LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - After a record-setting regular season that concluded with Friday's 4-2 Mountain West title-clinching win over Nevada, Reno, UNLV Women's Soccer swept the Mountain West's marquee awards, announced by the conference office on Monday afternoon. Senior Lily Sender was voted the league's Offensive Player of the Year, junior Chidera Akubuilo was named the Defensive Player of the Year and Chris Shaw earned Coach of the Year honors. In addition to Sender and Akubuilo, the Rebels also landed three others (Sophie Cortes, Jordan Magnin and Hayley Wilson) on the All-Conference First Team, two on the Second Team (Susie Bernal, Jordan Sallee) and two on the All-Newcomer Team (Paige Almendariz, Georgia Kingman).

Sender has had a breakout final season with the Rebels, leading the team and the Mountain West in goals (14) and points (35) after recording just one goal and one assist in her previous three seasons. Her 14 goals ties the program's single-season record set by Ashleigh Shoughro in 2010, while her 35 points is a new single-season record, breaking the old mark of 31 also set by Shoughro in 2010. She is second on the team in assists with seven on the year. The Honolulu, Hawaii, native came up especially big in the Rebels' last two conference matches - games they had to have to clinch the title - as she scored the golden goal in a 1-0 overtime win over Utah State at home, then recorded the program's first hat trick since 2010 in the 4-2 win in Reno. After her three-goal performance, Sender earned her first career Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week honor. The Mechanical Engineering major was also named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team, which honors student-athletes for their work on and off the field, and will be eligible for the organization's Academic All-America award.This is the third time UNLV has won the Offensive Player of the Year award and first since Katie Carney received the top offensive league honor in 2007.

Akubuilo, a junior from Torrance, California, has been a leader on the back line this season, starting and playing every minute in every game she has played this season, missing one match due to a minor injury. The three-year starter has missed just two games during her entire career at UNLV, making her seasoned experience as the conductor of the defense invaluable to the Rebels' title run this year. From timely clears to chasing down streaking forwards and midfielders, Akubuilo and her 5'9 frame were a force few teams could get past. She was key to UNLV giving up just 21 goals in 20 games (1.04 goals-against-average), which was good for second in the Mountain West. The versatile junior was also able to contribute on the offensive side of the ball, scoring two goals off set pieces as the Rebels frequently sent her into the box to take advantage of her size and create mismatches in front of the goal. Akubuilo is the first player in program history to garner Defensive Player of the Year honors.

In just his third year at at UNLV, head coach Chris Shaw has amassed 35 wins, two trips to the Mountain West Conference Tournament and the program's fifth league title and first since 2007. This season alone he led the team in breaking program records for wins (15), goals (46) and assists (46) during the regular season, while the Rebels' earned their highest NSCAA regional ranking ever. Shaw, who has a decade and half of collegiate coaching experience, captured his 100th career win on Senior Day on Oct. 23 as the Rebels won in thrilling fashion with a 1-0 golden goal overtime victory over Utah State. The award marks the third time in program history a UNLV women's soccer head coach has earned the honor. Former coaches Katherine Mertz and Dan Abdalla won the award in 2007 and 2004, respectively.

The Scarlet and Gray were deservedly well-represented on the All-Conference teams, also announced Monday. Joining Sender and Akubuilo on the All-Conference First Team were seniors Jordan Magnin and Hayley Wilson and junior Sophie Cortes. Magnin and Cortes were stellar in the midfield, combining for seven goals and 12 assists, while Wilson was the perfect tandem in the middle of the defense with Akubuilo, helping to thwart opposing attacks and keep the Rebels composed on their own third of the field. Second Team honorees included redshirt senior Susie Bernal, whose nine assists this year are tied for the single-season record and 20 career assists are a new program record, and keeper Jordan Sallee, who was strong in the net for UNLV all season with 56 saves and a 1.02 goals-against-average. Rounding out the awards were freshmen Paige Almendariz and Georgia Kingman, who landed on the All-Conference Newcomer Team in their first collegiate seasons. Almendariz started all 20 games on defense, while Kingman stepped into a starting role in the midfield midway through conference play after fellow freshman Katie Ballou was lost for the season due to a knee injury. Both were able to adjust to the college game quickly, with the two combining for six assists and one goal.

The nine conference honors, including the five first-team selections, are the most-ever for the Rebels in program history. The awards also mark the first time UNLV has placed multiple people on first team since 2013 when they had four selected. These are the first career conference award selections for all nine Rebels.

The full All-Conference awards can be found here.

UNLV (15-3-2, 8-1-2) enters this week's Mountain West Conference Tournament in San Diego with a first round bye as the No. 1 seed. The team will play at 4 p.m. on Thursday against the lowest seed to advance past Tuesday's quarterfinal matches.

-UNLV-