2014 UNLV Volleyball Weekly Notes - Week Eight

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV Rebels, who just completed a brief, but successful homestand with a pair of Mountain West wins over Air Force and New Mexico, head back out on the road for four matches in a 10-day span. In fact, the first three contests will occur in only five days beginning with a 6:00 pm affair in San Jose, Calif., against the San José State Spartans. Two days later, the Rebels will square off against their Silver State foes, the Nevada, Reno Wolf Pack, in Reno for a Saturday matinee at 1:00 pm. They'll head back to the Golden State for a Monday night tilt at the San Diego State Aztecs (6:00 pm).

The two-week road swing will conclude Saturday, Oct. 25 in Fresno, Calif., with a 4:00 pm clash at Fresno State. This FS affair - the ninth for UNLV in MW play - will signify the midpoint of the 18-match conference slate.

FOLLOW THE STREAM: The UNLV Rebels will have all four of their road matches during this 10-day time frame streamed live by the host schools in conjunction with the Mountain West Network. Besides the video, fans can access in-game statistics with links for both available at UNLVRebels.com.

ON THE SIDELINES: The UNLV Rebels will spend two straight weeks on the road before they head back to Las Vegas and the Cox Pavilion for return engagements from their Front Range foes. UNLV will open up the two-match homestand against the Wyoming Cowgirls on Oct. 30 (6:00 pm) and follow it up with a visit from the #6 Colorado State Rams on Nov. 1 (7:00 pm).

GOVERNOR'S SERIES PART THREE: The UNLV volleyball program will help kick off the 2014-15 Governor's Series presented by NV Energy and sponsored by Barrick Gold. This is the third installment of the all-encompassing competition - athletic and academic - between UNLV's and Nevada, Reno's athletics departments.

The Scarlet & Gray has been victorious in the two previous editions behind 30-to-18 and 37.5-to-10.5 point totals in 2013-14 and 2012-13, respectively.

Rebel volleyball has done its part to help UNLV to back-to-back Series wins with sweeps in both years that have resulted in a perfect 4-0 mark. Three of those wins came in 3-0 decisions.

Dating back to 2006, the Rebels have dominated the head-to-head series with its foes from "up north" with 10 straight wins. Five of those triumphs have taken place at the Virginia Street Gym in Reno.

OFF TO A ROUSING START: The UNLV Rebels had equaled the best start in program history through 16 matches until they suffered a pair of road losses to #7 Colorado State and Wyoming. The 2014 edition stood toe-to-toe with the 2007 Mountain West Championship squad prior to the setbacks.

UNLV sits 15-5, which equates to the third-best display through 20 matches. That mark is nestled behind the 17-3 and 16-4 efforts by the 2007 and 1998 teams, respectively.

After starting the season 2-2 through the first two days of their own tournament, the Rebels rattled off 13 more wins in 16 matches. The victorious run began with a sweep of UC Riverside on Aug. 31, which was followed by an 8-1 stretch in a trio of tournaments played in three different time zones.

The Scarlet & Gray pushed the winning trend to 11 wins in 12 tries with home wins over Southern Utah and Fresno State. That string of 11 victories were from a pair of winning streaks that numbered five and six matches.

Unfortunately, those losses along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains put a halt to the winning until triumphs over Air Force and New Mexico placed more notches in the left-hand column.

BLOCKING TO THE TOP: On Monday, the NCAA released its fourth national statistical rankings of 2014 and the Scarlet & Gray remain near the country's elite in both blocking categories. The UNLV Rebels are third overall in both team total blocks (213.0) and blocks per set (3.13)

Those two blocking figures can be greatly attributed to the play of Bree Hammel and Katlin Winters at the net. The duo have worked its way into the top 76 in total blocks and top 93 in blocks per set. Hammel is seventh overall in blocks per set (1.49) and ninth in total blocks (100). Winters is 76th in total blocks (78) and 93rd in blocks per set (1.15).

By virtue of the block, the Rebels have hindered the opposition into a .153 hitting efficiency, which ranks as the 26th best in the nation.

WINNING WHEN KEEPING THE OPPONENTS DOWN: The UNLV Rebels have held their opposition to a .153 hitting efficiency this season, which is the 26th best showing in the country. More impressively, UNLV is 15-0 in 2014 when its opponent hits .171 or worse.

In fact, eight of those victories - all 3-0 sweeps - witnessed the Rebels hold their foes to .099 or lower averages. Included in those eight are the six that UNLV strung together for a season-best winning streak.

On the flip side, the Rebels are 0-5 when their opponents hit .222 or better. CSUN hit .236 and .222 in its two wins during the UNLV Invitational and Washington tallied a .319 showing in its co-hosted The Invitational in Seattle. This past weekend, Colorado State and Wyoming hit .354 and .336, respectively.