Oct. 17, 2009
Final Stats
ALBUQUERQUE - The UNLV Rebels (5-11 overall, 3-5 MWC) closed out the first half of Mountain West Conference play with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-18) sweep of the New Mexico Lobos (13-7, 4-4) Saturday afternoon in Albuquerque, N.M. The Rebels offense came up large by notching its third-best hitting efficiency on the year with a .301 effort. Cursty Jackson and Kelsey Keeler led UNLV in kills, as the duo threw down 17 and 11, respectively.
"We were very aggressive and got competitive play from everyone," noted UNLV head coach Allison Keeley. "We put together a complete game offensively and defensively. We are growing into our own and the changes are starting to show as we get better. We blocked well, while New Mexico made a lot of errors."
The win gives UNLV nine victories in the last 11 matches against UNM, while increasing the head-to-head lead to 16-to-8. The Lobos ended UNLV's eight-match winning streak last season, as they swept the home-and-home contests.
While UNLV was racking up its impressive .301 hitting effort, UNM was stymied by the opposition's defense. The Lobos could only muster a .076 hitting effort, which ranks as the lowest tallied against UNLV this season. UNLV opened up with a staggering .387 in the first frame and followed it up with back-to-back .258 performances in the subsequent sets. In an odd twist of fate, the Rebels attempted 31 swings in each set, while tallying 44 kills to only 16 errors in the match. The Lobos, on the other hand, had their best hitting performance in the first set with a .172 showing. They followed that up with a .081 in the second and a .000 in the third. They swung 105 times, but only connected on 32 kills to 24 errors.
Jackson was instrumental for UNLV, as she registered a match-high 17 kills on .600 hitting. She has reached the double-figure mark in kills seven times this season. She tied her career-high in blocks with six (two solo). She also contributed four digs and one assist.
Keeler carried over her hot hitting from her last showing at TCU on Thursday night (Oct. 15). Against the Horned Frogs she tallied 10 kills, while one upping herself with 11 tallies this afternoon. She also pitched in four digs, one assist and one assisted block vs. the Lobos.
"Cursty and Kelsey swung really high and aggressively," said Keeley. "It was the best match that Kelsey has put together."
Samantha Richard dished out a match-high 36 assists to give her 10 double-digit matches on the year. Richard added five digs, one kill, one ace and one assisted block to her stat line.
On the back line, Kela Lau Hee was credited with 14 digs to lead all defensive players in the match. Jeralynn Makaiwi and Nile Te'o joined Richard with five digs apiece.
"Kela and Jeralynn provided strong passing and defense."
UNM did not have a player register double-digits in kills for the match, as Ashley Rhoades led the team with her nine tallies. Taylor Hadfield followed closely behind Rhoades' effort with eight kills of her own. Jade Michaelsen dished out a team-best 24 assists, while Allison Buck owned the team-high in digs with 13.
UNLV is back in action on Oct. 22 (7:00 pm) with a home contest against the San Diego State Aztecs in the Cox Pavilion.
