Sept. 3, 2004

Las Vegas - New head coach Allison Keeley earned her first victory at UNLV, as the Rebels held on to down Washington State in the season opener before 150 fans at the Cox Pavilion on Friday afternoon. A trio of freshmen made huge impacts in their first college action as UNLV hung on to down Washington State in five games, 30-17, 30-12, 30-32, 22-30, 15-11. Outside hitters Brittani Lumsden and Maria Aladjova had strong attacking games, as Lumsden tallied a team-high 28 kills and Aladjova knocked down 26. Setting up the pair was freshman setter Marisa Okamoto, who efficiently ran the offense in her first match, handing out 76 assists in the five-game match. UNLV ran out to an early 2-0 game lead, as the Rebels dominated play early on. Aladjova had nine of her kills in the first game alone, helping to establish UNLV's offense. The Rebels' hitting percentage in the first two games was .406 with only seven attacking errors. On the opposite side of the net Washington State struggled hitting the ball in the opening pair of games, getting only 13 kills to go along with 13 hitting errors and a .012 hitting percentage. It was a different story once the teams returned from their break between games two and three. Washington State rebounded to win the next two games as the Cougars started hitting the ball better and pressing the UNLV defense into ball handling mistakes. UNLV nearly ended the match in the third game though, coming back from a 28-25 deficit late in the game to tie it at 30. The Cougars reeled off two straight kills to end the game, forcing a deciding fifth game. UNLV controlled the final game, jumping out to an early 10-5 lead behind three kills by Lumsden and two by Aladjova. WSU trimmed the lead to 12-10, but UNLV scored three of the next four points to close out the match. Michelle Banks had a solid all-around match for UNLV, setting two career-highs with 15 kills and 14 digs. The Cougars was led by Jen Barcus' 15 kills. In the match UNLV had a .283 hitting percentage with 81 kills and 29 hitting errors. WSU hit .199 and had 58 kills and 25 errors. UNLV and Washington State will meet again Saturday, as the two teams close out the UNLV Classic at 5:00 pm in the Cox Pavilion. The Cougars will play San Jose State at 10:00 am before playing the Rebels.