Sept. 3, 2011

Final Stats

LUBBOCK, Texas (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV Rebels (3-3) picked up its third-straight win at the Texas Tech Invitational in Lubbock, Texas with their 3-2 (25-19, 18-25, 26-28, 25-13, 15-13) come-from-behind victory over the Northwestern State Lady Demons (1-5). Stephanie Thelen, Elisa Brochado and Daryn Glenn led the Rebels with double-doubles.

UNLV out-hit NSU .227 to .131. The Rebels hit no worse than .097 in any set and hit a staggering .522 in the must-win fourth set. NSU, on the other hand, owned four sets of .184 or lower hitting figures, including three of .032 or below. The Lady Demons best effort was in the second (.371). The Rebels had one more kill (55-to-54) and 11 less errors (21-to-32) than the Lady Demons, while attempting 18 less attacks (150-to-168).

Four of the sets were claimed by the team with the better hitting efficiency in the individual frame, except for the third. UNLV out-hit NSU in the middle frame .233 to .184.

The first two sets were not that tightly contested with only two ties between the pair of teams. The third set was a different story, as it featured nine ties and four lead changes. After fighting off a 19-all stalemate, UNLV pushed out to a 24-21 lead only to see NSU fight back and stave off the set loss. In all, the Rebels had five set-point opportunities, but failed on each of them before the Lady Demons flipped the stanza in their favor after a 26-26 tie to win the final three points.

UNLV made quick work of the fourth set to knot the score up at 2-all. The Rebels lost the first point, but rallied to stake themselves to a four-point lead at 5-1 and would not let up the rest of the way en route to a 25-13 thrashing.

The fifth and final set witnessed six lead changes and four ties, but ultimately went to UNLV. After the teams knotted the score up at 10-10, 11-11 and 12-12, NSU took a one-point lead at 13-12, but watched UNLV rattle off four consecutive points for the 15-13 win.

The offense was run through Thelen, who combined 44 assists and 12 digs to achieve her second double-double of the season. She also added three assisted blocks, two kills and one ace.

Brochado, who had a double-double yesterday in the win over Morehead State, had 13 kills and 12 digs to achieve her double-double. She chipped in three blocks (one solo), one assist and one ace.

Glenn used a combination of 11 kills and 10 digs to achieve her first double-double of the season. She served up four aces and added three assisted blocks and two assists, as well.

Madeline Westman was strong on both sides of the net with her 12 kills and seven blocks (two solo). She tied Glenn ace for ace with four of her own.

Canice Thomas rounded out the quartet of Rebels with 10 or more kills, as she had 10 off of a staggering .474 hitting. Thomas also had three assisted blocks.

In all, UNLV served up 12 aces in the match compiled by five different players. Taylor Richard, who led the team in digs with 24, joined Brochado, Glenn, Westman and Thelen in the ace department.

The Lady Demons were led by a double-double from Stacy DiFrancesco (13 kills, 12 digs). Kelly Jimenez led her team in kills with 14 and fell one dig shy of a double-double with nine. Emily Sweet tied Thelen for the match-high in assists with 44 of her own. Keelie Arneson led NSU in digs with 17.

The Rebels are back in action Friday night (Sept. 9) in their own UNLV Invitational with a 7:00 pm contest against Southern Utah. Eastern Washington and Cal State Northridge will also participate in the four-team, two-day tournament and play each other at 4:30 pm prior to UNLV-SUU.

2011 Texas Tech Invitational All-Tournament Team:

MVP: Amanda Dowdy, Texas TechKarlyn Meyers, Texas TechMiara Cave, Texas TechAryn Bohannon, Morehead StateLeslie Schellhaas, Morehead StateMadeline Westman, UNLVElisa Brochado, UNLV