Sept. 22, 2009
Final Stats
LAS VEGAS - The UNLV Rebels (2-7 overall, 1-1 Mountain West) rallied from a two-set deficit in its come-from-behind 3-2 (14-25, 19-25, 25-22, 25-22, 15-8) win over the Wyoming Cowgirls (8-6, 0-1) Tuesday night in the Cox Pavilion. The victory snapped UNLV's six-match losing streak, while keeping alive its dominance over the Cowgirls. The Rebels have now won seven straight over Wyoming and 10 straight meetings played in Las Vegas.
The Cowgirls took the first two frames with ease, as they hit at an astonishing .431 clip with a .600 effort in the first set and .303 in the second. UNLV, on the other hand, hit .167 combined in the first two stanzas before turning things around after the intermission.
"We made lineup changes after the break and the people in there who played consistently and agressively," noted UNLV head coach Allison Keeley. "The win is very gratifying and it was fun doing it at home. Doing it in five sets added to the excitement."
The Rebels came out of the break swinging, as they notched a .354 hitting figure in the final three sets. UNLV hit no worse than .324 (fourth set) in the final three frames, while topping out at a .440 tally in the fifth. Wyoming stayed in the .200s during the third (.250) and fourth (.275), but could only muster a .148 in the fifth and deciding set.
Coincidentally, the last time UNLV played a five-set match was against Wyoming, in Laramie, on Nov. 13, 2008.
UNLV's offense was led by a near triple-double by Samantha Richard, who tallied 46 assists, 12 digs and six kills. Richard hit at a .231 clip, but more importantly, helped her hitters to their hot hitting.
"Samantha was very steady and made nice adjustments," said Keeley. "She gave the team confidence, while digging and assisting on some good balls."
Richard's sets helped four of her hitters achieve double-digit kill figures. Cursty Jackson led the quartet with 18 kills on .552 hitting, while chipping in four blocks (one solo). Sara Nehf threw down 15 kills, while joining Richard in the double-double club with 11 digs. Kelsey Keeler and Erin Greenwood rounded out the foursome with their 12 and 10 kills, respectively.
Kela Lau Hee led the defensive effort for UNLV with her 22 digs.
Wyoming got double-doubles from Jodi Purdy and Dani Bedore, as they both used kill-dig combinations. Purdy racked up a match-high 20 kills to go with her 11 digs, while Bedore had 18 and 11, respectively.
The Cowgirls got 11 digs from Jadranka Tramosljanin and Jessica Kagarise, as well.
Barbara Lasic dished out 57 of Wyoming's 62 assists in the match.
UNLV now hits the road for two conference matches on Thursday (Sept. 24) at Air Force (6:00 pm PT) and on Saturday (Sept. 26) at San Diego State (7:00 pm PT).
"We've enjoyed our home stand, as we got a chance to play some tough matches without wearing ourselves out on the road," said Keeley. "We are fresh and ready to get back out there. We play well on the road."
