The first year of the UNLV volleyball program's rebirth is in the books. The Rebels closed out 2004 with their first winning record (15-12) since 1998's 23-8 finish.
Helping guide the Rebels into their fifth-highest win total in 14 years of play was first-year head coach Allison Keeley.
Keeley and the Rebels look to improve upon 2004's success and make larger strides towards reaching their goals this season. The Rebels are looking for their first Mountain West Conference regular season and tournament championship and the school's first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament.
~Returning Rebels~
Keeley has the 2005 Rebels in a better position to win than in her first season. This year's team has the experience, knows how to win and what it takes to win. And how it feels to win. Key returning upperclassmen are: Mariana Pencheva, Michelle Banks and Kristin Koochi.
Pencheva (middle blocker) is the lone senior on the 2005 roster. Pencheva played in 100 games, the most by any Rebel in `04. In 26 matches, she was fourth on the team in kills (260) and tops in blocks (84). Banks (outside hitter) played in 71 games and 22 matches. Banks had 90 kills, 156 digs, 12 blocks and 13 aces. Koochi (libero) played in 83 games and 24 matches. She had 161 digs, two kills and 14 assists. She tallied 23 aces, which ranked as the second-most on the `04 squad.
The Rebels relied heavily on five freshmen last season. Maria Aladjova, Lauren Miramontes, Brittani Lumsden, Jada Walker and Ashley Flahaven are back for their sophomore seasons.
Aladjova (outside hitter) was the MWC's 2004 Co-Freshman of the Year. In 88 games and 24 matches she racked up 328 kills, the most by any Rebel in 2004 and the ninth-most in a single season. She had 63 digs, 12 assists and nine aces. Miramontes (middle blocker) had a break-out season in 2004. After only playing in five matches her freshman season due to injury, she played in 24 last season.
Miramontes was tied for the second-most kills last season with 282. She ranked second in blocks with 78, 20 of which were solo and ranked as the sixth-most in the UNLV single-season records. She even tallied 18 aces. Lumsden (outside hitter) saw action in 97 games and 25 matches. She tied for the second-most kills (282) and was second in digs as well with 245. She had 24 aces and 21 assists.
Walker (libero) played in 98 games and 26 matches. She led the team with 418 digs, which is also a UNLV single-season record. She had 33 assists and 23 aces. She was named to the 2004 MWC All-Tournament Team. Flahaven (middle blocker) played in 60 games and 21 matches. She had 66 kills, 39 digs and 32 blocks.
~New Rebels~
Joining the 2005 edition will be seven fresh faces (although one was a member of the 2004 team). These seven should make some key contributions this season and will be a surprise to many opponents.
The seven are: Anna Casares (libero), Camille Cunningham (setter/libero), Erin Greenwood (middle blocker), Jennifer Johnson (outside hitter/middle blocker), Melody Nua (setter), Kortney Reid (outside hitter, was redshirted in 2004) and Erica Watson (outside hitter/middle blocker).
~Schedule~
On the 2005 slate are 29 matches. When you break the schedule down the Rebels will play in four regular season tournaments, including their own UNLV Volleyball Classic on Sept. 9 and 10, 16 MWC matches (eight home / eight away) and one non-conference single match (Nevada, Reno).
There are three squads on the schedule that finished the 2004 season ranked in the top-25 (Saint Mary's (Calif.), San Diego and Colorado State) and 12 that made it into the 2004 NCAA Tournament. When the CSTV/AVCA Division I Coaches Poll was released on Aug. 8, there were four schools ranked in the top 25 (#18 San Diego, #22 Colorado State, #23 Saint Mary's (Calif.) and #24 Long Beach State) and five more (Santa Clara, Utah, Illinois, Nevada-Reno and BYU) in the receiving votes category. The Rebels open the season on the road at the Fremont Investment & Loan Invitational on August 26 and 27. The Invitational is hosted by Cal State Northridge and includes Saint Mary's (Calif.) and Arizona State.
The second weekend of the season, Sept. 2 and 3, will be spent in Irvine, Calif., at the Holiday Inn Costa Mesa / Sunset Classic. UC Irvine is hosting the Classic and will feature Santa Clara and Southern Mississippi.
The Rebels open their home schedule on Sept. 9 and 10, with their own tournament and will play Illinois, Rutgers and Long Beach State.
On Sept. 15-17, UNLV travels back to California for the University of San Diego Invitational. Arkansas and American University are participating as well.
Following the four tournaments, the Rebels go into the MWC season. UNLV gets the luxury of opening conference play at home with matches against Wyoming and Colorado State. In the MWC schedule, UNLV will play alternating two at home and then two on the road matches until the the seventh and eighth weeks when the team has back-to-back weekends on the road. The Rebels close out the conference season at home with Utah and BYU on Nov. 18 and 19, respectively.
The MWC Tournament will be hosted by UNLV for the first time since the league's inception in 1999. The tournament will be held on Nov. 22-26, and played at the Cox Pavilion.
This year's NCAA Volleyball Championship will be played in San Antonio, Texas, on Dec. 15 and 17, in the Alamodome.
