Aug. 30, 2008
Final Stats
LAS VEGAS - The UNLV Rebels fell to 1-2 after dropping a five-set decision to the South Carolina Gamecocks (2-1) on Saturday morning in the final day of the ASU Sheraton Classic in Tempe, Ariz. The teams alternated wins in sets one through four, but the Gamecocks' offense was too dominant in the fifth and final set to claim the victory. South Carolina won by scores of 20-25, 25-18, 16-25, 25-20, 15-8.
Both teams swung in the .200s for the match, as USC hit .276 to UNLV's .213. The Gamecocks knocked down only two more kills in the match (65-to-63), while the Rebels accumulated nine more errors (27-to-18). The team that owned the higher hitting efficiency in each set won that individual stanza. UNLV's best set was its third when the offense hit .333. Unfortunately, the Rebels hit no better than .242 in the other four frames. USC, on the other hand, had three sets where it hit .325 or better, including .382 in the second and .550 in the fifth.
The Rebel offense was paced by Melody Nua's 29th career double-double. Nua combined her 50 assists with 11 digs for the achievement.
Erin Greenwood led the Rebel attack with a team-high 20 kills, while hitting a team-best .452. Greenwood was joined by Jessica Walters and Samantha Noland in the double-digit kill category, as they contributed 16 and 14 kills, respectively.
Walters was UNLV's lone representative on the ASU Sheraton Classic's All-Tournament team after racking up 60 kills and a .278 hitting efficiency in the two-day event.
Defensively, Camille Cunningham led UNLV with her 24 digs. Samantha Richard and Gerryn Moran amassed 11 digs apiece to join Cunningham and Nua in double figures.
USC got double-doubles from Ivana Kujundzic and Bridget Denson-Dorman. Kujundzic knocked down 13 kills and dug out 12 Rebel attacks, while Denson-Dorman dished out a match-high 52 assists with 12 digs.
Belita Salters threw down a match-high 21 kills, while hitting at a .543 clip for the Gamecocks. Salters was joined by Megan Lauglin (13 kills) and Annie Thomas (10 kills) in the attacking department.
Next up for the Rebels is their own tournament in Las Vegas. UNLV will welcome #13 Wiconsin, Cal State Fullerton and Miami (Ohio) to the Cox Pavilion for the two-day event on Sept. 5-6. The tournament begins on Friday with a 4:30 pm match between Cal State Fullerton and Miami (Ohio). UNLV and Wisconsin will play the 7:00 pm match Friday night.
