewer assists than opp.. 1-2
has equal assists as opponent.. 0-0
has more service aces than opp.. 15-3
has fewer service aces than opp.. 2-2
has equal service aces as opp.. 2-1
STANDINGS
1998 WAC Volleyball Standings (as of 11/8)
Mountain Division
WAC Matches All Matches W L Pct. W L Pct.Colorado State 10 1 .909 21 5 .808Wyoming 9 2 .818 14 11 .560UNLV 8 2 .800 19 6 .760Rice 7 4 .636 19 8 .679SMU 4 6 .400 13 13 .500Air Force 2 8 .200 9 13 .409TCU 1 9 .100 4 21 .160Tulsa 1 10 .091 9 14 .391
Pacific Division
WAC Matches All Matches W L Pct. W L Pct.Hawaii 11 1 .917 21 2 .913Brigham Young 9 1 .900 22 2 .917Fresno State 6 4 .600 17 6 .739San Jose State 6 4 .600 18 7 .720Utah 4 5 .444 14 8 .636UTEP 2 9 .182 10 12 .455New Mexico 2 9 .182 8 15 .348San Diego State 2 9 .182 5 19 .208
INTERVIEWS
Interviews with UNLV volleyball players and coaches may be arranged through volleyball SID Andy Grossman. Requests for interviews should be made at least 24 hours in advance by calling the UNLV sports information department at (702) 895-3764.
COACHES' POLL
1998 WAC Volleyball Coaches' Preseason Poll
Pacific Division
Brigham Young(13) 118 Hawaii(3) 105 Utah 88 Fresno State 73 San Diego State 72 New Mexico 49 San Jose State 37 UTEP 26
Mountain Division
Colorado State(13) 117 Wyoming(3) 108 SMU 76 UNLV 72 TCU 63 Rice 59 Tulsa 47 Air Force 22
1998 WAC Champion
Brigham Young 13 Hawaii 3
REBELS ONLY, PLEASE!
Please remember, UNLV (acronym on all references please) is home to the Rebel volleyball team -- not the Runnin' Rebels! Only the men's basketball team at UNLV is named the Runnin' Rebels.
UNLV TICKET PRICES
Admission for UNLV volleyball matches is $4.00 for adults, $2.00 for students and $2.00 for UNLV faculty and staff. UNLV students are admitted free with valid I.D. For more information please call 895-UNLV.
