Women's Volleyball

Rebels Face Stout Competition In Las Cruces

Aug. 31, 2017

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LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - UNLV Volleyball hits the road for the first time this season with a weekend trip to Las Cruces, New Mexico, for the NM State SpringHill Suites Invitational.

UNLV, which carries a 3-1 mark into the second weekend of the season, will open tournament play against North Dakota Friday (10:00 am PT). The Rebels will square off against No. 11 UCLA (9:00 am PT) and New Mexico State (6:00 pm PT) Saturday.

The Scarlet & Gray's three opponents own a combined 9-2 overall record, and two of them - UND (4-1) and NMSU (2-1) - were picked to win their respective conferences. UCLA (3-0), on the other hand, was picked to finish fifth in the loaded Pac-12.

HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORDS: UNLV Volleyball has a combined 4-2 overall record against this weekend's NM State SpringHill Suites Invitational opposition; however, all six results are against New Mexico State and UCLA. The Rebels have won four straight against NMSU and lead the series 4-1. UNLV has only met UCLA once, and that contest went to the SoCal squad.

TUNE IN, WATCH & LISTEN: Fans can follow all three of UNLV volleyball's matches at the NM State SpringHill Suites Invitational via live statistics provided by Stat Broadcast. Additionally, the Rebels' contest against New Mexico State will be video streamed live and free of charge by the WAC Digital Network. Links for stats as well as video will be available at UNLVRebels.com.

ON THE SIDELINE: Rebel Volleyball returns to Las Vegas and the Cox Pavilion for its second and final home tournament of the season, the UNLV Challenge, and matches against Louisville, UC Irvine and Weber State. The two-day, four-team tournament will run September 8-9.

LOOKING BACK: UNLV Volleyball rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat the Eastern Kentucky Colonels in five sets at the Cox Pavilion Tuesday. The Rebels jumped out to an early 1-0 lead; however, the Colonels countered with wins in the second and third frames. UNLV fought back to knot the match in the fourth and, ultimately, win it in the fifth.

Mariena Hayden led the squad with a staggering 21 kills, and also contributed nine digs, four assisted blocks and two acs. Hayden was part of a trio that registered double digits in kills, and was joined by Elsa Descamps (14 kills) and Jill Berg (11). In all, UNLV had 60 kills with 51 of those assisted by Riley Jacobs.

Defensively, Ashley Owens and Descamps led the team in blocks with nine and five total blocks, respectively. Leka Kiner-Falefa had a match-high 16 digs, while Berg had 11 to achieve her first career double-double.

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Players Mentioned

Jillian Berg

#12 Jillian Berg

OH
5' 10"
Freshman
HS
Mariena Hayden

#7 Mariena Hayden

OH
6' 0"
Freshman
HS
Leka Kiner-Falefa

#8 Leka Kiner-Falefa

L/DS
5' 8"
Sophomore
TR
Elsa Descamps

#16 Elsa Descamps

MB
6' 2"
Freshman
HS
Riley Jacobs

#9999 Riley Jacobs

S
Freshman
HS
Ashley Owens

#14 Ashley Owens

MB
62' 5"
Freshman
HS

Players Mentioned

Jillian Berg

#12 Jillian Berg

5' 10"
Freshman
HS
OH
Mariena Hayden

#7 Mariena Hayden

6' 0"
Freshman
HS
OH
Leka Kiner-Falefa

#8 Leka Kiner-Falefa

5' 8"
Sophomore
TR
L/DS
Elsa Descamps

#16 Elsa Descamps

6' 2"
Freshman
HS
MB
Riley Jacobs

#9999 Riley Jacobs

Freshman
HS
S
Ashley Owens

#14 Ashley Owens

62' 5"
Freshman
HS
MB