LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV volleyball team (5-0) came out on top in the battle of Mountain West unbeatens Friday night, defeating the Boise State Broncos (6-1) in a five-set thriller at the Cox Pavilion. The Rebels, who got double-doubles from Shelby Capllonch, Arien Fafard and Mariena Hayden, claimed the contest by set scores of 25-17, 25-18, 24-26, 27-29, 15-13.
 
UNLV jumped out to a dominating 2-0 lead early in the bout; however, the Broncos rallied back to even the contest at 2-all after they staved off a set- and match-point opportunity in both the third and fourth sets. The Scarlet & Gray, ultimately, claimed the affair with back-to-back kills by Hayden and Capllonch after Boise State had drawn even at 13-all.
 
The Rebels outhit the Broncos by 75 points (.269-.194) behind 22 more kills (76-54) despite committing five more errors (26-21) off 16 more attack attempts (186-170). UNLV hit .268 or better in four sets, including a match-high .517 (17-2-29) in the second; however, the offense sputtered in the third, putting forth a .048 effort (14-12-42). Boise State, on the other hand, was held to .086 and .077 efficiencies in the first and third, respectively, but closed with a .265 in the fourth and .263 in the fifth.
 
Hayden led all players with 27 kills, which are a season- and career-high, and 24 digs for her third straight double-double and 49th of her career. She hit .377 for the match with only seven errors in 53 swings and also chipped in two assists, two assisted blocks and one ace.
 
UNLV had four more hitters record double figures in kills, as Kate Brennan, Erin Davis and Macy Smith all had 11, while Capllonch added 10 to go along with 20 digs for her fifth consecutive double-double.
 
Fafard used a combination of 36 assists and 10 digs for her second double-double of the season.
 
TURNING POINT: After being so close to ending the match in both the third and fourth sets, UNLV was able to finish the contest in the fifth after trailing as late as 10-9 in the final frame. The Rebels took advantage of a serving error and an attack error that was a result of a combined block by Brennan and Hayden to push ahead by one at 11-10. Although the Broncos managed to tie it up twice more – 11-all and 13-all, UNLV never relinquished the lead getting three kills by Hayden and, ultimately, Capllonch's 10th of the match for the win off an overpass from a Jillian Berg serve.
 
REBEL NOTES:
-Dating back to the 2019 campaign, UNLV has won 21 of its last 23 matches – the best run through 23 matches in program history.
-With Friday's win, UNLV improved to 5-0 for only the fifth time in program history: 1979, 1998, 1999, 2016 and Spring 2021.
-With Friday's win, UNLV has beaten Boise State four straight times and, subsequently, upped its lead in the head-to-head series to five matches at 13-8.
-With their double-doubles Saturday, Capllonch has five for the year and 20 for her career, while Hayden picked up her third of 2021 and 49th overall.
-With help from her 17 kills Saturday, Hayden now has 1,353 for her career, and moved ahead of Leiana Oswald's 1,350 (2000-03) for third place in the program's all-time record book.
-With the addition of her 53 attack attempts Saturday, Hayden now has 3,627 for her career, and is only 28 shy of tying Lauren Miramontes' 3,655 (2003-07) for third all-time.
-With 29 assists Saturday, Lauryn Burt broke the 1,000-assist mark. To date, the setter has 1,012 for her career and is only nine shy of tying Amanda Alles' 1,052 (2008-11) for 10th all-time.
 
UP NEXT: UNLV and Boise State return to the Cox Pavilion to close out their two-match, Mountain West series Saturday night at 6:30 pm.