FORT COLLINS, Colo. (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV volleyball team lost in straight sets to the Colorado State Rams Thursday night at Moby Arena. Thea Sweder paced the Rebels offensively with 12 kills in the contest won by the Rams in set scores of 25-17, 25-16, 25-20.
 
By virtue of the win, CSU (23-6 overall, 15-2 MW) claimed at least a share of the Mountain West's regular-season title as well as the conference's automatic berth to the 2018 NCAA Tournament. The loss dropped UNLV, which is 19-10 overall, into a fourth-place tie with the Boise State Broncos with identical 10-7 marks in league play. The Wyoming Cowgirls are one match ahead of the Rebels and Broncos with an 11-6 MW record. Coincidentally, UNLV and Wyoming square off Saturday in Laramie, Wyoming, at 7:00 pm MT (6:00 pm PT).
 
The Rams outhit the Rebels by 254 points (.383 to .129) with help from 20 more kills (48-28) and five fewer errors (12-17) in nine more attack attempts (94-85). The hosts hit .308 or better in all three sets, including a staggering .609 in the second frame with 15 kills against one error in 23 swings. UNLV also had its best hitting effort in the second with a .174; however, it was only slightly better than its output in the first (.115) and third (.111).
 
CSU also held advantages in assists (40-25), aces (6-1), digs (32-29) and total team blocks (9.0-3.0).
 
TURNING POINT: The Rams took control of all three sets by the 20th point in each frame. They used an 8-1 outburst to break a 10-all stalemate in the first and a 4-1 run to snap a 7-all tie in the second. The Rebels owned a three-point edge at the 8-5 juncture of the third; however, a 9-2 run flipped the stanza in the Rams' favor.
 
STAT OF THE GAME: UNLV was limited to season lows in both kills (28) and hitting efficiency (.129). Minus Sweder's 12 kills and .385 hitting clip, the Rebels only notched 16 kills against 15 errors in 59 swings for a .017 average.
 
STAT OF THE GAME, PART TWO: UNLV's Mariena Hayden was held to season lows in kills (five) and hitting (-.080). It's the first match of the season that the Minnesota native has not reached double figures in kills.
 
STAT OF THE GAME, PART THREE: The trio of Kirstie Hillyer, Breana Runnels and Paulina Hougaard-Jensen accounted for 38 of the Rams' 48 kills (79 percent). They combined to hit .500 with eight errors in 60 swings. On the defensive side of the net, the three some had 8.0 of the squad's 12.0 total team blocks.
 
REBEL OF THE GAME: Sweder accounted for nearly 43 percent (12 of 28) of UNLV's kills and was the only Rebel to register 10 or more in the match. Additionally, she hit .385 with only two errors in 26 swings.
 
REBEL NOTES:
-UNLV is 6-2 in Thursday matches.
-UNLV is 8-2 in three-set matches.
-UNLV is 1-7 when its opponent registers a higher hitting efficiency.
-UNLV is 3-5 when it has fewer kills than its opponent.
-With her five kills, Hayden has 461 on the year, which are the third most in UNLV's single-season records. She trails Maria Aladjova's 465 kills from 2007 for second.
-With her 25 attack attempts, Hayden has 1,141 on the year, which are the sixth most in UNLV's single-season records. She trails Leiana Oswald's 1,148 swings from 2003 for fifth.
-Elsa Descamps has played in 402 sets in her career at UNLV, which moves her into 10th in UNLV's career record book and past Christel Eves' 401 amassed from 1996-99.
-With her one assisted block, Descamps upped her career total of assisted blocks to 368 to aid her third-place standing in the program's record book. She also ranks fourth in career total blocks (423) and eighth in solo blocks (56).