LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV volleyball team (11-0) will play its final home and regular season match of the Spring 2021 campaign Thursday evening against the Wyoming Cowgirls. The Rebels and Cowgirls will serve it up at 6:30 pm in the Cox Pavilion.
Wyoming (8-4), which sits in third place in the Mountain West, will close out its season Saturday at home in Laramie against the San Jose State Spartans.
SATURDAY CANCELED
UNLV was scheduled to host Air Force Saturday afternoon; however, the match has been canceled because of a COVID-19 issue within the Falcon volleyball program. This cancellation marks the fourth contest that the Rebels have had during the Spring 2021 season, beginning with Utah State (March 6) and two at New Mexico (March 12-13).
MOUNTAIN WEST CHAMPIONS
UNLV was crowned the Spring 2021 Mountain West regular-season champions following its 3-0 win at Fresno State and Boise State's 3-1 loss at Colorado State last Thursday. Moreover, it's the first regular-season title won by the Rebels in the program's history, playing in the Big West, WAC and MW.
Prior to the Spring 2021 season, UNLV's best conference finish had been second in 1998, 2007 and 2014.
NCAA BOUND
By virtue of winning the Spring 2021 Mountain West regular-season title, UNLV earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship, which will be played April 14-24 in Omaha, Nebraska. This marks the third instance the Rebels have played in the NCAA tournament, joining 2007 (MW automatic qualifier) and 2016 (at-large).
The Scarlet & Gray will learn its seed and opponent Sunday afternoon when the 48-team field is revealed on the NCAA Volleyball Selection Show is aired on ESPNU at 1:00 pm PT.
SENIOR NIGHT CEREMONY & CONFERENCE CELEBRATION
With Saturday's match against Air Force canceled, UNLV has shifted its senior ceremony to Thursday's contest against Wyoming. The Rebels will recognize their six-member senior class –
Jillian Berg,
Erin Davis,
Alison French,
Mariena Hayden,
Macy Smith and
Thea Sweder – following the conclusion of the match.
Additionally, the Rebels will celebrate their Spring 2021 Mountain West regular-season title after the match.
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can follow this week's Rebel match at home against Wyoming through the Mountain West Network's video stream, live stats and social media. Links to video and statistics can be found online at UNLVRebels.com in the "schedule" section of the volleyball page as well as on the team's official social media accounts: @unlvvball (Twitter and Instagram) and @UNLVRebelVolleyball (Facebook).
RECEIVING VOTES
UNLV has been mentioned in the "receiving votes" category of the American Volleyball Coaches Association's Top 25 Poll for the past five weeks. After sweeps of San Diego State and Colorado State to start the Spring 2021 season, the Rebels made their first appearance in the Week 5 (Feb. 22) poll after they accumulated six points to share 35th place with Bowling Green.
Over the past five weeks, UNLV has steadily moved up seven spots, going from No. 33 (March 1) to No. 30 (March 8 – tied with Michigan) to No. 29 (March 15 – tied with Tennessee) to No. 28 (March 22) to No. 26 (March 29).
The Rebels have only been ranked in the top 25 twice, with both instances occurring during the 2007 campaign (Nov. 5 and Nov. 12). In all, the Rebels received votes for 13 consecutive weeks that season, cracking the top 25 those two instances.
NCAA RPI
The NCAA released its initial RPI rankings on March 8 and UNLV came in first overall behind its perfect 7-0 record. Since that initial ranking, the Rebels have stayed in the top five, moving to No. 3 on March 15 to No. 4 on both March 22 and March 29.
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
At the start of the week (March 29), UNLV ranked 100th or better in six NCAA Division I statistical categories. Moreover, the team sits first overall in the Mountain West in five of those categories.
The Rebels are first overall in winning percentage (1.000) – tied with six others, and rank eighth in hitting percentage (.304), eight in kills per set (14.41), 10th in aces per set (2.03) and 19th in assists per set (12.97). The team is 99th in opponent hitting percentage (.177), which is third-best in the MW.
INDIVIDUALLY SPEAKING
At the start of the week (March 29), UNLV outside hitter
Mariena Hayden ranked in the top 100 of six NCAA Division I statistical categories. Hayden sits first in aces per set (0.95) as well as fifth in service aces (37) and seventh in both points per set (5.31) and triple doubles (1). She is 48th in kills per set (4.10) and 94th in hitting percentage (.339).
Rebel middle blockers
Kate Brennan and
Macy Smith are also ranked in this week's release. Smith is as high as 22nd in hitting percentage (.416) and also 138th in blocks per set (1.05), while Brennan comes in 50th in hitting percentage (.371).
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
>Wyoming: The Cowgirls enter the week sporting a 8-4 overall/MW record and are third in the Mountain West, sitting 0.5 matches ahead of Colorado State in the standings ... The Cowgirls began the Spring 2021 season with four straight wins before they suffered three straight losses; however, the team has gone 4-1 in its last five, which includes a 3-1 triumph over Fresno State on March 13 ... The Cowgirls have not played since that contest at Fresno State, as their last two matches - at UNR (March 20) and at Air Force (March 25) - were canceled because of COVID-19 issues ... The Cowgirls were picked to finish third in the MW Coaches Poll and earned one first-place vote in the process ... The Cowgirls' Jackie McBride was selected to the Preseason All-MW Team by the coaches following three straight seasons (2017-19) of being named to the All-MW Team ... The Cowgirls returned seven letterwinners this season, including four starters ... The Cowgirls went 22-9 in 2019 and finished second in the conference with a 16-2 mark ... The Cowgirls concluded the 2019 campaign in the second round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship, losing to Weber State, 3-2, after defeating Northwestern State, 3-0, in the first round.
