Mariena Hayden Claims MW Player Of The Year Honors For Second Year In A Row
11/24/2021 10:07:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Fifth-year senior makes program history as the first Rebel to earn back-to-back MW Player of the Year recognition
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV volleyball's Mariena Hayden was named the 2021 Mountain West Player of The Year, the league announced Wednesday. Hayden's performance on the court this season was rightfully recognized as it not only tabbed her with the Player of the Year title, again, but it also earned her a spot on the MW All-Conference team for the fourth time in her career.
Hayden became the first Rebel in program history to earn the MW Player of the Year recognition earlier this year during the spring 2021 season, making her now the first Rebel in program history to claim the MW Player of the Year title in back-to-back seasons.
The native of Belle Plaine, Minnesota also became the first Rebel in program history to earn All-MW honors four times in a career (2018, 2019, spring 2021, fall 2021). She finished the regular-season ranked first in the NCAA for aces per set (0.76) and service aces (74), while she also ranked 17th in points per set (5.13) and 43rd in kills per set (4.04).
The fifth-year outside hitter, who was the MW's Offensive Player of the Week on two occasions, had 23 double-figure kill matches this season, which included a career-high 30 vs. Boise State (Oct. 21). She marked 12 matches with a .300 or better hitting efficiency and had at least one ace in 24 matches. Defensively, she had five or more digs in 24 contests and reached double digits six times.Â
Hayden is No. 1 all-time at UNLV in career kills with 1,880 and career service aces with 343 (227 ahead of second place). She is also third in career digs with 1,365. She surpassed Maria Aladjova for No. 1 in kills earlier this season. Aladjova had 1,601 from 2004-07.
NEXT FOR THE REBELS: The No. 4 seed Rebels will take on the No. 5 seed Lobos in the quarterfinals of the 2021 MW Volleyball Championship at Cox Pavilion Wednesday, November 24 at 4 p.m.
The 2021 MW Volleyball Tournament will be held at Cox Pavilion Wednesday, November 24 - Friday, November 26.Â
TICKETS: All-session tickets will be available for $25. Single-session tickets are available for $12 for adults and $9 for seniors (ages 62+). Student and youth single-session tickets are only $6 and kids ages two and under are free. Tickets may be purchased at UNLVTickets.com.
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: The winner of UNLV's quarterfinal match will move on to play in the semifinals on Thursday, November 25 at 4 p.m. against the No. 1 seed Colorado State. The championship match will be played on Friday, November 26 at 1 p.m. The full bracket is attached and can also be found here.Â
OTHER NEWS & NOTES:
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UNLV is coming off a five-match win streak heading into the 2021 Mountain West Championships.
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Dating back to 2019, UNLV has gone 50-11 in its last 61 matches. The Rebels have won 21 of 29 this season and 19 of its last 25 heading into the 2021 Mountain West Championship Tournament.
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UNLV returned nine letterwinners this season including Hayden, an All-American and MW Player of the Year, Brennan, an All-MW First Team performer.Â
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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.
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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.
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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.Â
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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.Â
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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)
