ST. LOUIS (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV volleyball team opened up the Billiken Invitational with a 3-1 win over the Murray State Racers, 3-1, Friday afternoon at the Chaifetz Pavilion. The Rebels, who knocked off the Racers (5-5) by set scores of 25-19, 25-19, 19-25, 25-14 to improve to 7-3, have now won four straight matches and five of their last six dating back to a triumph over Duquesne on Sept. 1.
The Scarlet & Gray outhit the squad from the southwestern Kentucky by 95 points (.277 to .182), with help from five more kills (47-42) and seven fewer errors (11-18). The Rebels topped out with a .452 hitting efficiency in the fourth and final frame with 16 kills against two errors in 31 swings. UNLV only misfired three times apiece in the first three frames, but had 10-11 kills in each of those stanzas and hit between .206 to .250, as well. The Racers, on the other hand, were held to .100 to .172 hitting in the sets won by UNLV; however, they hit .324 (15-4-34) in their third set win.
UNLV also led in assists (44-38), aces (12-4), digs (67-66) and total team blocks (6.0 to 2.0).
STAT OF THE GAME: The first three sets were played to a total of 44 points and identical 25-19 scores apiece.
REBEL(S) OF THE GAME: Outside hitter
Mariena Hayden and midde blocker
Elsa Descamps had double-doubles for the Rebels as the pair combined kills and digs for the feat. The former used a pairing of 15 kills with 12 digs for her seventh double-double of the year, while the latter had 10 kills and 13 digs for her first double-double of the season. Hayden also added eight aces to one from Descamps.
QUOTABLE: "We were a little inconsistent today as we fought through some adversity," said head coach
Dawn Sullivan. "I was proud of the way that they battled for the win. One of the hardest things to teach a team is that winning is about attention to the details and making sure you're doing the little things right every time. I think today we took a step towards understanding this concept."
REBEL NOTES:
- UNLV has won seven of its first 10 matches this season and it's the eighth time in the program's history a team has done so; the last instance was in 2016 when the squad went 10-0. The team has produced a 7-3 mark five times, 8-2 once, 9-1 once and 10-0 once.
- UNLV last had a winning streak of four or more matches during the 2016 campaign where it won five straight during the middle of the season and 11 in a row to start the year.
- Today's match was the first between UNLV and Murray State.
- With help from her eight aces, Hayden moved up to second in UNLV's single-season record book for aces with 48, and is two shy of tying Debbie Teso (1985) for the program record.
- For her career, Hayden has 91 aces which puts her in a tie with Teso for the fifth most in program history. She needs one more to tie Jada Walker (2004-07) for fourth with 92.
- Hayden has had at least three aces in the last six matches and seven of the team's 10 played, thus far.
- Hayden has had at least eight aces in four of the past six matches with eight in the last two outings.
- Libero
Shania Scott had a match- and season-high 22 digs – one short of tying her career high.
- Setter
Antonette Rolda had a match- and season-high 41 assists.
- Descamps moved into tie for fifth place with Christel Eves (1996-99) in the program's record book for total blocks (359). She is also seventh in assisted blocks (313). She is 10th in solo blocks with 46 and needs three to tie Candice Thomas (2010-12) for ninth.
NEXT FOR THE REBELS: UNLV returns to Chaifetz Pavilion for a pair of matches Saturday in the Billiken Invitational against the UMKC Kangaroos (10:00 am CT/8:00 am PT) and host Saint Louis Billikens (7:00 pm CT/5:00 pm PT). The contests will signal the end of the Rebels' nonconference schedule for the 2018.
REBELS BACK HOME: UNLV will open up the Mountain West portion of its schedule Thursday against the Boise State Broncos at 6:00 pm. The match is being billed as "Club Volleyball Night," and all high school, middle school and elementary students are now free under UNLV's new admission policy.
