LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV volleyball team (14-3, 5-1), which has won five straight matches and 12 of its last 13, will be on the road this week.

The Rebels will play at Utah State (12-6, 4-2) on Thursday, October 14 at 6 p.m. PT and at Boise State (14-4, 3-3) on Saturday, October 16 at 11 a.m. PT. Livestream and live stats links are available on the UNLV volleyball schedule page at UNLVRebels.com.

LAST WEEK: The Rebels recorded two sweeps last week with a 25-21, 25-21, 25-20 win at San Diego State and a 25-13, 25-19, 25-23 victory at home against Fresno State. 

MOUNTAIN WEST FAVORITES: The defending MW champs have been predicted to repeat this fall and are currently tied for first place in the league with New Mexico and Colorado State, all 5-1. For the first time in program history, the Rebels were predicted to finish atop the MW volleyball standings by the league's 11 head coaches as the preseason poll was released in August. Fifth-year senior outside hitter Mariena Hayden was chosen as the Preseason Conference Player of the Year. 

MOUNTAIN WEST PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: UNLV has been recognized five times this season with Mountain West weekly honors. Hayden won the Offensive Player of the Week award on Oct. 4, junior libero/defensive specialist Paris Oliveira was named the MW's Defensive Player of the Week following the Rebels' win at the Sparky Volleyball Invitational hosted by Arizona State on Sept. 20 and middle blocker Chloe Thomas has earned the MW's Freshman of the Week award three times.

WINNING: Dating back to 2019, UNLV has gone 43-6 in its last 49 matches, including winning 14 of 17 this season and 12 of its last 13 heading into Thursday's match at Utah State. UNLV's only two non-conference losses this season were to two ranked teams (No. 6 Purdue and No. 8 BYU).

LEADING THE NATION: Hayden ranks No. 1 in the nation this season in aces per set at 0.73. Senior middle blocker Kate Brennan is also among the national stat leaders at 36th in hitting percentage (.390).

ATOP THE UNLV CAREER CHARTS: Hayden is No. 1 all-time at UNLV in career kills with 1,671 and career service aces with 305 (189 ahead of second place). She has also moved up to No. 4 in career digs with 1,258. She surpassed Maria Aladjova for No. 1 in kills three weeks ago. Aladjova had 1,601 from 2004-07.

FIRST WIN OVER A RANKED TEAM SINCE 2016: Earlier this season the Rebels faced three straight ranked teams: at then-No. 15 BYU, vs. then-No. 8 Purdue and vs. then-No. 25 Washington State. UNLV's win over Washington State marked its first victory over a ranked opponent since defeating then-No. 22 Utah in the NCAA Tournament in 2016. UNLV also went 2-0 vs. Pac-12 schools during non-conference play this season.

OTHER NEWS & NOTES:

• UNLV returned nine letterwinners this season including Hayden, an All-American and MW Player of the Year, Brennan, an All-MW First Team performer. 

• Also returning to the squad from last season were Gabrielle Arretche-Ramos, Lauryn Burt, Shelby Capllonch (honorable mention All-MW), Arien Fafard, Jordyn Freeman, Paola Garcia and Paris Oliveira. There are eight newcomers, which include six freshmen and a pair of international student-athletes.

• UNLV is coming off a record-breaking season during the spring that saw the Rebels go undefeated in regular-season play (12-0) and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Rebels ended the season with a 13-1 overall record, falling to eventual national champion Kentucky.

• UNLV is led by fourth-year head coach Dawn Sullivan, who was honored following the Spring 2021 season with the MW's Coach of the Year award. 

• Hayden was named Honorable Mention All-America by the AVCA following Spring 2021 after being selected to the organization's Pacific South All-Region Team. She also was UNLV's first league Player of the Year in volleyball. 

• Hayden entered this season as the NCAA's active leader in aces (269) and aces per set (.674). Additionally, she sat 12th in total attacks (3,897), 13th in kills (1,484) and 23rd in kills per set (3.72).