Sept. 24, 2016 Box Score
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV volleyball team continued its winning ways at the Cox Pavilion Saturday with its 3-0 sweep (25-23, 25-16, 25-10) of the Air Force Falcons. The Rebels, who have won nine straight in their home venue this season, improved to 13-1 on the year and 2-0 in the Mountain West while the Falcons fell to 9-6 overall and 0-2 in the Conference.
The Scarlet & Gray's home streak began with a 3-1 triumph over the Fresno State Bulldogs in the 2015 season finale. The run is only two shy of a program-best 11 straight that started with a 3-1 win over San Diego State that concluded the 2014 campaign and continued through the first 10 in `15.
UNLV outhit USAFA by 272 points (.379 to .107) and owned a plus-21 kill differential, and both figures are the largest margins of disparity between the Rebels and an opponent this season. Additionally, UNLV's .379 hitting efficiency was a season high, and it was backed by .458 and .500 efforts in the second and third sets, respectively.
Despite winning the opening frame, 25-23, the Rebels hit .229 with 16 kills against eight errors in 35 attack attempts. In the sets that followed, UNLV had 14 kills in each stanza and only committed three errors -- all in the second -- in a total of 58 swings (24 in the second, 28 in the third).
The Falcons, on the other hand, led off with a team-best .286 hitting efficiency; however, they saw a dramatic drop off the rest of the way with a -.042 in the second and .043 in the third. Their 11 kills in the first were only one shy of the 12 produced the remainder of the match.
The Rebels were paced by Bree Hammel and Sadie Stutzman who combined for 23 of the team's 44 kills as well as a .459 hitting efficiency. Hammel threw down a match-high 12 kills off a .381 efficiency and also added four total blocks (one solo), three digs, two aces and one assist. Stutzman hit a match-best .562 with 11 kills in 16 swings.
Alyssa Wing added eight kills of her own to go along with two assists, two digs and one assisted block.
Alexis Patterson led all with 29 assists and contributed four kills, four digs, two assisted blocks and one ace.
Defensively, Carly Riehl and Elisa Woinowsky paced the squad with seven digs apiece while Ashley Owens had a match-high four total blocks (one solo).
The Falcons' were led by Abigail Miksch (11 kills), Sarah Hellman (13 assists) and Piper Heineck (three total blocks). Hellman, Savannah Banyai and Shanleigh Conlan had five digs each.
UNLV, which will travel to Fresno and San Jose, California next week, will play six of its next eight contests away from the friendly confines of the Cox Pavilion. The Rebels open the road portion of league play Thursday night (September 29) against the Fresno State Bulldogs and Saturday (October 1) against the San Jose State Spartans. Later on, they will play at New Mexico, Utah State, Air Force and Boise State. The only home matches are against Wyoming (October 6) and Colorado State (October 8).
Notes: UNLV has started Mountain West play 2-0 for the fifth time dating back to the first year of league play in 1999, and its only the second instance that it has occurred with two home matches (2007) ... In the program's career record book, Patterson moved into third place in assists (2,817) while Owens improved to eighth in both assisted blocks (222) and total blocks (245).
