Sept. 30, 2004
Final Stats
Las Vegas - UNLV battled all night but in the end couldn't stop No. 9 Colorado State as the Rams defeated the Rebels in four games, 20-30, 30-23, 30-27 and 30-26 on Thursday night at the Cox Pavilion.
UNLV fell to 7-5 (1-1 in the Mountain West Conference) while Colorado State improved to 11-1 (3-0 MWC).
Maria Aladjova led a spirited Rebels attack with 20 kills, but it was not enough to end the Rams' 10 game winning streak as Becky Sarauer knocked down 21 kills, one short of her career high.
Heading into the match the Rams were riding a 20-match MWC winning streak but that didn't intimidate the young Rebels, who came out in the first game playing their best volleyball of the season.
With the scored knotted at seven in the first game, UNLV reeled off a 6-2 run as Lauren Miramontes knocked down two kills to take a 13-9 lead. The Rebels were able to keep the advantage throughout the match and went on to the win behind six kills each from freshmen Brittani Lumsden and Aladjova. UNLV hit a strong .318 against CSU's defense and the UNLV defense forced the Rams into nine attacking errors and a .068 hitting percentage.
CSU rebounded quickly in the second game, scoring six of the first nine points and grabbed a 14-9 lead. Sarauer had five kills in the run. UNLV couldn't recover and lost the second game and the teams headed into the first intermission dead-locked at 1-1.
Once again the Rams came out strong in the third game, scoring the first three points. UNLV would stick around though, tying the score at 11 and 15 before the Rebels took their first lead of the game, 16-15, off a kill from Mariana Pencheva. UNLV built the lead to 24-20 after a Ram attacking error but couldn't hang on for the pivotal win. Sarauer again rescued the Rams, drilling five kills, including three in a row, as the Rams scored 10 of the next 13 points to grab a 2-1 lead in the match.
The two teams traded leads in the fourth game as neither squad gained more than a four-point advantage early on. The score was tied for the final time at 19 when another kill by Sarauer gave the lead back to the Rams, this time for good.
Lumsden finished the match with 13 kills, Pencheva and Miramontes each had 10 to go along with Aladjova's 20 for the Rebels. Lumsden also had 12 digs along the backline to collect her fifth double-double of the season. Nicki King served up 47 assists for the Rebels while Jada Walker dug up 27 balls.
Bri French had 16 kills and Dre Downs added 13 more for the Rams. Melissa Courtney had a busy night at setter with 64 assists.
UNLV returns to action Sunday afternoon against Wyoming, with the match slated to start at 1:00 p.m. (PST) in the Cox Pavilion.
