LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV fifth-year senior Mariena Hayden recorded a career-high 30 kills to power the Rebel volleyball team past Wyoming in five sets Thursday evening at Cox Pavilion.

UNLV (15-5, 6-3) won the Mountain West match by the scores of 20-25, 25-16, 23-25, 25-21 and 15-5.

The Rebels hit a season-high .434 with four players all recording hitting percentages of at least .455. Hayden only had four errors to hit .491, while senior Kate Brennan had eight kills with no errors to hit .889. Senior Milica Tasic had 11 kills with one errors (.455) and freshman Keyana Cruse tallied nine kills with no errors (.600).

Hayden also contributed a season-high seven service aces, while sophomore Arien Fafard led the team in assists with 25 and junior Shelby Capllonch recorded a team-high 11 digs.

UNLV dominated the decisive fifth set, recording 10 kills with no errors to hit .667, while the Cowgirls had just four kills with four errors for a hitting percentage of .000.

Wyoming (12-9, 4-5) was led in the match by Naya Shime's 16 kills, Abby Olsen's 37 assists and Erika Jones' 15 digs.

The Rebels recorded 66 kills to Wyoming's 56 as they got back in the win column after two straight five-set road losses.

NEXT FOR THE REBELS: UNLV will head back out on the road, playing at league-leading Colorado State on Saturday, October 23 at 12 p.m. PT. Livestream and live stats links are available on the volleyball schedule page at UNLVRebels.com.

NEWS & NOTES:

• UNLV is 44-8 over its last 52 matches dating back to 2019.

• Hayden is No. 1 all-time at UNLV in career service aces (313; 197 ahead of second place) and kills (1,743). She has now moved into a third-place tie in career digs with 1,280.

• UNLV concluded its Spring 2021 season with a record-breaking campaign that saw it win the Mountain West title, going undefeated in regular-season play (12-0) and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The team finished the season 13-1 overall.

• UNLV returned nine letterwinners from last season including All-American and MW Player of the Year Mariena Hayden, and All-MW First Team performer Kate Brennan.

• Also returning to the squad 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 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.

• 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. Hayden was chosen as the Preseason Conference Player of the Year.