Sept. 19, 2001
THE OPPONENTS
NEW MEXICO: The Lobos enter Thursday's match with a 2-5 record following three matches at the Loyola Marymount Volleyball Classic. New Mexico dropped three straight 1-3 matches to Arizona State, Indiana and host LMU.
New Mexico is led offensively by Anna Reines. Reines is knocking down 3.38 kills per game with a team-high .200 hitting percentage. Vanessa Shields leads the team defensively with 22 blocks on the season.
The Lobos hold a 4-3 lead in the overall series record versus UNLV. The last time the two schools met was during the 2000 regular season where they split a pair of meetings.
AIR FORCE: The Falcons enter the weekend's play with a 1-7 record. Air Force went winless at its home tournament, dropping three straight to SE Louisiana, Illinois-Chicago and Washington.
Air Force is led by Delvaine Diaz, who has already racked up 85 kills on the season and is averaging 3.28 kills per game.
UNLV holds an 8-2 advantage in the overall series between the two schools. The Rebels won both meetings last season in three games.
The Falcons host San Diego State on Thursday before taking on the Rebels.
THE REBELS
With a 3-1 (24-30, 30-22, 32-30, 30-21) victory over American University on Saturday, September 8, UNLV won the Gameworks/UNLV Invitational Tournament. UNLV, American and Gonzaga all finished 2-1in tournament play, but a second-tier tiebreaker gave the tournament title to the Rebels.
UNLV junior Blair Wilkes was named MVP of the tournament, while freshman setter Nikki King was named to the All-Tournament Team.
"It's flattering," said Wilkes on her selection as MVP. "I'm not the only one who stepped up this weekend. Shannon Chase came in tonight and played well at the outside hitter position, a spot she hasn't played in years. I think we're playing well and this gives us a lot of momentum heading into next weekend's tournament in Arkansas."
Wilkes finished the final match versus American with 13 kills and a team-high .440 (13-2-25) attack percentage. She also knocked down four blocks and served a pair of aces.
Leiana Oswald led the team with 15 kills. She also added eight digs. Chase finished with a team-high ten digs to go along with eight kills. Michelle Johnson added 14 kills and nine blocks.
Freshman Sheila Ocasio-Clemente, who currently ranks second in the Mountain West Conference in blocks per game, notched 13 blocks on the night, two solo and 11 assisted.
American was led by Karla Kucerkova's 14 kills and ten blocks. She joins teammate Sabrina Vasconcelos on the All-Tournament Team.
UNLV began the day with a 3-0 (30-28, 30-21, 30-23) victory over Western Carolina. Wilkes led the team with 14 kills and a .545 (14-2-22) attack percentage in that match.
Leiana Oswald recorded her first double-double of the season with 12 kills and 13 digs.
American finished the tournament in second place, Gonzaga third and Western Carolina fourth. Gonzaga's Christina Davis and WCU's Christy Attebery rounded out the All-Tournament Team.
ARKANSAS TOURNAMENT CANCELLED
In the wake of the tragedies in New York City, Washington and western Pennsylvania, The UNLV volleyball team's participation in the Bank of Fayetteville Tournament at the University of Arkansas was cancelled.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE CLUB
Patricia Assuncao was the first Rebel to notch a double-double on the season and now has three. She picked a pair of double-doubles in the Nokia Sugar Bowl Classic to start the season. She had 13 kills and 12 digs against New Orleans and 11 kills and 11 digs against Tulane. She also had 19 kills and 15 digs against Gonzaga at the 2001 Gameworks/UNLV Invitational.
Leiana Oswald picked up her first double-double of the season against Western Carolina in the 2001 Gameworks/UNLV Invitational. She finished the match with 12 kills and 13 digs.
Sheila Ocasio-Clemente also picked up her first double-double of the season at the 2001 Gameworks/UNLV Invitational. She knocked down 12 kills and 13 blocks against American in the final match of the tournament.
20-KILL CLUB
Leiana Oswald is the first Rebel to pick up 20 kills on the season. She has 20 kills on 48 attempts against Gonzaga on September 7.
ON THE BLOCK
Sheila Ocasio-Clemente is the only freshman in the league to rank in the MWC top 10 for blocks. She currently ranks first in the MWC in blocks with 2.29 per game.
Sophomore Michelle Johnson is second on the list with 1.83 per game.
SEASON HONORS
Junior middle blocker Blair Wilkes was named MVP of the Gameworks/UNLV Invitational, as voted on by the participating team's head coaches. Freshman setter Nikki King was also honored with a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
REDSHIRTS
Transfers Jodi Hendricks, Tera Mayes and Serene Hunter have redshirted the 2001-2002 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.
PHOTOS
Members of the media can now download photos from the Mountain West Conference website. The photo gallery contains head shots and action photos of all MWC coaches. You can also download student-athlete mug shots and selected action photos from all 19 league sports.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The 2001 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship will accommodate a field of 64 teams. The pairings for the tournament wil be announced on Sunday, Nov. 25, 2001. Mountain West Conference memeber San Diego State will host teh 2001 Final Four Dec. 13 and 15.
Nov. 29-Dec. 2
First and Second Round
(at participating institutions)
Dec. 6-7, Dec. 7-8 or Dec. 8-9
Regionals
(at participating institutions)
Dec. 13 and 15
Final Four
Cox Arena at Aztec Bowl (12,414 capacity)
San Diego, Calif.
San Diego State University
COLLINS IS REBEL VB'S ALL-TIME WINNINGEST COACH Deitre Collins is UNLV volleyball's all-time winningest coach with 58 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.
