Sept. 27, 2001
THE OPPONENTS
WYOMING: The Cowgirls open conference play when they take on the Rebels this weekend. They enter the match with a 5-3 record after winning the Cowgirl Classic and spitting a pair of matches last weekend. Wyoming dropped a 3-1 match to San Diego on Friday, but bounced back on Saturday with a 3-2 victory over St. Mary's (Calif).
Despite winning the last three meetings, Wyoming still holds a 6-4 series advantage between the two schools.
Sophomore outside hitter Michelle Router leads the Cowgirl attack with 4.07 kills per game. She is also second on the team with 2.43 digs per game.
COLORADO STATE: The Rams take an undefeated 8-0 record into this weekend's matches at San Diego State and UNLV. Colorado State is currently ranked tenth in the nation by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
Colorado State holds a 9-2 advantage in the overall series against UNLV. The Rams have won the last three meetings.
Middle Blocker Angela Knopf is the reigning MWC Player of the Week. She set conference highs for kills (27) and points (34) in a four-game victory over San Diego State last weekend. Knopf has led the MWC in hitting percentage for 15 straight weeks, dating back to Sept. 19, 2000.
THE REBELS
The Rebels are 2-0 in league play for the first time since 1998 when they started the year 5-0.
UNLV picked up a pair of road wins over the weekend against New Mexico (3-0) and Air Force (3-1). Blair Wilkes knocked down double-digit kills in both matches, finishing with 13 against the Lobos and 14 against the Falcons.
Sheila Ocasio-Clemente, who currently leads the nation in blocks per game, posted seven kills and eight blocks against New Mexico, and seven kills and five blocks against Air Force.
ON THE BLOCK
Freshman Sheila Ocasio-Clemente leads the nation in blocks with 2.29 per game, while teammate Michelle Johnson ranks 11th at 1.83 per game.
ARKANSAS TOURNAMENT CANCELLED
In the wake of the tragedies in New York City, Washington D.C. 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 up 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.
WILKES ATTACK
Junior Blair Wilkes has totaled double-figure kills in seven straight matches this season, including 13 vs. New Mexico and 14 vs. Air Force.
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.
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 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.
DEMAND A RECOUNT!!!
Following an appeal of the tie-breaking procedures for the 2001 Gameworks/UNLV Invitational, the outcome was changed and Gonzaga was awarded the tournament title, with UNLV finishing second.
With American, Gonzaga and UNLV all posting 2-1 records in the tournament and a heado-head tie breaker not identifying a winner, administrators looked to a second tie-breaker to determine the winner.
"Game record" (American 7-4, Gonzaga 8-5 and UNLV 8-4) eliminated American University, leaving only Gonzaga and UNLV with eight wins each. Tournament rules specified that once a third team is eliminated, administrators must go back to the first tie-breaker (head-to-head) rather than look at game winning percentage, thus Gonzaga wins the title.
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 the 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 60 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.
