Nov. 21, 2007

LAS VEGAS -

Weekly Release 14 in PDF Format

First Serve: The UNLV Rebels closed out the regular season with a 21-5 overall record. The 21-5 record equates to an 81% winning percentage, which is the best in the program's history. Unfortunately, the Rebels dropped its final Mountain West Conference matches to tie BYU for second place with identical 12-4 records. By virtue of holding the tiebreaker with BYU, the Rebels will open the MWC Volleyball Championship as the #2 seed. The 20th-ranked Colorado State Rams won the MWC regular season title by one game (13-3) and will the the top seed.

Mountain West Tournament Schedule:

Wednesday, Nov. 21 - Play-In MatchMatch  1:   No. 8 San Diego State vs. No. 9 Air Force, 3:30 pm
Thursday, Nov. 22 - QuarterfinalsMatch 2:    No. 3 BYU vs. No. 6 New Mexico, 11:00 amMatch 3:    No. 2 UNLV vs. No. 7 Wyoming, 40 min. following Match 2Match 4:    No. 4 TCU vs. No. 5 Utah, 4:00 pmMatch 5:    No. 1 Colorado State vs. Match 1 Winner, 40 min. following Match 4
Friday, Nov. 23 - SemifinalsMatch 6:    Match 2 Winner vs. Match 3 Winner, 3:30 pmMatch 7:    Match 4 Winner vs. Match 5 Winner, 6:00 pm
Saturday, Nov. 24 - ChampionshipMatch 8:    Match 6 Winner vs. Match 7 Winner, 8:00 pm

Let The "New" Season Begin: UNLV will play as host to its third straight Mountain West Volleyball Championship on Nov. 21 through Nov. 24. The Rebels enter the tournament as the #2 seed and will play the 7th-seeded Wyoming Cowgirls on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 22) 40-minutes after the conclusion of the first quarterfinal match (#2 seed BYU vs. #6 seed New Mexico, 11:00 am). With a win, UNLV would play the victor of that 11:00 am match on Friday, Nov. 23 at 3:30 pm in the first semifinal of the day. A victory in the semifinal would send UNLV to its first conference championship match ever.

Rebels In The Poll...Drop To 29th: After sitting in the 25th spot in the last two CSTV/AVCA Division I Coaches Polls, the UNLV Rebels dropped to 29th following its two losses this past weekend to close out the regular season.

This is the 10th week that UNLV has been recognized in the poll. Besides being ranked 25th in the two previous polls, the Rebels have sat in the "receiving votes" category eight times.

UNLV isn't the only MWC team that has been noticed by the coaches that vote in the poll, as Colorado State is ranked 20th and BYU comes in with the 31st most votes.

Rebels' RKPI Ranks 23rd: In the latest Nitty Gritty Report produced by RichKern.com, the Rebels own the 23rd-best RKPI in the country. The Rebels dropped 11 spots after losing both of their matches this past weekend. UNLV had jumped up to 13th with help from its program-tying 10-match winning streak that was snapped against Utah on Nov. 16.

Ever since UNLV defeated then-#12 BYU and Utah to open up the Mountain West Conference's regular season, the Rebels have stayed within the top 30 for 10 straight weeks. The wins over BYU and Utah moved them up to the sixth spot.

Rebels Fall Short Of Best Conference Mark Ever: 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). The 2007 team finished 12-4 (75%) in the Mountain West Conference and in a tie for second place.

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 26 contests and three tournaments, UNLV owns a 21-5 record and three tournament titles. The 21-5 record is the best record through 26 matches in the program's history.

Included in 2007's 21 victories are two winning streaks. A 10-match winning streak that began on Oct. 4 vs. Wyoming and ties for the longest in the program's history was snapped this past weekend against Utah (Nov. 16). 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 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 Keeley 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 21-5. This four-year span is also the first to own winning percentages of .500 or greater, since the sport was brought back in 1996.

Senior Salute: The UNLV Rebels recognized their "Fantastic Four" on Saturday, Nov. 10 in the seniors' final home regular season match. Maria Aladjova, Lauren Miramontes, Jada Walker and Brittani Lumsden have helped UNLV volleyball become what it is today. The four have left their names in the UNLV record book for years to come.

Maria Aladjova:  All-time kills leader and is listed in the top 10 in six others.Lauren Miramontes:  All-time blocks leader and is listed in the top 10 in eight others.Jada Walker:  All-time digs leader and is in the top 10 in matches, games and aces.Brittani Lumsden:  Sits in the career top 10 in matches, games, kills, attempts,  aces and digs.