Sept. 29, 2011
Final Stats
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV Rebels (8-6 overall, 1-1 Mountain West) suffered a 3-2 decision to the 21st-ranked Colorado State Rams (9-3, 3-0) Thursday night in Mountain West volleyball action from the Cox Pavilion. UNLV fell behind by a set on two different occasions, but fought back to knot the score twice. After claiming a win in the fourth set and forcing a fifth and final frame, the Rebels pushed out to a three-point lead at 9-6, but were unable to maintain the cushion and watched the Rams flip the script and win eight of the final 12 points to claim victory. CSU won the match with set scores of 25-20, 23-25, 25-19, 24-26, 15-12.
CSU out-hit UNLV .287 to .173 for the match. The Rams owned three matches with .312 or better hitting efficiencies, including two .500 efforts in the first and fifth sets. The visitors threw down 67 kills, but committed 22 errors on 157 swings. The Rebels, on the other hand, hit between .091 (third set) and .242 (first) the entire contest. The home squad attacked successfully 64 times, but mishit on 35 occasions in 168 opportunities.
"We are pretty disappointed we lost," said UNLV head coach Cindy Fredrick. "To me, moral victories only go so far. I think we had every chance to win. We didn't play a very good match actually, comparing it to the way we played against San Diego State. But you have to give a lot of credit to Colorado State, they are a big, big team. No. 4 [Katelyn Steffan] was just outstanding. When you can get 28 kills, that's pretty amazing, and she hit .411. So you have to give a lot of credit to them."
"I have to also say I'm proud of the way they fight. They don't quit or give up; they don't have that in them. So overall I'm proud of them. They know they can get better, so they won't ever let that fight go."
The Rebels were led by Stephanie Thelen and her fifth double-double of the season. Thelen dished out 42 assists and 11 digs for the feat, while throwing down six kills on .333 hitting. She also had one ace and one block.
Daryn Glenn nearly tallied one-third of UNLV's 64 kills on the night with a team-high 21. The amount was also a career-best for the freshman. Glenn also provided eight digs, three assists and three blocks.
Madeline Westman joined Glenn in the double-digit kill club with 12 of her own. Westman hit a team-best .360 in the match and chipped in six blocks (one solo), two digs and one assist.
Defensively, UNLV had two more players besides Thelen notched 11 or more digs with Allison Davies' 20 leading the way. Davies also provided three assists, one kill and one ace. Sekola Falemaka was second on the squad in digs with 12 and fell one kill short of a double-double with nine. Falemaka had four assists and three blocks (one solo), as well.
CSU's offense was primarily run through Katelyn Steffan, who slugged 28 kills on .411 hitting, both match highs, on the night. Steffan also had five digs, two blocks and one assist.
Brion Paige and Megan Plourde hit double digits in kills with an output of 12 and 10, respectively.
Deedra Foss had a match-high 60 assists and added nine digs, six blocks and two kills. Izzy Gaulia led the team with 18 digs.
UNLV is back in action Saturday afternoon against the Wyoming Cowgirls with first serve scheduled for 1:00 pm.
