July 19, 2006
LAS VEGAS - The 2006 UNLV volleyball schedule has been released and it includes three tournaments and a total of 28 regular season contests. The Rebels will play host to the UNLV Classic (Aug. 25-26) and the UNLV Invitational (Sept. 8-9) in the Cox Pavilion, while they travel to Pullman, Wash., for the Baden Cougar Challenge (Sept. 1-2). Overall, the schedule is broken down into 15 home matches and 13 on the road. Closing out the regular season will be the Mountain West Conference Tournament (Nov. 20-25), which will be staged in Las Vegas for the second straight year.
The Rebels open up the season by hosting Oregon State, Oral Roberts and Cal Poly in the UNLV Classic. UNLV hits the road the following weekend for the Baden Cougar Challenge. Washington State will be the host team and will welcome UC Davis and Boise State to Pullman for the four-team event. The UNLV Invitational takes place during the third weekend of the season and brings Cal State Northridge, Xavier and UC Santa Barbara to Las Vegas.
The MWC regular season begins on Sept. 13 with a home match versus San Diego State. The Rebels have three non-conference matches sprinkled into the mix with road trips to Long Beach State (Sept. 15) and UC Riverside (Sept. 16) and a home contest against in-state rival, Nevada, Reno on Sept. 25. The regular season concludes on Nov. 17 at San Diego State.
Breaking down the 2006 opponents, the Rebels will be playing six squads that advanced to the 2005 NCAA Tournament. Three of the six came from the MWC: Colorado State, BYU and Utah. The other three postseason qualifiers were: Long Beach State, UC Santa Barbara and Nevada, Reno. Utah closed out the 2005 season ranked in a tie for 25th in the American Volleyball Coaches Associations final rankings, while UC Santa Barbara, BYU and Long Beach State were receiving points.
"We return six of seven starters and a core of upper classmen who are ready for the challenge of a new season," said head coach Allison Keeley. "Our 2006 schedule represents a great opportunity to consistently compete against top rated teams. Success in the preseason will position UNLV for not only a strong run at the conference, but also a bid for postseason play."
"Oral Roberts finished 12-2 in the Mid-Continent Conference and Xavier went 10-3 in the Atlantic 10. Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara represent great opportunities to compete against two top teams in the Big West Conference, while Washington State and Oregon State provide strong competition from the Pac-10. The Mountain West Conference looks strong this year as many teams returned a mojority of last season's starters and were bolstered their rosters by adding high-caliber recruiting classes.
UNLV is coming off of a 15-15 season. In MWC play, the team went 10-6 and finished in fourth place. In the MWC Tournament, the team reached the semifinals, for the second straight year.
2006 UNLV Rebel Volleyball Schedule
Aug. 25-26 UNLV Classic Las Vegas, Nev.Aug. 25 UNLV vs. Cal Poly 7:00 pmAug. 26 UNLV vs. Oral Roberts 12:00 pm UNLV vs. Oregon State 7:00 pm
Sept. 1-2 Baden Cougar Challenge Pullman, Wash.Sept. 1 UNLV vs. Washington State 7:00 pmSept. 2 UNLV vs. UC Davis 10:00 am UNLV vs. Boise State 5:00 pm
Sept. 8-9 UNLV Invitational Las Vegas, Nev.Sept. 8 UNLV vs. UC Santa Barbara 7:00 pmSept. 9 UNLV vs. Cal State Northridge 12:00 pmSept. 9 UNLV vs. Xavier 7:00 pm
Sept. 13 San Diego State* Las Vegas, Nev. 7:00 pmSept. 15 Long Beach State Long Beach, Calif. 7:30 pmSept. 16 UC Riverside Riverside, Calif. 5:00 pmSept. 21 Utah* Las Vegas, Nev. 7:00 pmSept. 23 BYU* Las Vegas, Nev. 7:00 pmSept. 25 Nevada, Reno Las Vegas, Nev. 5:00 pmSept. 29 TCU* Fort Worth, Texas 7:00 pmSept. 30 New Mexico* Albuquerque, N.M. 7:00 pmOct. 7 Wyoming* Las Vegas, Nev. 7:00 pmOct. 13 Colorado State* Fort Collins, Colo. 7:00 pmOct. 14 Air Force* Colorado Springs, Colo. 7:00 pmOct. 20 BYU* Provo, Utah 7:00 pmOct. 22 Utah* Salt Lake City, Utah TBAOct. 27 TCU* Las Vegas, Nev. 7:00 pmOct. 28 New Mexico* Las Vegas, Nev. 7:00 pmNov. 2 Wyoming* Laramie, Wyo. 7:00 pmNov. 10 Air Force* Las Vegas, Nev. 7:00 pmNov. 12 Colorado State* Las Vegas, Nev. TBANov. 17 San Diego State* San Diego, Calif. 7:00 pmNov. 22-25 MWC Tournament Las Vegas, Nev. TBA
*Mountain West Conference match.Please note that all times are listed in the time zone in which game is being played.Date and times of games could change due to TV schedule.
