Nov. 21, 2001
THE OPPONENT
William & Mary: The Tribe enter the weekend with a 21-4 overall record and are 11-1 in Colonial Athletic Association play. William & Mary defeated George Mason to win the CAA Tournament and earn the school its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Championship.
Seniors Tara Tobias and Laurel Witt were named All-CAA and Carly Huffman was named CAA Freshman of the Year. Head Coach Debbie Hill also earned CAA Coach of the Year honors.
This is the first meeting between the two schools.
Rice: Rice won the WAC Eastern Division title with a 10-3 league record, but fell to Fresno State 3-2 in the WAC Tournament. The loss to Fresno State snapped a nine-match winning streak for the Owls.
Rebeca Pazo was named WAC Freshman of the Year and senior Leigh Leman was named Second Team All-WAC.
UNLV has won two previous meetings with Rice. Both meetings came in 1998 when UNLV was a member of the WAC. The Rebels won 3-1 in both meetings.
Washington State: The Cougars finished Pac-10 play with a 9-9 league record for the second consecutive season. WSU has posted a .500 record or better in league play in five of the last six seasons.
With 97 career service aces, junior outside hitter LaToya Harris needs three more aces to become the fifth WSU player all-time to post 100 career aces. Harris ranks sixth on the WSU all-time list with 1047 kills. With eight more kills, she'll move into the fourth spot on the list.
UNLV holds a 2-0 overall series advantage over Washington State. The teams met twice during regular season tournaments in 1984. The Rebels' first win (3-0) came during the Boise State Invitational with the second (2-0) coming at the Brigham Young Invitational.
UNLV
The Rebels notched their first-ever victory over BYU on Nov. 9 and followed that up with their first-ever victory in the MWC Tournament, upsetting No. 4 seed San Diego State in five games last week.
Patricia Assuncao recorded her eighth double-double of the season with a match-high 18 kills and 15 digs vs. the Aztecs. No. 1 seed Colorado State defeated the Rebels in three games in the MWC semifinals.
Blair Wilkes has recorded double figure kills in seven of her last eight matches, including a season-high 20 kills in the victory over BYU and 17 vs. SDSU in the MWC Tournament. Wilkes also had a match-high eight blocks in the win over the Aztecs.
On The Block
Freshman Sheila Ocasio-Clemente led the nation in blocks for nine straight weeks before slipping to second with 1.94 per game. Ocasio-Clemente is the first freshman ever to lead the MWC in a statistical category with 1.86 blocks per game in league play and now holds the MWC individual season record with 165 blocks.
As a team, UNLV ranks 11th nationally with 3.19 blocks per game (43 solo and 450 assisted).
Record Watch
Coming into this weekend's play, Blair Wilkes is hitting .367 (267-73-528) for the season. The highest single season hitting percentage in school history is held by Christel Eves who hit .358 in 1998.
With 167 blocks (13 solo, 154 assisted) on the season, freshman Sheila Ocasio-Clemente is already the single season record holder at UNLV. Lynette Richan previously held the record of 142 total blocks dating back to 1984. Ocasio-Clemente is also sixth on the career blocks list and only four blocks away from the fifth spot at 169.
Patricia Assuncao has 42 aces this season, only eight shy of the school record for service aces in a season. She tied the UNLV and MWC single match record of eight against Air Force on October 9. In a twist of irony, she also leads the team in reception errors this season with 67.
Nicki King, in her first season as the team's setter, is already fourth on the career assists list with 793.
20-KILL CLUB
Leiana Oswald is the first Rebel to pick up 20 kills on the season. She had 20 kills on 48 attempts against Gonzaga on September 7.
Patricia Assuncao dropped 23 kills on Wyoming on Oct. 27 and Blair Wilkes notched 20 kills against BYU on Nov. 9.
SEASON HONORS
Junior middle blocker Blair Wilkes was named MVP of the Gameworks/UNLV Invitational, as voted on by the participating teams head coaches. Freshman setter Nicki King was also honored with a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
Blair Wilkes was named to the 12-member all conference team after leading the Rebels with 248 kills and a .380 attack-percentage. In conference play, she finished the regular season with 166 kills and a .430 attack percentage.
Sheila Ocasio-Clemente was named MWC Freshman of the Year. She has led the nation in blocks per game for the entire 2001 season and currently boasts a 2.04 bpg average. She also added 137 kills during the regular season. Ocasio-Clemente is the first freshman ever to lead the Mountain West Conference in a statistical category.
UNLV WHEN
Win Game 1: 7-3
Lose Game 1: 3-11
Win Games 1-2: 3-1
Lose Games 1-2: 0-9
Win Game 3: 8-2
Lose Game 3: 0-12
Win Game 4: 6-1
Lose Game 4: 1-4
Double-Double List
Patricia Assuncao - 7
11 kills, 11 digs vs. Tulane, Sept. 1
13 kills, 12 digs vs. New Orleans, Sept. 1
19 kills, 15 digs vs. Gonzaga, Sept. 7
16 kills, 12 digs vs. San Diego State, Nov. 2
18 kills, 14 digs vs. Nevada, Reno, Nov. 6
16 kills, 13 digs vs. BYU, Nov. 9
19 kills, 11 digs vs. Utah, Nov. 10
18 kills, 15 digs vs. SDSU, Nov. 15
Nicki King - 6
49 assists, 12 digs vs. New Orleans, Sept. 1
40 assists, 14 digs vs. Western Carolina, Sept. 8
60 assists, 15 digs vs. Wyoming, Oct. 27
58 assists, 10 digs vs. San Diego State, Nov. 2
51 assists, 12 digs vs. Nevada, Reno, Nov. 6
45 assists, 12 digs vs. Utah, Nov. 10
Leiana Oswald - 2
12 kills, 13 digs vs. Western Carolina, Sept. 8
17 kills, 13 digs vs. San Diego State, Nov. 2
Sheila Ocasio-Clemente - 2
12 kills, 13 blocks vs. American University, Sept. 8
11 kills, 11 blocks vs. New Mexico, Oct. 20
Michelle Johnson - 1
11 kills, 11 block assists vs. New Orleans, Sept. 1
REDSHIRTS
Transfers Jodi Hendricks, Tera Mayes and Serene Hunter have redshirted the 2001-2002 season. Senior setter Maria Julia Goes will also take a medical redshirt this season and return for the 2002 season.
INJURY UPDATE
Sarah Fachner, who redshirted last season with a knee injury, has torn the anterior cruciate ligament in her knee and will likely take a medical redshirt this season.
Maria Julia Goes has a stress fracture in her foot and has been forced to sit out the remainder of the season. Having only played 11 games this season, she has chosen to take a medical redshirt this season and finish her collegiate playing career with the Rebels in 2002.
COLLINS IS REBEL VB'S ALL-TIME WINNINGEST COACH
Deitre Collins is UNLV volleyball's all-time winningest coach with 65 wins. Karen Lamb, who compiled 39 wins from 1985-87, is second on the list.
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.
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.TheMWC.com.
