Aug. 14, 2017 MESQUITE, Nev. (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV volleyball team knocked off the Southern Utah Thunderbirds, 4-1, in an exhibition match played at The Barn at Rising Star Sports Ranch Resort Monday. The Rebels were paced by the attacking trio of Mariena Hayden, Ashley Owens and Elsa Descamps in the five-set affair, which was decided by set scores of 25-21, 25-17, 19-25, 27-25, 15-12.
Hayden was instrumental in all phases on the court, producing a team-high 19 kills and six aces to go along with eight digs and two assisted blocks. She hit at a .351 clip with only six errors in 37 attack attempts.
Owens and Descamps provided 13 and 11 kills, respectively, as well as lofty hitting efficiencies; the former hit .409 to the latter's match-best .647. Besides their offensive efforts at the net, the duo also helped out defensively on the block with Owen's seven total blocks (one solo) and Descamps' four (one solo).
"This was such a great opportunity for us, because Southern Utah has a lot of young players and we have a lot of young players; so it was really nice to have that opportunity to see somebody besides ourselves," said head coach Cindy Fredrick. "I thought we did a great job of running the middles. I thought Riley (Jacobs) really did a nice job of getting the ball to everybody. The passers, the defensive players were really good and the passing was good. Leka (Kiner-Falefa) did a great job of controlling the back row. I thought Elsa and Ashley were really good in the middle. Our outsides put some great balls away. For this young group to be at the point they are right now is really exciting to see them."
For the match, UNLV hit at a .292 clip compared to SUU's .283 effort. The Rebels threw down three more kills (29-26) and had one fewer error (19-20) in 10 more attack attempts (137-127). The Scarlet & Gray hit .250 or better in four of the frames and topped out at .600 (10-1-15) in the fifth. The Thunderbirds, on the other hand, hit between .346 and .400 between the third through fifth after back-to-back sub-.200s to open the bout.
Sophomore Riley Jacobs handled the setting duties for the Rebels and dished out 38 of the team's 52 assists. Jacobs added six digs, three kills and a pair of assisted blocks.
Leka Kiner-Falefa led the squad with 16 digs and also chipped in two aces and one assist.
SUU's Janet Kalaniuvalu registered a match-high 21 kills off a staggering 44 attack attempts. Her teammate Macky Fifita nearly racked up a double-double with a combination of 14 kills and nine digs. Alexis Averett led the team with 37 assists while Rylee Rogers had a match-high 18 digs.
The Rebels will return to Las Vegas to resume preparation for the 2017 campaign, which will begin August 25-26 at the Cox Pavilion in the UNLV Invitational. The Scarlet & Gray will welcome Binghamton, Eastern Washington and UC Davis to Southern Nevada for the two-day affair.
UNLV will hold its annual Scarlet & Gray Scrimmage Friday at the Cox Pavilion. The match is free and open to the public.
Single-match and season tickets for the 2017 UNLV volleyball season are on sale now by visiting www.UNLVTickets.com or calling 702-739-FANS. In addition, special ticket pricing is available for groups of at least 20 by contacting Dan Johnson at Daniel.Johnson@unlv.edu or calling 702-895-1885.
Season tickets to all 16 home dates start at $40 for faculty, staff and seniors (62+) and $50 for adults. All single-match tickets can be purchased in-advance and online for as low as $5. As always, kids 12 and under and UNLV students with a valid Rebel Card are admitted for free.
