LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV volleyball team (8-0) remained perfect on the year with its 3-1 victory over the San Jose State Spartans (4-7) Friday evening at the Cox Pavilion. The Rebels jumped out to an early 2-0 lead only to see the visiting Spartans extend the contest with a third-set win; however, the match ended in the fourth. UNLV won the Mountain West affair behind 25-19, 25-14, 23-25, 25-17 set scores.
With the victory, UNLV head coach
Dawn Sullivan recorded her 50th career win and became the fastest coach in program history to achieve the feat. Sullivan only needed 73 matches to best the 86 it took Allison Keeley, who coached the Rebels from 2004-10, from 2004-06.
Mariena Hayden notched her fifth double-double of the season and 51st of her career with a match-high 22 kills and team-high 11 digs. Hayden, who hit a match-best .409, also aced four serves – all of which came in the fourth set.
Rebel setters
Arien Fafard and
Lauryn Burt nearly posted double-doubles of their own, but the duo fell a total of three digs shy. The former had 27 assists to eight digs with two aces, while the latter had 15 assists and nine digs.
UNLV also got a minimum of eight kills from the trio of
Kate Brennan (nine kills),
Shelby Capllonch (eight) and
Alison French (eight).
Despite having more than two weeks off between competitions because of COVID-19 issues, the Scarlet & Gray's offense put together, quite possibly, two of its best sets of the season. UNLV opened the bout hitting .433 and .424 over the first and second frames, respectively, combining for 33 kills against only six errors in 63 swings. Things turned in the third, as the Rebels recorded six errors alone in the frame with 15 kills in 43 swings for a .209 average. In the fourth and decisive set, they hit .265 with 11 kills to two errors in 34 attack attempts.
The Spartans, on the other hand, were outhit by 136 points (.321-.185) in the match, as they were held to .179 or lower hitting efficiencies in three of the four sets. The Bay Area squad provided its best offensive display in the third, with its .273 average with 13 kills and four errors in 33 attempts. In the first two sets alone, they hit .161 (19-10-56). After winning the third, SJSU could only muster a .143 clip (12-7-35).
Besides the hitting figures, UNLV also led in assists (50-41) and aces (9-3), but were tied in digs (50-50) and trailed in total team blocks (10.0-7.0).
NOTES:
-Dating back to the 2019 campaign, UNLV has now won 24 of its last 26 matches – the best run through 26 matches in program history.
-With Friday's win, UNLV improved to 8-0 for only the second time in program history, joining the 2016 squad which started that season 11-0.
-UNLV improved to 13-7 in the head-to-head series against SJSU, winning five straight and 12 of the 13 matches.
-Sullivan joined Keeley, Deitre Collins (1996-2003) and Cindy Fredrick (2011-17) as the only coaches to have reached the 50-win plateau at UNLV.
-Hayden's 22 kills Friday moved her to 1,399 for her career and puts her one shy of becoming only the third Rebels in program history to record 1,400 in a career: Maria Aladjova (2004-07) had 1,601 and Lauren Miramontes (2003-07) had 1,499.
UP NEXT: The Rebels and Spartans conclude their two-match series Saturday in the Cox Pavilion. First serve is scheduled for 6:30 pm.
