Oct. 27, 2006
Final Stats
LAS VEGAS - The UNLV volleyball team (15-8 overall, 6-5 Mountain West Conference) needed four games to dispatch of the pesky TCU Horned Frogs (17-8, 5-6 MWC) on Friday night in the Cox Pavilion. The Rebels received double-doubles from Maria Aladjova (19 kills, 12 digs) and Brittani Lumsden (19 kills, 14 digs), while Samantha Noland and Erin Greenwood chipped in 11 kills apiece. The offensive output helped UNLV snap a two-match losing streak with scores of 30-24, 30-25, 25-30, 30-26.
The Rebels jumped out to a quick 15-10 lead after breaking a 7-7 tie in game one. UNLV pushed ahead by seven points on seven occasions, but wound up winning by six at 30-24. Game two was similar to that of its predecessor's in that the game went the way of the Rebels after they broke open a 16-16 tie. UNLV used a five-point swing to go ahead for good in the game at 21-16.
In the third game, TCU trailed by as many as three by managed to take the contest with a 30-25 score. The Rebels led by three at 23-20, but watched TCU rattle off three straight points to tie the game. UNLV took a one-point lead at 24-23 only to watch the Frogs score six consecutive points for a 29-24.
With TCU leading 7-6 in the fourth game, the Frogs watched Jada Walker serve nine straight times and move the score to UNLV's favor at 14-8. UNLV won seven straight in that serving stretch. The Rebels maintained at least a two-point advantage until the 23-22 mark. TCU pulled close a few more times down the stretch, but with the score 25-24 in UNLV's favor, the home squad won seven of the final nine points for the win.
UNLV was led offensively by Aladjova's 11th double-double of the season and Lumsden's fifth. With her 19 kills, Aladjova has now hit in double-figures in 20 of 23 matches in 2006. The Rebels' offense up the middle was shored up by the 28 kills thrown down by the three blockers (Noland's 11, Greenwood's 11 and Lauren Miramontes' six).
Helping the attackers throw down 69 kills were Melody Nua and Kristin Koochi. The two accumulated 65 assists with Nua tallying 33 to Koochi's 22.
On the defensive side of the net, Jada Walker notched a match-high 27 kills. Three other Rebels dug out double-digit figures as Lumsden had 14, Aladjova had 12 and Camille Cunningham had 11.
TCU was led offensively by three double-doubles achieved by Emily Allen (12 kills, 12 digs), Nirelle Hampton (51 assists, 11 digs) and Lauren Otto (12 kills, 20 digs). LeMeita Smith was the fourth Frog to accumulate 10 or more kills with 13 of her own.
The Frogs had five players with 10+ digs as Calli Corley led the team with 26. Besides the dig numbers posted by Hampton, Allen and Otto, Loren Barry joined the group with 12.
The Rebels hit .181 in the match to TCU's .216. Each team threw down 69 kills. UNLV hit for a game-high .314 in the first, but saw their hitting percentage drop in consecutive games. In the second frame they hit .145 and .075 in the third. They rallied for a .172 in the fourth. TCU, on the other hand, hit its best in the game-three win (.283), but hit worse than UNLV in the first (.192) and the fourth (.164). The second game was the only one that witnessed the losing squad out hit the winning one, as TCU hit .244 to UNLV's .145.
Up next for UNLV is a 7:00 p.m. match on Saturday evening in the Cox Pavilion against the New Mexico Lobos (7-16, 3-8 MWC).
