Sept. 1, 2005
LAS VEGAS -
Week Two Game Notes
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Rebels Travel West Once Again
UNLV will travel to California for the second-consecutive weekend. Following their 1-2 showing at the Fremont Investment & Loan Invitational in Northridge last weekend, the Rebels will play two in the Holiday Inn-Costa Mesa Sunset Classic in Irvine. Up first will be a Friday night match versus the Anteaters of UC Irvine and a contest with the Santa Clara Broncos. Southern Miss was scheduled to compete in the Classic, but due to Hurricane Katrina, the Golden Eagles had to cancel their trip.
Last Week In Review
Last weekend, the Rebels opened up the 2005 campaign on the road at the Fremont Investment & Loan Invitational in Northridge, Calif. UNLV played three matches and finished with a 1-2 mark. The lone victory came against Arizona State, while the two losses were to #23 Saint Mary's (Calif.) and Cal State Northridge.
In the first match of the season, on Friday, Aug. 26, the Gaels of SMC swept the Rebels in three-straight games (18-30, 28-30, 22-30). SMC out hit UNLV .253 to .081. Ashley Flahaven topped both teams with a .700 hitting percentage (7 kills, no errors, 10 total attempts), while Maria Aladjova notched 10 kills. Melody Nua, playing in her first collegiate match, assisted on 28 attacks. Jada Walker led the team with nine digs.
On Saturday, Aug. 27, the Rebels played a split-doubleheader. Game one turned into a five-game match with the host Matadors (28-30, 30-25, 30-21, 26-30, 7-15). UNLV fell behind after losing the first game, but took games two and three for a 2-to-1 match lead. CSUN rebounded in game four to propel the match into the fifth and final game. Both squad had held positive hitting percentages throughout the game, until UNLV went into negative numbers (-.056) in the fifth game.
Lauren Miramontes and Michelle Banks led the Rebel offense with 23 and 20 kills, respectively. Banks was tops for the Rebels in hitting percentage (.312) and picked up 11 digs for her first double-double of the season. For the second-straight match, Aladjova had double-digit kills (10). Nua nearly doubled her assist total from the Saint Mary's match as she picked up 54 assists and her first double-double when she tallied 15 digs, as well. Walker led the team with 23 digs.
In Match #2, UNLV turned its misfortunes around and swept Arizona State in three games for the team's first win of the young season. For the second-straight match, Banks notched a double-double (13 kills to 19 digs). Miramontes led the team with 16 kills and Nua totaled 41 assists.
For her efforts in the Invitational, Miramontes was named to the All-Tournament Team. In the three matches, she tallied 47 kills (4.27 kpg) and a .269 hitting percentage. She set career game-highs in kills (23), attempts (50) and assists (3), vs. CSUN.
