Nov. 30, 2007
Final Stats
LOS ANGELES - The UNLV Rebels (24-6) rode two straight five-game victories to a Mountain West Conference Championship, but were unable to keep the streak alive with its 3-2 loss to the 25th-ranked Long Beach State 49ers (26-6) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday night. The teams traded victories throughout the match, as LBSU took #1 and #3, while UNLV kept evening things up with its game two and four wins. Ultimately, the 49ers broke a 10-10 tie in the decisive, fifth game to earn the win at USC's Galen Center. Long Beach State advances to the second round and will face the winner of the #5 USC vs. Pepperdine match on Saturday night.
Game five was tied on three occasions with scores at 1-1, 3-3 and 10-10. UNLV trailed 10-8 in the fifth, but got a kill from Erin Greenwood and an ace by Jada Walker to knot the score at 10 apiece. The 49ers broke the tie with a kill by Michaela Hasalikova and never looked back. Three straight attacking errors by UNLV increased LBSU's lead to 14-10. The 49ers ended the match on an ace served up by Nicole Vargas.
All five games were won by the squad that had the highest hitting efficiency. The 49ers took game one with their .196 hitting to UNLV's .000. The Rebels rebounded in game two by hitting .163 to LBSU's .148. The 49ers jumped back in the lead with their .244 effort in game three, while UNLV hit .137. It was LBSU's turn to put up a .000, as they did it in the fourth, while UNLV hit .186. LBSU only committed two attacking errors in the fifth and hit .250 to UNLV's .100. For the match, LBSU out-hit UNLV .153 to .120.
UNLV was led offensively by four players in double-figure kills. Lauren Miramontes topped all Rebel hitters with 19 kills and was followed by Erin Greenwood's 15, Jessica Walters' 13 and Maria Aladjova's 12. Greenwood led all Rebel hitters with her .414 hitting efficiency.
Melody Nua dished out 46 of the Rebels' 60 assists.
Jada Walker was one of four Rebels with double-figures in digs. Walker led the team with 22, while Camille Cunningham had 13. Aladjova tallied a double-double by combining her 12 kills with her 12 digs. Brittani Lumsden rounded out the quartet with 12 digs of her own.
LBSU was led by Alexi Crimes' match-high 21 kills. Hasalikova threw down 17 kills and hit .406 to lead the 49ers. Ashley Lee registered 11 kills and combined them with her 14 digs for a double-double.
Nicole Vargas joined Lee in the double-double category, as she had a match-high 52 assists and 11 digs.
Talaya Whitfield, a former MWC foe when she played at TCU, had a match-high 24 digs. Cynthia Buggs rounded out the 49ers with 10+ digs.
With the loss, UNLV's season ends with an overall record of 24-6. This was the most successful season in the program's history.
