LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV volleyball team hits the road for its final regular-season trip of the season, with a trek to the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The Rebels will play Thursday and Saturday against the Colorado State Rams and Wyoming Cowgirls, respectively. Both matches are slated for 7:00 pm PT (6:00 pm MT) first serves.
 
TUNE IN, WATCH & LISTEN: Live stats for both of UNLV's matches this week can be found online at UNLVRebels.com in the "schedule" section of the volleyball page. Additionally, both contests will be streamed live via the Mountain West Network, and, they too, will be linked to UNLVRebels.com.
 
DOWN THE STRETCH THEY COME: To date, UNLV sits tied for third place alongside the Wyoming Cowgirls with identical 10-6 records in the Mountain West standings. The Rebels and Cowgirls both have two matches left, including their head-to-head, regular-season finale Saturday in Laramie.
 
The Colorado State Rams (14-2) wrap up their season Saturday, but not before facing UNLV Thursday.
 
The Fresno State Bulldogs sit second overall at 12-3 and will play three more affairs - all at home - in a five-day span against MW competition. The Bulldogs will play Thursday (San Jose State), Saturday (UNR) and Monday (Air Force).
 
MARIENA(CE) TO SOCIETY: One year ago, Mariena Hayden concluded her freshman season with a total of 43 aces in 31 matches. Thus far, in 2018, she has aced 91 serves in only 27 contests. Not only are those 91 aces the most by a Rebel in a single season, but they rank first overall in the NCAA (through Nov. 11). Additionally, her average of 0.88 aces per set is also tops in the nation.
 
Delving deeper, Hayden's haul of aces this season are tied for the third most by a Division I student-athlete since the NCAA changed to its current 25-point scoring format in 2008. She sits deadlocked with Penn State's Micha Hancock's 91 in 2011. Hancock also sits first with 126 in '15, while Jackson State's Christine Edwards is second with 118 in 2012.
 
Hayden's closest competitors this year are Alcorn State's Fiapaipai Iosia and South Carolina's Aubrey Ezell, who sit second (71) and third (57), respectively, in service aces . The two flip spots in aces per set, as Ezell is second (0.68) and Iosia is third (0.67).
 
WHAT-A-START: 28 MATCHES: Through 28 matches, UNLV's 19-9 record is the fourth best in program history, and only trails 2007's 23-5 mark, the 2014 and '16 squads' 22-6 output, and 1998's 21-7 showing.
 
WHAT-A-START: UNLV FIRST-YEAR HEAD COACH: Dawn Sullivan, who took over the reins of the program in January, notched her 19th win of the year last Thursday against San Diego State.
 
Sullivan became the Rebels' second-winningest head coach with a victory - her 16th of the year - vs. Air Force on Oct. 25, and she trails Karen Lamb's 23 wins from the 1984. She surpassed Allison Keeley's 15 and Cindy Fredrick's 14 from 2004 and 2011, respectively.
 
The first phase of Rebel volleyball lasted from 1978 to 1980 with Matti Smith coaching the inaugural season to the tune of 10 wins, while Gena Borda followed in 1979 with 12 wins.
 
Deitre Collins, San Diego State's current head coach, notched five wins in her first year at UNLV in 1996.
 
SCOUTING THIS WEEK'S OPPOSITION
Thursday's Opponent: Colorado State Rams (22-6 overall, 14-2 MW)
-The Rams won both matches last week - 3-0 at Utah State and 3-1 at Boise State - to extend their season-best win streak to 11.
-The Rams' current win streak, which includes eight victories in three sets, followed a 11-6 start to the season, which began with a 2-2 showing that was followed by a 9-4 stretch.
-The Rams have played 15 of their matches to only three sets with a 14-1 showing, while they've combined for a 7-5 mark in those that have gone four (6-4) or five (1-1) frames.
-The Rams are 11-2 at home, but 10-4 away from Fort Collins.
-The Rams lead the all-time series 40-7 and have won the past six meetings since UNLV's last win (3-1/Nov. 1, 2014).
 
Saturday's Opponent: Wyoming Cowgirls (18-10 overall, 10-6 MW)
-The Cowgirls split last week's matches: 3-0 loss at Boise State and 3-0 win at Utah State.
-The Cowgirls have gone 4-4 in their last eight, with the stretch beginning with a 3-1 loss at UNLV on Oct. 18. They had been 14-6 prior to the contest in Las Vegas.
-The Cowgirls began the year 8-1 and then suffered through spans where they lost five of seven and then won four straight.
-The Cowgirls have played 10 of their matches to only three sets with a 11-2 showing, while they've combined for a 7-8 mark in those that have gone four (3-5) or five frames (4-3).
-The Cowgirls are 12-1 at home, but 6-9 away from Laramie.
-The Rebels, which has won two straight against Wyoming, lead the all-time series 25-22.