PORTLAND, Ore. (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV overcame a first-set loss Thursday night to knock off the Portland Pilots, 3-1, in the third round of the Women's National Invitational Volleyball Championship at the Chiles Center. The night was all about rallies, as the host Pilots used a long run to claim the first; however, the Rebels did the same in the second and third to take control of the postseason bout decided by set scores of 19-25, 25-19, 30-28, 25-20.
 
With the win, the Scarlet & Gray improved to 22-11 on the year and advances to the NIVC semifinals against the Iowa State Cyclones (19-13) in Ames, Iowa, with first serve slated for 12:00 pm CT (10:00 am PT) Saturday at Hilton Coliseum. Not only does the match have championship implications, but it's also a homecoming of sorts for UNLV head coach Dawn Sullivan who roamed the Cyclones' sideline the past 13 years in assistant and associate head coach roles.
 
On the other side of the bracket, Tulane plays host to College of Charleston Saturday night.
 
UNLV outhit Portland by 54 points (.236 to .182) and owned slight advantages in kills (55-52) and errors (20-21); however, the hosts amassed 21 more attack attempts (170-148). The Rebels opened with their lowest hitting output (.188), but stayed within .217 (third) to .294 (second) the remainder of the contest. The Pilots, on the other hand, led off with their best showing (.278) before they were held to three straight .100 averages (.114 second/.180 third/.175 fourth).
 
The Rebels held the edge in aces (9-7), digs (74-64) and total team blocks (11.0-6.0), but had two fewer assists than the Pilots (48-50).
 
TURNING POINT: After seeing Portland rally from a five-point deficit (17-12) in the first set with a 13-2 run to stake itself to an early 1-0 lead, UNLV managed to duplicate the effort in the second and third frames. The Rebels trailed the Pilots by four points (13-9) in the second and used a 16-6 outburst to even the contest at 1-all. The third set was a bit more dramatic, as the Pilots led by as much as five (24-19) with a set point opportunity. The Rebels rattled off a 6-0 run to overcome five set-point chances by Portland and set up one of their own at 25-24. The Pilots drew even at 25-all and then had set point tries at 26, 27 and 28; however, kills by Jillian Berg, Mariena Hayden and Elsa Descamps handed UNLV the win and a 2-1 lead. The Rebels carried the momentum into the fifth, and slowly built up to a seven-point lead (21-14) before eventually winning by five (25-20).
 
QUOTABLE: "Believe," said head coach Dawn Sullivan. "That is what the team continues to do. I am very proud of the fight they showed. They continue to impress me everyday."
 
REBELS OF THE GAME: Hayden and Descamps combined for 29 kills, 24 digs, eight total blocks and seven aces in Thursday's win. Hayden posted her 19th double-double of the season off a combination of 18 kills and 20 digs – both of which were match highs. Hayden also aced five serves and added four assisted blocks and one assist. Descamps registered 11 kills against no errors in 21 attempts for a .524 average. She also had four blocks (one solo), four digs and two aces.
 
STAT OF THE GAME: UNLV staved off a total of eight set points in the third set.
 
STAT OF THE GAME, PART TWO: Hayden and Berg posted double-doubles in the win. As the former posted 18 kills and 20 digs for the feat, the latter paired 10 kills with 13 digs for her fourth double-double of the year – and first since she had two on Aug. 31 in Pittsburgh.
 
REBEL NOTES:
-UNLV is 2-0 all-time against Iowa State, with 3-0 wins in 1998 (Sept. 3, 1998/Fairbanks, Alaska) and 1999 (Sept. 3/Las Vegas).
-UNLV has won two straight against Portland and, in doing so, upped its lead to 2-1 in the all-time series.
-UNLV is 4-2 all-time in postseason competition, with a 1-2 mark in two trips to the NCAA Tournament (2007: 0-1 and 2016: 1-1) and a 3-0 showing, thus far, in the NIVC.
-UNLV has only won 22 or more matches six times, and 2018's mark only trails 2014's 26, 2007 and 2016's 24, and 1984 and 1998's 23.
-UNLV's .667 winning percentage this season is tied for the fifth best – alongside 2006's .667 (20-10) – in program history, and trails 2007's .800 (24-6), 2014's .787 (26-7), 2016's .750 (24-8) and 1998's .742 (23-8).
-UNLV has had 10.0 or more total team blocks in four straight matches after only having three through the first 28 contests this season.
-UNLV is 8-2 in Thursday matches.
-UNLV is 13-10 in four-set matches.
-UNLV is 4-7 in matches that it loses the first set.
-UNLV is 10-9 in matches that are tied 1-1 after two sets.
-UNLV is 21-3 when its offense registers a higher hitting efficiency than its opponent.
-UNLV is 17-5 when its offense registers more kills than its opponent.
-UNLV is 19-0 when its offense registers fewer errors than its opponent.
-With her 18 kills, Hayden has 533 for the year, which are the most in UNLV's single-season records. She surpassed Lauren Miramontes' 521 from 2007 for first place.
-With her 49 attack attempts, Hayden has 1,277 on the year, which are the most in UNLV's single-season records. She surpassed Maria Aladjova's 1,255 from 2007 for first place.
-With her five aces, Hayden has 106 for the year.
- Descamps has played in 419 sets in her career at UNLV, which are tied for the seventh most in UNLV's career records. She sits deadlocked with Aladjova's 419 amassed from 2004-07.
-With her four total blocks, Descamps cemented her placement in UNLV's career record book: third in total blocks (443), third in assisted blocks (380) and sixth in solo blocks (63).