Oct. 24, 2000
Friday, Oct. 27 at New Mexico 7:00 p.m. Match at Johnson Center (5,000), Albuquerque, NM
Saturday, Oct. 28 at Air Force 7:00 p.m. Match at East Gym (1,000), Colorado Springs, CO
THE OPPONENTS
Micaela Conley led New Mexico with 19 kills as the Lobos won their only match of the week in three games over Air Force (15-12, 15-5, 15-13). Ana-Maria Ortega led the Falcons with a match-high 22 kills while teammate Delavane Diaz posted her league-leading ninth double-double of the season with 12 kills and 12 digs.
Air Force, 0-8 in the Mountain West Conference, hosts San Diego State on Oct. 27.
THE REBELS
UNLV dropped a pair of matches to ranked opponents last weekend. The Rebels continue to improve with each match, with their best effort of the season coming against No.18 Utah.
As a team, UNLV is averaging 11.97 kills per game for a .150 hitting percentage. The Rebels have improved in almost every statistical catagory, averaging 10.48 apg, 12.05 dpg and 1.91 bpg.
The Rebels were 12-14 overall in 1999 and finished tied for sixth in the Mountain West Conference with a 4-10 mark...UNLV returns five letterwinners and two starters...Head Coach Deitre Collins is in her fifth season and has a career record of 51-78.
SERIES HISTORY
New Mexico leads the overall series 4-2 and took the first meeting this season with a 3-0 victory. Patricia Assuncao (13 kills, 12 digs) and Leiana Oswald (11 kills, 15 digs) each notched double-doubles in the losing effort.
UNLV holds the series edge over Air Force. With a 3-0 victory earlier in the year, the Rebels extended their series lead to 7-2. Amber Graham and Leiana Oswald each finished with 14 kills in the season's first meeting.
ON THE MOVE
UNLV will play every home match except one this year in the 18,500-seat Thomas & Mack Center...This is the first season the Thomas and Mack Cener is hosting the volleyball squad.
LAST WEEK
BYU Recap: The UNLV volleyball team fell to No. 16 BYU on Thursday 3-0 (15-6, 15-13, 15-9) in the Thomas and Mack Center.
Amber Graham led the Rebels with a match-high 17 kills. She also had nine digs and four blocks, one solo and three assisted.
"We are still playing up and down," said Graham. "If we want to play well against a ranked team like BYU, we have to continue to play well and not allow ourselves to relax when we go up."
The Rebels went up 12-10 in the second game, but could not hold on to overtake the Cougars. UNLV also led early in the second game, but again lost the edge.
Maria Julie Goes finished with 35 assists and eight digs. Leiana Oswald also finished with ten kills and six digs.
Freshman Michelle Johnson had an outstanding night, hitting .538 (7-0-13). She also knocked down three block assists.
Ana Ramos added nine digs in the loss, while Blair Wilkes knocked down a team-high five blocks, all assisted.
"I thought we played better and showed a lot of heart in fighting back," said UNLV head coach Deitre Collins. "I think it is going to pay off in the end."
Utah Recap: The UNLV volleyball team fell to No. 18 Utah on Friday 3-1 (8-15, 15-5, 15-12, 15-11) in the Thomas and Mack Center.
The Rebels came out strong, startling the Utes with a 15-8 win in game one, but Utah came back fighting in the second game to overtake UNLV 15-5. The Rebels kept it close in games three and four, but could not pull off the upset.
UNLV's Patricia Assuncao finished with a match-high 21 kills, hitting .326 (21-6-46) for the night. She also added eight digs and three blocks assists.
Leiana Oswald followed close behind with 19 kills, eight digs and three blocks.
Amber Graham added eleven kills for a .500 (11-1-20) attack percentage despite seeing limited action after being hit in the face during the second game. She returned late in the fourth game and appeared to show no signs of injury.
"I thought the team played really well despite (Amber) being out," said UNLV head coach Deitre Collins. "I think the thing we lose by not having her in is her offense. Our outside hitters did a marvelous job tonight though."
NEXT WEEK
UNLV caps a three-game conference road trip with a 7:00 p.m. match at San Diego State on November 4. The Rebels finish the regular season with a three-match home stand beginning on Nov. 8 against Nevada, Reno.
