Nov. 19, 2002
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ABOUT THE REBELS
UNLV enters tournament play with a 10-18 overall record, 6-8 in Mountain West Conference play. As the fifth seed, the Rebels will open play in the 2002 MWC Tournament against fourth seeded BYU.
The Rebels split a pair of contests against BYU this season, falling to the Cougars on Sept. 28 in Provo 2-3 (31-29, 30-26, 24-30, 25-30, 17-19), but came back with a 3-1 (17-30, 30-27, 30-18, 30-25) victory in Las Vegas on Oct. 25. UNLV has only beaten BYU twice, but carries the distinction of winning two of the last three meetings.
Should UNLV defeat BYU, the team's second-round match would be against the winner of #1 Colorado State vs. #8 Air Force at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 22.
Senior Blair Wilkes has elevated her game in this season's two meetings against BYU. She has tallied 34 kills with a .450 (34-7-60) attack percentage.
Following a 10-match losing streak that stretched from Sept. 14 to Oct. 11, the Rebels were able to conclude the regular season with a 6-4 record. Coach Collins was finally able to bring an entirely healthy team to the court and play the line-up she intended to have at the start of the season.
Injuries ravaged her middle blockers all season long. Michelle Johnson took a redshirt season after shoulder surgery. Blair Wilkes has battled tendonitis in her knees the entire season. Christina Kirschner suffered a concussion against DePaul on Sept. 13 and was not able to return until Oct. 5 against Colorado State. Sheila Ocasio-Clemente suffered an injury to her foot and has only played in 53 of the team's 103 games this season.
"(Injuries) have hurt us tremendously," Collins said, "because the areas where we've been strong in the past are where we've suffered the most this year. This has forced us to become a smaller defensive team and much less offensive."
CONSISTENCY
Only three Rebels, Nicki King, Shannon Chase and Patricia Assuncao have played in all 28 matches this season.
GOING THE DISTANCE
UNLV is 0-5 in five-game matches this season
DOUBLE-DOUBLESNicki King (7) DePaul 42 assists 12 digs UW-Milwaukee 51 assists 11 digs Sacramento State 53 assists 14 digs Utah 39 assists 10 digs San Diego State 35 assists 10 digs New Mexico 41 assists 11 digs New Mexico 65 assists 10 digs
Leiana Oswald (5) St. Mary's 10 kills 10 digs Sacramento State 16 kills 15 digs Fresno State 11 kills 10 digs Northern Arizona 20 kills 18 digs New Mexico 14 kills 15 digs
Patricia Assuncao (4) Texas Tech 21 kills 17 digs UW-Milwaukee 14 kills 12 digs Sacramento State 17 kills 10 digs San Diego 11 kills 11 digs
Tarin Keith (3) Ball State 17 kills 12 digs Oregon 24 kills 14 digs Sacramento State 13 kills 15 digs
Shannon Chase (2) BYU 15 kills 14 digs Wyoming 15 kills 11 digs
MWC TOURNAMENT TICKETS TIckets are available by calling (970) 491-RAMS or toll-free (800) 491-RAMS.
Prices are as follows:
All Session Reserved - $25
All Session Adult GA - $20
All Session Youth GA - $15
MOUNTAIN WEST VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP TELEVISON SCHEDULE
The Mountain West Conference announced that all matches of the 2002 Mountain West Conference Volleyball Championship will appear on television.
This year marks the first time matches will be broadcast back to each Mountain West Conference market. Preliminary round championship matches can be seen on over-the-air and cable affiliates throughout the Mountain West Conference region. Saturday's title match will be televised live regionally on Fox Sports Net with a coverage area including Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, as well as parts of Montana, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska and Nevada.
The telecast will also be available to a national audience on FSN to DirecTV and Dish Network subscribers.
THURSDAY, NOV. 21Utah vs. Wyoming, 11 a.m.LIVE on KTWO (2) and KKTV (33) in Wyoming12:30 a.m. on KUWB (30) in Salt Lake CityLIVE on Comcast (72) in New MexicoLIVE on Channel 4 in San DiegoLIVE on Cox (48) in Las Vegas
SDSU vs. New Mexico, 1:30 p.m.LIVE on Comcast (72) in New MexicoLIVE on Channel 4 in San DiegoLIVE on Cox (48) in Las VegasLIVE on Adelphia (6) in Colorado Springs
BYU vs. UNLV, 4 p.m.LIVE on KBYU in Provo/Salt Lake CityLIVE on Cox (48) in Las VegasLIVE on Comcast (72) in New MexicoLIVE on Channel 4 in San Diego
AFA vs. Colorado State, 7 p.m.LIVE on Adelphia (6) in Colorado SpringsLIVE on Comcast (72) in New MexicoLIVE on Cox (48) in Las VegasLIVE on Channel 4 in San Diego
FRIDAY, NOV. 22Semifinal 4 p.m.LIVE on Comcast (72) New MexicoLIVE on Channel 4 in San DiegoLIVE on Cox (48) in Las VegasLIVE on KTWO (2) and KKTV (33) -if Wyoming advances- in WyomingTape delay at 12:30 a.m. on KUWB (30) -if Utah advances- in Salt Lake City
Semifinal 7 p.mLIVE on Comcast (72) New MexicoLIVE on Channel 4 in San DiegoLIVE on Cox (48) in Las VegasLIVE on KBYU -if BYU advances- in Provo/Salt Lake City (and on Dish/DirecTV)LIVE on Adelphia (6) in Colorado Springs
