Sept. 29, 2016 Box Score
FRESNO, Calif. (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV volleyball team (14-1 overall, 3-0 Mountain West) overcame a two-set deficit on the road Thursday night to remain perfect in Mountain West play. The Rebels fell behind with losses in both the first and second sets, but rallied with wins in the third, fourth and fifth to claim a 3-2 victory over the Fresno State Bulldogs (9-5, 0-3 MW) at the Save Mart Center. Ultimately, the Scarlet & Gray took the match behind set scores of 22-25, 20-25, 25-17, 25-19, 15-13.
The 3-0 start to Conference play this season is only the third instance that UNLV has accomplished the feat dating back to the league's inaugural season in 1999. Prior to this year, the 2012 and '13 editions had been the only ones to begin an MW campaign 3-0.
Delving deeper off the number three, Thursday's come-from-behind win from a 0-2 deficit is the third notched by the Rebels in as many years. UNLV previously achieved the feat against Portland State (September 11, 2015) and New Mexico (November 6, 2014).
In the decisive fifth set, UNLV pushed out to a trio of two-point leads -- the latest at 9-7 -- only to see the hosts rattle off a 5-1 run to flip the momentum in its favor. Following a Rebel timeout at the 12-10 juncture, FS committed a service error and attack error to allow the visitors to draw even at 12-all. The Bulldogs then called their second and final timeout only to watch UNLV score three of the set and matches final four points.
"What a great comeback tonight," exclaimed head coach Cindy Fredrick. "Our passing was really tough, but our hitters stepped up. Alyssa (Wing), Elsa (Descamps) and Sadie (Stutzman) were very offensive tonight, and I thought Alexis (Patterson) did a great job setting and hitting. Our defense picked up with Bree (Hammel), Elisa (Woinowsky) and Alexis stepping up on the end. It was a terrific team effort to come back and win tonight."
UNLV outhit FS by 87 points (.306 to .219) with help from an advantage of 15 kills (71-56) despite two more errors (23-21) in three fewer attack attempts (157-160). The Rebels began the match with a respectable .270 hitting efficiency with 15 kills against five errors in 37 swings; however, they only managed a .086 (11-8-35) in the second. After the break, UNLV hit a combined .412 with a .375, .500 and .348 in the third through fifth stanzas. The Bulldogs, on the other hand, hit between .200 to .273 in four of the sets with their lowest effort -- .152 -- occurring in their second-set win.
The Rebels' Alexis Patterson played a major role in the win. The setter paired a match-high 54 assists with 15 digs for a double-double. She threw down six kills and hit .625 to go along with two assisted blocks and one ace.
The duo of Bree Hammel and Sadie Stutzman paced UNLV's offense for the third straight match. The former registered a double-double of her own with a team highs in kills (18) and digs (16) while the latter had 17 kills and hit .400.
Alyssa Wing gave the Rebels a third attacker with double figures in kills, as she had 14 of her own. Wing did not commit an error in 32 swings and hit .438. She also had three total blocks (one solo), two digs and one assist.
UNLV had four players rack up 10 or more digs apiece. Carly Riehl and Elisa Woinowsky had 12 and 10, respectively, to go with those from Patterson and Hammel.
At the net, the Rebels had a total of 11.0 team blocks (four solo, 14 assisted) with Ashley Owens (five assisted) and Elsa Descamps (three solo, two assisted) having a hand in five each. The pair also helped out offensively with nine kills from Owens and seven from Descamps.
The Rebels will remain in the Golden State for a Saturday matinee (1:00 pm) versus the San Jose State Spartans at Spartan Gym. They'll return to Las Vegas next week for bouts with the Wyoming Cowgirls and Colorado State Rams on October 6 and 8, respectively.
NOTES: Hammel moved into a tie for sixth (294) alongside Erin Greenwood (2006-09) in the program's career chart for assisted blocks.
