Nov. 10, 2016 Box Score
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV volleyball team returned to its winning ways Thursday night with a 3-0 victory over the Utah State Aggies at the Cox Pavilion. With the win -- by set scores of 25-22, 25-17, 25-20, the Rebels (22-5 overall, 11-4 Mountain West) completed the season sweep of the Aggies (11-15, 6-9 MW) and extended their win streak in the series to six matches.
By virtue of Thursday's triumph and help from a Wyoming loss -- a 3-0 defeat at Nevada, Reno, the Scarlet & Gray moved into third place in the Conference's standings. UNLV and Wyoming (10-4) traded spots while UNR follows closely behind in fifth (9-5). Boise State and Colorado State picked up wins vs. Fresno State (3-0) and at San Diego State (3-2), respectively, to maintain a share of first place in league play.
The Rebels outhit the Aggies by 83 points (.330 to .247) with slight advantages in both kills (41-38) and errors (12-15) while attempting five fewer swings (88-93). UNLV opened the contest with its best hitting display -- a .414 (16-4-29), which was followed by .355 (second) and .214 (third) efforts. USU, on the other hand, topped out in the first with a .333 clip, but also displayed .176 (second) and .250 (third) showings the rest of the bout.
"I was so pleased with the way the team bounced back tonight," stated head coach Cindy Fredrick. "Bree's (Hammel) serving was just great tonight. Elsa (Descamps) and Ashley (Owens) lit it up in the middle, which was good to see. Alexis (Patterson) and Sadie (Stutzman) both had good offensive performances, as well. Overall, we did exactly what we needed to do tonight."
UNLV got a team-high 11 kills from Bree Hammel, who also added seven digs and three assisted blocks. Hammel aced four serves to push her seasonal tally to 37 -- the sixth most in a single-season in program history.
Elsa Descamps loomed large on both sides of the net with nine kills coming off a .667 hitting display, five assisted blocks and one dig.
The Rebels also got six kills from Alyssa Wing and five more from Alexis Patterson, Sadie Stutzman and Ashley Owens. Wing added three assists and three digs. Patterson, who hit .364, had a match-high 34 assists plus three digs and two assisted blocks. Stutzman hit .455 and did not commit an error in 11 swings, and also had two digs and two assisted blocks. Owens hit .625 -- and like Stutzman -- did not have an error in eight swings, and registered two assisted blocks.
Defensively, Elisa Woinowsky had a match-best 12 digs while Carly Riehl had six of her own.
Lauren Anderson's 13 kills and Erica Moscoso's 32 assists led USU offensively while Hannah Gleason was tops in digs with nine.
UNLV hits the road for the final time in the regular season next week with a rare Wednesday night (November 16/6:00 pm) tilt at San Diego State. The Rebels will return to Las Vegas and the Cox Pavilion with bouts against Nevada, Reno (2:00 pm/Senior Day) and New Mexico (6:00 pm) on November 19 and 22, respectively.
NOTES: With Thursday's triumph, UNLV reached 11 wins in conference play for the sixth time -- five of which have occurred in the Mountain West -- in program history ... To date, those 11 conference wins are tied for the third most in program history, and they only trail 2014's 14 and 2007's 12 ... With participation in Thursday's match, Riehl moved into a sixth-place tie in career matches played (116) and 10th in career sets played (396) ... Riehl's six kills helped move her into fourth in career digs (1,182) ... Hammel's 11 kills and 28 swings helped her move into fifth in career kills (1,028) and seventh in attempts (2,450) ... Descamps' five assisted blocks helped move her into 10th in single-season assisted blocks (111).
