Box Score

MANHATTAN (UNLVRebels.com) - For the second time Friday, the UNLV volleyball team (3-2) jumped out to an early lead only to be on the wrong side of a decision at the Varney's Invitational, hosted by Kansas State at Bramlage Coliseum. The Rebels held a 1-0 lead after a first-set win, but watched the Green Bay Phoenix (3-2) pull away with a 3-1 victory (11-25, 25-21, 25-18, 25-20) with wins in the second, third and fourth frames.

Defensively, the Scarlet & Gray's block was a key factor for it in the match. Eight players combined to rack up 22.0 total team blocks (three solo and 38 assisted). The 38 assisted blocks were the most by a Rebel team since the 1984 edition had 35 against UC Irvine (Oct. 27).

Ashley Owens, Bree Hammel and Alexis Patterson were the primary figures in Friday night's record-setting feat. Individually, Owens had a program-best 13 assisted blocks to surpass the previous high of 11 held by a trio of Rebel alumnae -- the most recent being Meri-de Boyer, who had 11 versus TCU on Oct. 17, 1998. Hammel, like Owens, was in double digits with 10 total (two solo and eight assisted) of her own, while Patterson had seven (all assisted).

In addition to her blocking, Hammel aided the defense with 12 digs to go along with her offensive output of 16 kills. Those three figures produced the first triple-double by a Rebel since Nicki King did so on Oct. 3, 2004 (11 kills, 58 assists, 12 digs). Coincidentally, Hammel tallied her first career double-double with 16 digs and 14 kills.

Owens coupled her blocking performance with 11 kills off of 30 attempts -- all of which were career highs.

UNLV outhit Green Bay by 44 points (.146 to .102) in the contest. Both sides registered 48 kills, but it was the Phoenix who notched nine more attack attempts (166-157) and in doing so committed six more errors (31-25). The Rebels opened the bout with a .361 hitting display backed by 16 kills against three errors off of 36 swings. Unfortunately, their hitting numbers lessened as the match progressed with a .200 clip in the second and two more that were below .100 in the third and fourth stanzas; however, Green Bay didn't fair any better with it staying within a range of -.057 (first set) and .200 (second) for the match.

The Rebels had a quartet of players accumulate 10 or more digs with Carly Riehl leading with 26 -- one off her career high set earlier in the day versus California. Ceannia Kincade, who had eight kills and four assisted blocks, had 15, while Hammel and Wing followed with 12 and 10, respectively.

Besides her seven total blocks, Patterson had a match-high 42 assists as well as four digs and two kills.

The Phoenix was led by a double-double from its setter Emily Riese, who had 39 assists and 15 digs. Riese also added four kills and two blocks. She helped two of her teammates record double digits in kills with Samantha Anthon and Jessica Wolf connecting on 13 and 12, respectively.

Green Bay's Jillian Bauer had a match-best 27 digs, while Taylor Totka helped out at the net with seven total blocks (one solo and six assisted).

UNLV returns to Bramlage for its third and final match of the Invitational at 11:30 am PT against the host Wildcats of Kansas State.