A RANKED SCHEDULE
After only 17 matches this season, UNLV has already faced eight nationally ranked opponents. UNLV has faced then-No. 9 Florida, then-No. 16 Wisconsin, then-No. 14 UC Santa Barbara, then-No. 2 Hawaii, then-No. 15 BYU, then-No. 3 Colorado State and twice faced then-No. 18 Utah.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE CLUB
So far this season, five Rebels have recorded double-doubles in a match...Maria Julie Goes has four (47 assists, 12 digs vs. Idaho State, 45 assists, 10 digs vs. Alabama, 35 assists, 10 digs vs. San Jose State, 58 assists, 20 digs vs. Utah), Oge Fitz has two (20 kills, 11 digs vs. Idaho State, 13 kills, 11 digs vs. Alabama), Leiana Oswald has two (12 kills, 13 digs vs. Ball State, 11 kills, 15 digs vs. New Mexico), Patricia Assuncao has one (13 kills, 12 digs vs. New Mexico) and Amber Graham picked up her first against San Diego State (18 kills, 11 digs vs. San Diego State).
20-KILL CLUB
Oge Fitz (20 kills vs. Idaho State) and Leiana Oswald (20 kills vs. San Jose State) each joined the 20 kill club during the UNLV Gameworks Invitational recording 20 kills in a match. Patricia Assuncao also picked up 21 kills against Utah on Oct. 20.
REBELS IN THE MWC STATS
Maria Julia Goes is currently sixth in the Mountain West Conference in assists with 10.76 per game.
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE STANDINGS (As of 10/23)
Conf. OverallInstitution W-L Pct W-L PctColorado State (3) 8-0 1.000 22-1 .957Utah (18) 7-2 .778 16-4 .800BYU (16) 7-2 .778 15-6 .714San Diego State 5-4 .556 13-11 .542New Mexico 4-4 .500 8-10 .444UNLV 2-7 .222 2-16 .111Wyoming 1-7 .125 8-16 .333Air Force 0-8 .000 6-14 .300
ON THE WEB
UNLV Athletics information may be found on the web at www.unlvrebels.com...Mountain West Conference info may be obtained at www.mountainwestconf.com.
UNLV CHOSEN TO FINISH FOURTH IN MWC BY COACHES
The 2000 Mountain West Conference Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll predicted UNLV will finish tied for fourth out of eight teams in the conference following the 2000 campaign. The following is the order that the MWC coaches predicted the conference will end up this season: Brigham Young (T1), Colorado State (T1), Utah, UNLV (T4), San Diego State (T4), New Mexico, Wyoming and Air Force.
TICKETS
Admission for UNLV volleyball games is $4.00 for adults, $2.00 for students, faculty and staff. UNLV students are admitted free with valid I.D. Groups of 20 or more are admitted for $1.00 per person. For more ticket information, please call (702) 895-UNLV.
HEAD COACH DEITRE COLLINS
Head coach Deitre Collins is now in her fifth year at UNLV. Collins, the 1998 WAC Mountain Division Co-Coach of the Year, is a former member of the U.S. National Team and a three-time NCAA All-American middle blocker at Hawaii. 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). Collins, who is the fourth coach in the history of Rebel volleyball, graduated from Hawaii in 1995 with a bachelor of arts degree in broadcast communications. She was the first volleyball player to be named the Broderick Cup recipient, earning the award as the best female collegiate athlete in 1983. Collins also is a two-time Broderick Award honoree, being named the best collegiate volleyball player for the seasons of 1982 and 1983. Those same years, she led the Rainbow Wahine to consecutive NCAA championships as well as a record of 110-5 in her final three seasons. She is UNLV volleyball's all-time winningest coach by wins and her career head coaching record is 51-78.
COLLINS IS REBEL VB'S ALL-TIME WINNINGEST COACH
Deitre Collins is UNLV volleyball's all-time winningest coach with 51 wins. Karen Lamb, who compiled 39 wins from 1985-87, is second on the list.
FAX-ON-DEMAND/INTERNET
All UNLV volleyball information is available on Info Connection and may be obtained by calling (770) 558-6000 from a fax machine. Media members without a PIN should call (770) 399-0096 to obtain one. The MWC's passcode is 692#. UNLV's Release is 1930. UNLV's Stats/Results is 1932. UNLV's Recent Box Score is 1933. UNLV's Schedule/Roster is 1958. The same information is also available free on the internet at www.mediateamlink.com.
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.
