LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – Fresh off their all-tournament team performances at the Billiken Invitational this past weekend in St. Louis, UNLV volleyball's
Mariena Hayden and
Elsa Descamps were named the Mountain West's Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively. The duo helped lead the Rebels to a 3-0 mark and a tournament title with wins over Murray State, UMKC and Saint Louis.
Hayden, who was the MW's Offensive Player of the Week last week, led the Rebels in kills (50) and aces (eight), and added 30 digs, five total blocks (three solo) and two assists. She had a pair of double-doubles vs. Murray State and UMKC, and had no fewer than 15 kills, seven digs and two aces in each match.
The Minnesota native began her Billiken Invitational MVP performance hitting .293 with 15 kills, 12 digs and eight aces vs. Murray State. She also added two solo blocks against the Racers.
In a thrilling, comeback win over UMKC, Hayden had 19 kills and 11 digs with three total blocks (one solo), two aces and one assist. In the fourth and fifth sets alone, she hit .421 with nine kills.
In a 3-0 sweep of tournament host SLU, she hit a staggering .667 with 16 kills. She also notched seven digs, two aces and one assist. Delving deeper, she had at least four kills in each set and nearly hit 1.000 over the second and third with 12 kills and no errors in 13 attack attempts (.923).
Descamps also posted a pair double-doubles, and paced the team in assisted blocks (six), total blocks (eight) and blocks per set (0.67).
The French national, had 13 digs and 10 kills along with three assisted blocks, two assists and one ace in a 3-1 win over Murray State.
She followed that with 12 digs, 11 kills, three aces, three total blocks (one solo) and two assists vs. UMKC.
In the final vs. SLU, she hit .529 with nine kills and did not commit an attack error. She also chipped in two digs, two total blocks (one solo), one ace and one assist.
The MW has tabbed both Hayden and Descamps twice during their careers; however, this is the first for the latter's defensive play. Descamps garnered offensive recognition during the 2016 campaign.
QUOTABLE: "It is so exciting for Mariena and Elsa to receive this honor," said head coach
Dawn Sullivan. "They put in a lot of hard work over the spring and summer working on improving their skill sets and this is a great recognition of that hard work."
NATIONALLY SPEAKING: After a perfect 3-0 weekend in Saint Louis, UNLV remained first nationally in aces per set (2.40) for the second straight week, while it moved into the top spot for team service aces (108). Additionally, Hayden has been responsible for 52 of those aces and that figure as well as her 1.16 aces per-set average puts her first in the country, too. Besides her contributions from the service line, she sits third in points (267.5) and points per set (5.94), 15th in kills per set (4.56) and 16th in total kills (205).
NEXT FOR THE REBELS: UNLV opens Mountain West play Thursday night at home against the Boise State Broncos. First serve is scheduled for 6:00 pm, and the evening 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. To receive free admission, high school students must present valid Nevada area school I.D. at the box office on gameday to receive one (1) complimentary ticket. All other students will receive a complimentary ticket at the box office (no I.D. required). Kids not yet elementary school age will continue to receive free admission for all UNLV Olympic sports.
PURCHASE TICKETS: Tickets are now on sale for the 2018 season. Season tickets are just $50 for adults, $40 for UNLV faculty/staff and seniors. Single-game ticket prices this season are $8 for adults, $6 for faculty/staff and seniors, although a special internet price of $5 is available for all tickets bought online at UNLVTickets.com, good up to three hours before the match.
