Oct. 31, 2000
Saturday, Nov. 4 at San Diego State 7:00 p.m. Match at Peterson Gym (3,668), San Diego, CA
THE OPPONENTS
San Diego State is coming off a four-game victory (15-8, 15-4, 15-17, 15-9) over New Mexico last week.
Five Aztecs finished the match with double figures in kills. The team was led by sophomore Nicole Akporiaye with 14. Seniors Monet Solberg and Amy Hallquist recorded 13 kills apiece while Erin Grady and Aspen McPartland each contributed twelve.
San Diego State hit .227 as a team for the match, including a .389 percentage two take game two. New Mexico battled back to win game three and force a fourth game which the Aztec captured to win the match.
SDSU's Melissa Wright had 50 assists in the game and has moved into eighth place on the SDSU career assist list in her first season as an Aztec. The transfer from Washington State now has 1,066 assists this season. That total is just short of cracking the single-season top 10, with the 10th spot held by Andrea Clark's 1,078 (in 1997).
THE REBELS
Leiana Oswald totaled 28 kills for UNLV in a pair of conference wins as the Rebels posted their first conference sweep of the season with victories over New Mexico and Air Force last weekend. Patricia Assuncao and Amber Graham each recorded double-doubles for the Rebels vs. New Mexico and four players had 15 kills in the match vs. Air Force.
As a team, UNLV is averaging 12.42 kills per game for a .160 hitting percentage. Every week, the Rebels improve in almost every statistical catagory, now averaging 10.91 apg, 12.17 dpg and 2.05 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 53-78.
SERIES HISTORY
San Diego State holds a 7-1 lead in the overall series after taking a 3-0 victory earlier in the season at the Thomas & Mack Center. Amber Graham picked up her first double-double of the season in that match, recording 18 kills and eleven digs. Amy Hallquist led the Aztecs with 17 kills and 14 digs.
UNLV's lone series win came in the 1998 season when the Rebels took a 3-0 victory at home on September 26.
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 & Mack Center is hosting the volleyball squad.
LAST WEEK
Air Force Recap: The UNLV volleyball team defeated Air Force 3-0 (15-8, 15-13, 16-14) to sweep the Falcons for the season.
The Falcons kept it close early in game one, but with the score tied at seven, UNLV went on a seven-point run to put the game out-of-reach. The second game was close, with the teams trading points until the Rebels took a 14-12 lead. The Falcons fought off three game points before falling 15-13.
The final game of the match was extremely competitive. The Rebels gained momentum late in the game to lead 14-10. The Falcons battled back to tie the score at 14 apiece, but UNLV took the game with a pair of service aces.
Four Rebels finished with 15 kills in a balanced attack. Patricia Assuncao, Leiana Oswald, Blair Wilkes and Amber Graham combined to overtake the Falcons.
Oswald came out on top in attack percentage, hitting .387 (15-3-31). She also finished with six digs and five blocks, two solo and three assisted.
Wilkes hit .346 (15-6-26) for the night with three block assists, while Graham turned in a .321 (15-6-28) hitting performance. Graham also led the team with six block assists and seven digs.
Setter Maria Julia Goes had 54 assists and put up another good showing at the net with five block assists.
New Mexico Recap: The UNLV volleyball team defeated conference rival New Mexico 3-1 (9-15,15-5, 15-5, 15-12) at the Johnson Center in Albuquerque.
UNLV's Patricia Assuncao and Amber Graham both recorded a double-double in the win. Graham had 12 kills and 11 digs, as well as a team-high six block assists. Assuncao finished with 12 kills and 13 digs.
Leiana Oswald led the Rebel attack with 13 kills. She also finished with seven digs and three blocks, one solo and two assisted.
Setter Maria Julia Goes had a standout night from every angle, tallying 38 assists, four block assists and 3 kills with a .400 (3-1-5) attack percentage.
Ana Ramos led the defensive effort for the Rebels with 15 digs.
NEXT WEEK
UNLV returns home to finish the regular season with a three-game home stand beginning on Wednesday, Nov. 8 against Nevada, Reno. The Rebels then host Wyoming on Thursday, November 9 at 7:00 p.m. and Colorado State on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m.
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 two (13 kills, 12 digs and 12 kills, 13 digs vs. New Mexico) and Amber Graham has two (18 kills, 11 digs vs. San Diego State, 12 kills, 11 digs vs. New Mexico).
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 10.71 per game.
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE STANDINGS(As of 10/23) Conference OverallInstitution W-L For Opp Pct W-L For Opp Pct.Colorado State 9-1 27 3 .900 23-2 70 12 .920BYU 9-2 27 8 .818 17-6 55 24 .739Utah 8-3 26 13 .727 17-5 54 27 .773San Diego State 7-4 22 17 .636 15-11 47 44 .577New Mexico 4-6 15 18 .400 8-12 32 37 .400UNLV 4-7 14 22 .364 4-16 16 49 .200Wyoming 1-9 7 28 .100 9-18 35 62 .333Air Force 0-10 1 30 .000 6-16 22 49 .273
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 53-78.
COLLINS IS REBEL VB'S ALL-TIME WINNINGEST COACH
Deitre Collins is UNLV volleyball's all-time winningest coach with 53 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.
