PITTSBURGH (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV volleyball team (3-3) was unable to hold onto its early lead in Saturday's 3-1 affair (14-25, 25-18, 27-25, 24-26) with the Bowling Green Falcons on day two of the Duquesne Invitational. The Rebels claimed the first set with ease; however, the Falcons fought back to even the score at 1-all with a win in the second. The Ohio squad managed to claim the third and fourth frames after it withstood at least one set-point opportunity from the Scarlet & Gray in each stanza.
 
UNLV outhit BGSU by eight points (.135 to .127) and had 12 more kills (52-40), but also committed nine more errors (29-20) in 13 more attack attempts (170-157). The Rebels recorded better hitting efficiencies in three of the four sets, including a match-best .302 in the first. Unfortunately, their attackers misfired 19 times in the second and third en route to .029 and .064 efforts, respectively, before they produced a .130 clip in the fourth. The Falcons topped out at .242 in the second, but was limited to .128 or lower hitting in the three other sets.
 
The Rebels also led in assists (47-35), aces (11-5) and digs (87-77), while the Falcons were tops in total team blocks (13.0-9.0). Each squad had 16 assisted blocks, but BGSU notched four more solo blocks (5-1).
 
QUOTABLE: "I thought we did enough to win," said head coach Dawn Sullivan. "We just struggled a little bit towards the end with our serve and pass, and being able to handle pressure; that's something that will come, it's a process. Being put in these situations didn't help us everyday in that situation. I thought we had some nice players that kind of stood out; Kate (Brennan), she's out from this way (East Coast/New York) and it's nice to see her just take off, and we were able to find her ball in transition versus two blockers and she did a great job there as well as Elsa (Descamps). Both setters were able to find the middles, so I loved that. And Mo (Mariena Hayden), she had a great defensive game in the backcourt, I think with 26 digs. All really good stuff; we just have to figure out how to handle that pressure towards the end of matches and keep getting better there."
 
THE TURNING POINT (SET 3): UNLV led by as much as five points on three different occasions in the third and owned a four-point advantage as late as the 23-19 mark of the set. After seeing the lead cut to one (23-22), the Rebels were able to reach set point off a Hayden kill; however, the Falcons rattled off five of the next six points to stake themselves to a 2-1 lead.
 
THE TURNING POINT (SET 4): BGSU stayed within striking distance of UNLV in the fourth, as the Rebels were only able to muster as much as a three-point edge, with the last coming at the 21-18 juncture. The Falcons evened the score at 21-all and then traded points with the Rebels to bring about three more ties at 22, 23 and 24. UNLV had reached set point at 24-23 only to see an attack error of its own followed by two kills from BGSU's Jacqueline Askin.
 
STAT OF THE GAME: UNLV tied its season high in service aces with 11, but also had a season-high 16 service errors, 11 of which came in the third and fourth sets. 
 
REBEL OF THE GAME: Mariena Hayden, who was named to the Invitational's All-Tournament Team, had a career-high 26 digs to couple with 13 kills for her third double-double of the weekend and fifth of the year. Hayden also added eight aces and two assisted blocks.  
 
REBEL NOTES:
- UNLV is now 0-1 all-time against BGSU in program history.
- With her five double-doubles this season, Hayden has 15 for her career.
- Hayden sits at 24 aces on the year, which is more than half way to her total of 43 achieved last year – the third most in a single season at UNLV.
- Elena Ivanova had a season- and career-high 25 digs against BGSU.
- Kate Brennan had a season- and career-high 17 kills against BGSU, which is the fifth straight outing with eight or more kills. Additionally, she hit .500 vs. the Falcons – her fourth match of .429 or better hitting with at least eight kills this season.
- Elsa Descamps had nine total blocks against BGSU with one solo and eight assisted. With help from today's blocks, Descamps moved into eight all-time in the program's total and assisted blocks with 343 and 297, respectively. She sits 10th in solo blocks with 46.
 
NEXT FOR THE REBELS: UNLV returns to Las Vegas and the Cox Pavilion for its Rebel Challenge next weekend. The Scarlet & Gray will welcome Cal State Fullerton, Eastern Kentucky and Fordham for the two-day affair Sept. 7-8.