VERMILLION, S.D. (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV volleyball team (20-10) rebounded from an opening set loss to claim a 3-1, come-from-behind victory over the Kansas City Roos (17-12) Thursday in the first round of the Women's National Invitational Volleyball Championship. The Rebels were led by a double-double from Mariena Hayden and a 14-kill performance from Alison French in the contest claimed behind 23-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-13 set scores at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
 
The Rebels win sets up a second-round showdown and the program's first meeting against the South Dakota Coyotes (28-2) Friday at 12:00 pm PT (2:00 pm CT). The host Coyotes – like UNLV – rallied from a 1-0 deficit to advance to the second round after it fell behind to the Central Michigan Chippewas (21-9). USD wound up winning the Thursday evening bout 20-25, 25-15, 25-20, 25-19.
 
With Thursday's triumph over KC, the Scarlet & Gray extended its win streak to seven straight and, more impressively, improved to 16-1 over its last 17 outings, thus, tying the program's single-season record for the most wins against only one defeat.
 
The Rebels outhit the Roos by 99 points (.234 to .135), throwing down 17 more kills (56-39) against only one more error (23-22) in 14 more attack attempts (141-126). UNLV's best hitting display occurred in the second set with a .385 efficiency with 19 kills against four errors in 39 swings; however, the offense was held between .205 (first) to .120 (fourth) in the three other frames. KC topped out at a .258 (12-4-31) in the third and hit .219 (10-3-32) in the second, but only registered a .182 in the first and held to a paltry -.133 (5-9-30) in the fourth.
 
Hayden's double-double, which was her team-best 16th of the year, consisted of 12 kills and 16 digs. She added seven aces from the service line – five of which came in a span of six serves in the third set – and also chipped in three assisted blocks and one assist. Additionally, Hayden's haul of 16 digs helped push her past the 1,000-career mark – 1,004 to be exact, which coupled with her 1,257 career kills made her only the second Rebel in program history to achieve the feat, joining Daryn Glenn (2011-14).
 
French's 14 kills and .423 hitting efficiency were both career highs, with the right-side hitter only misfiring three times in 26 swings. She also had three assisted blocks and one dig.
 
Thea Sweder and Kate Brennan combined to throw down 17 kills off .328 hitting, with the former notching nine kills and a .500 average (9-2-14) to the latter's eight kills and .412 efficiency (8-1-17).
 
TURNING POINT: With the match tied at one-set apiece, the Rebels and Roos played a tightly contested third set. UNLV led by as much as four, 18-14, in the stanza, but watched KC battle back with a five-point run to push ahead 19-18. Neither team was able to muster up more than a one-point advantage until the final point was scored, with UNLV combining an attack error by KC's Melanie Brecka and an ace by Brennan for the 24th and 25th points, respectively.
 
The Rebels continued their momentum from the third into the fourth and quickly put plenty of breathing room between themselves and the Roos. With KC leading 3-2, UNLV rattled off a seven-point outburst, which consisted of five aces by Hayden and two KC attack errors. That 5-0 run ballooned to 14-2 with the Rebels leading by 11 at 16-5. The edge grew to as much as 12 on two occasions, including at set/match point 25-13.
 
REBEL NOTES:
- UNLV's 20 victories in 2019 mark the eighth instance that a Rebel squad has hit the 20-win mark in the program's history. Both the 2019 and 2006 squads are tied for the seventh-most wins with 20.
- The match featured 27 ties and only 14 lead changes, with the majority of each figure – 13 ties and eight lead changes – taking place in the first set. There were 10 ties and three lead changes in the third, while the second only had one tie and the third had three of each statistic.
- UNLV's 16-1 record in its last 17 matches is only one shy of tying the 17-1 stretch that consisted of the pairing of the final contest of the 2015 season – a 3-1 win over Fresno State – with the 16-1 stretch to start the 2016 campaign.
- UNLV improved to 4-0 all-time against the Kansas City Roos, which includes a 2018 3-2 triumph over the Missouri squad.
- UNLV improved to 10-5 in four-set matches this season.
- UNLV improved to 8-5 in matches where it loses the opening set, and 13-6 in matches it sits tied 1-1 at the intermission.
- By virtue of playing in all four sets Thursday, Kate Brennan, Lauryn Burt and Antonette Rolda moved into a tie for fifth-place in the program's single-season record book for sets played, with each briefly sitting at 125 with Friday's match on deck. Brennan had solely sat in fifth with the 125 sets played during the 2018 campaign. Shelby Capllonch, who was limited to only two sets Thursday, moved into a tie for 10th with three others from the 2011 squad with 123 sets played.
- With help from her seven aces, Hayden increased her 2019 haul to 69, which are the second most in the program's single-season record book – only 45 behind her record-setting tally from 2018. For her career, she has a UNLV- and Mountain West-best 226.
- Lauryn Burt had one ace against KC to push her season total to 42, which are tied for the sixth most in the program's single-season record book.
- UNLV junior middle blocker Macy Smith began her collegiate career in the state of South Dakota, playing her freshman campaign for South Dakota State in 2017 before joining the Rebels in 2018. Smith's Jackrabbits went 0-2 against the USD Coyotes in Summit League competition; however, the Spirit Lake, Iowa native posted a season-high nine kills off .444 hitting (9-1-18) with three total blocks and two digs in the second meeting (Nov. 7).
 
MOUNTAIN WEST IN THE POSTSEASON:
- UNLV and Wyoming advanced to the NIVC Second Round Thursday with their respective wins over Kansas City (3-1) and Northwestern State (3-0); however, Boise State saw its season come to a close with its 3-1 loss to Weber State Thursday in Laramie, Wyoming.
- No. 10 Colorado State begins its postseason run Friday in Seattle against South Carolina in the NCAA Tournament's First Round.