Nov. 14, 2007

LAS VEGAS -

Weekly Release #13 in PDF Format

First Serve: The #25 UNLV Rebels improved to 21-3 overall and 12-2 in Mountain West Conference play with its home victories against New Mexico and TCU this past weekend. With the wins, UNLV maintains a share of the MWC lead with #17 Colorado State with two regular season matches remaining for both squads. Currently, UNLV is riding a 10-match winning streak, which ties for the longest in the program's history. The Rebels have a daunting task of playing at Utah (Friday, Nov. 16 - 6:00 pm PT) and at BYU (Saturday, Nov. 17 - 6:00 pm PT) to close out the regular season for a shot at the MWC regular season title. UNLV defeated both in Las Vegas during the first weekend of conference action.

Week 13 Opponents:

Utah Utes: 11-14 overall, 7-7 MWC ~ Utah leads the all-times series 23-2 and had its streak of 19-straight wins over UNLV snapped on Sept. 15 in Las Vegas in a 3-1 defeat.

~ The Utes are led by Kathryn Hainie's 350 kills (3.65 kpg), Keisha Fisher's 809 assists (8.43 apg), Connie Dangerfield's 379 digs (3.95 dpg) and Lori Baird's 148 blocks (1.54 bpg).

BYU Cougars: 18-6 overall, 10-4 MWC (Host San Diego State on Fri.)

~ BYU leads the all-time series 20-3 and had its streak of 10-straight wins over UNLV snapped on Sept. 13 in Las Vegas in a 3-0 defeat.

~ The Cougars are led by Chelsea Goodman's 371 kills (4.42 kpg), Amy Schlauder's 659 assists (13.73 apg), Annie Pinegar's 354 digs (3.98 dpg) and Rachel Dyer's 115 blocks (1.29 bpg).

Rebels In The Poll...Stay 25th: For the second straight week, the UNLV Rebels hold onto the 25th position in the latest edition of the CSTV/AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll. The Rebels went 2-0 last week with home victories over New Mexico and TCU.

This is the ninth week that UNLV has been recognized in the poll, as prior to last week's top 25 ranking, the squad had been in the "receiving votes" category where they got as high as 26th.

Rebels' RKPI Ranks 13th: In the latest Nitty Gritty Report produced by RichKern.com, the Rebels own the 13th-best RKPI in the country. This is the highest that UNLV has reached since pole-vaulting up to the 6th spot on Sept. 17, after defeating then-#12 BYU and Utah.

UNLV had been in the 14th spot the past two weeks (Oct. 29 and Nov. 5), prior to sitting 22nd the two weeks before that (Oct. 15 and Oct. 22).

Miramontes Shares Weekly MWC Honor...Again: UNLV senior Lauren Miramontes and Colorado State junior Mekana Barnes have been named Mountain West Conference Volleyball Co-Players of the Week. This is the third weekly honor of the season for Miramontes and the fourth for Barnes.

Miramontes led No. 25 UNLV to a 2-0 conference record and sole possession of first-place last week with wins over New Mexico and TCU. She had match-highs in hitting (.516), kills (17) and blocks (four) in the Rebels' three-game win over the Lobos last Friday. She had only one hitting error in 31 attempts vs. UNM, while also tallying two digs. Against TCU, she had a match-high 24 kills on the way to a .319 hitting percentage. Defensively, she had five total blocks and five digs as UNLV prevailed in four games. For the week, she averaged 5.86 kills, 1.29 blocks, 1.00 digs and 6.79 points per game while hitting .397.

Rebels Close In On Best Conference Mark Ever: The UNLV volleyball is in its 12th year since the sport was brought back to the athletics line-up in 1996. In the previous 11 seasons, the Rebels best conference mark came in 1998, when the team went 11-3 (79%) and finished fourth overall in the Western Athletic Conference (second in the Mountain Division). Currently, the 2007 team sits 12-2 (86%) in the Mountain West Conference with two matches remaining.

Since 1999, UNLV has finished between fourth and sixth as a member of the MWC. The Rebels finished in fourth place in 2004, 2005 and 2006. This is the first time that the Rebels have won 12 matches in MWC play and fourth straight season to win at least 10.

The Start: After playing in 24 contests and three tournaments, UNLV owns a 21-3 record and three tournament titles. The 21-3 record is the best record through 24 matches in the program's history.

Included in 2007's 21 victories are two winning streaks. The team is currently riding a 10-match winning streak that begon on Oct. 4 vs. Wyoming and ties for the longest in the program's history. From Aug. 25 (Virginia) to Sept. 15 (Utah), the squad won nine straight.

Home Sweet Home - Overall: UNLV closed out its 2007 home regular season schedule with a record of 10-1 (91%). The 2007 winning percentage ranks as the best in the program's history and surpassed the 81% set by the 2006 squad and its 13-3 record.

Home Sweet Home - Conference: UNLV closed out its 2007 home conference schedule with a perfect 8-0 record (100%). The 2007 squad equals the winning percentage of the 1998 team that went 7-0 in the Western Athletic Conference.

A First For Everything: With wins over then-#12 BYU and Utah in September and a win over then-#18 Colorado State on Oct. 25, the Rebels have won matches against the "Big 3" in the Mountain West Conference for the first time in the same season in the program's history.

It is then safe to say that it is also the first time that UNLV has defeated all three at home in the Cox Pavilion.

Chalk `Em Up: The 2007 Rebels have accomplished another first this season. They have defeated all eight of their MWC counterparts at least once, whether it be home or away. They own sweeps in the season-series against Air Force, New Mexico, TCU and Wyoming.

Four of 15 Or More: Since Allison Keely took over the UNLV volleyball program in 2004, she has done what no other coach has been able to do. Keeley has won at least 15 matches in four straight years at the helm. The team went 15-12 in 2004 and 15-15 in 2005. The squad improved to 20-10 in 2006 and currently sits at 21-3. This four-year span is also the first to own winning percentages of .500 or greater, since the sport was brought back in 1996.

How The Rebels Fare: UNLV is one of 16 teams in the country with three or fewer losses. Dayton, Washington, Florida and Nebraska are the only schools with only one loss. There are four schools with two losses, while UNLV is one of eight with three.

Nationally Speaking - Team: The UNLV volleyball team ranks nationally in per-game statistics in hitting percentage, assists, digs and kills, as well as sitting tied for the 13th-best winning percentage (88%). The statistics are compiled through Nov. 11.

~ Hitting: UNLV ranks 36th with an average of .253. Texas leads with a .345.

~ Assists: UNLV ranks 9th with an average of 15.76 apg. Nebraska leads with a 16.69 apg.

~ Digs: UNLV ranks 8th with an average of 19.82 dpg. Chattanooga leads with a 22.67 dpg.

~ Kills: UNLV ranks 12th with an average of 17.06 kpg. Nebraska leads with a 18.09 kpg.

Nationally Speaking - Individual: The UNLV volleyball team has four players rank nationally in individual per-game statistics in assists, digs and kills. The statistics are compiled through Nov. 11.

~ Assists: Melody Nua ranks 14th with an average of 13.33 apg.

~ Digs: Jada Walker ranks 34th with an average of 5.60 dpg.

~ Kills: Lauren Miramontes ranks 53rd with an average of 4.52 kpg.

~ Kills: Maria Aladjova ranks 62nd with an average of 4.46 kpg.