Sept. 10, 2005
Final Stats
LAS VEGAS - UNLV (2-4) traded games with Illinois (7-1) in their Friday night match in the UNLV Volleyball Classic, but the Illini took game five for the 3-2 match victory. The Rebels were led by Maria Aladjova's first double-double of the season, but it wasn't enough to win their home opener after spending the first two weekends of the season on the road. Illinois took the match with game scores of: 30-22, 22-30, 30-26, 26-30, 15-12.
UNLV had its fourth-consecutive match where the team hit above the .000 mark, but unfortunatly its .249 hitting percentage wasn't enough to surpass Illinois' .329. The Illini tallied hitting percentages above .300 in all but one of its five games. The five games above .000 give UNLV 15-consecutive games over the mark.
Aladjova had a season-highs in kills (22) and digs (12). She hit for a .432 percentage and an average of 4.4 kpg. Brittani Lumsden (18 kills), Michelle Banks (12 kills) and Lauren Miramontes (10 kills) put four-total Rebels in double-figures in kills. Melody Nua had a team-high 51 assists, while Jada Walker had 23 digs.
Illinois was paced by three in players in double-figures in kills: Rachel VanMeter (32), Kayani Turner (20) and Vicki Brown (13). Brown had a .450 hitting percentage to lead the Illini. Stephanie Obermeier had a match-high 62 assists. Beth Vrdsky had a match-high 29 digs.
The Rebels return to their home facility for day two of the Classic on Saturday with two matches: Rutgers (11 am) and Long Beach State (5 pm).
Day One Classic Scores#11 Louisville def. Illinois, 3-0 (30-20, 30-26, 30-26)#22 Long Beach State def. Rutgers, 3-1 (30-22, 36-38, 30-28, 30-32)Illinois def. UNLV, 3-2 (30-22, 22-30, 30-26, 26-30, 15-12)
