Dec. 5, 2007
LAS VEGAS - UNLV head coach Allison Keeley was recognized by the 2007 American Volleyball Coaches Association as the West Region's Division I Coach of the Year, while Lauren Miramontes was tabbed to the All-West Region Team. This is the first AVCA honor for Keeley after she took home a share of the Mountain West Conference's Coach of the Year honor. Miramontes, on the other hand, was named to the AVCA All-West Region Honorable Mention in 2005.
The 2007 season has been as year of firsts for Keeley and her Rebels. Under her direction, UNLV turned in its most successful campaign in the program's history, finishing the season with a 24-6 overall record, it's first-ever Mountain West Conference Championship and earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. After ending 2006 with a 20-10 record, Keeley guided the Rebels to the program's first-ever appearance in the CSTV/AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll, where it stood at No. 25 for two consecutive weeks. In addition, UNLV achieved only its fourth-ever 20-win campaign, with two of those four seasons coming under the mentorship of Keeley.
Keeley and seven other regional winners will represent their region on the 2007 AVCA National Coach of the Year ballot. The awards will be officially presented at the 2007 Jostens Coaches Honors Luncheon in Sacramento, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 13, at the 2007 AVCA Annual Convention.
Miramontes has been no stranger to being recognized in 2007. She was most recently named the Sports Imports/AVCA and the CVU.com (College Volleyball Update) National Player of the Week on Nov. 26, while taking home her fourth MWC Player of the Week honor this season. She was selected as the MWC's Volleyball Championship MVP on Nov. 24 for her record-setting play in UNLV's three tournament matches. She was one of four Rebels on the 2007 MWC All-Conference Team. At the start of the season, she was selected to all three of the tournaments that UNLV won.
For the year, Miramontes owned team-highs in kills (521), kills-per-game (4.65), hitting (.296), total blocks (132), solo blocks (32) and assisted blocks (100). She contributed 111 digs, 13 assists and 11 aces, as well. She had 29 matches with double-digit kills, which included 10 matches with 20 or more. Her 34 kills vs. BYU in the MWC Semifinals were a program-best and MWC Tournament high. She hit above .300 in 16 matcehs, including two matches in the .600s. She blocked at least four attacks on 21 occasions, with a career-high nine coming against Utah in the MWC Championship.
