ITHACA, N.Y. (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV volleyball team, which is receiving votes in the national rankings, recorded its third straight sweep at the Cornell Invitational with a 3-0 win against Bucknell on Saturday to claim the tournament's title. It also marked the team's fifth straight win.

The Rebels (7-2) won with scores of 25-17, 25-18 and 25-7 against the Bison. UNLV ran away with the third set after racing out to a 9-0 lead.

UNLV fifth-year senior Mariena Hayden had a match-high 12 kills. She had just two hitting errors for a hitting percentage of .400, while senior middle blocker Kate Brennan, an Endicott, New York native, hit .500 for the match in her homecoming. Brennan also tallied season highs of seven total blocks and eight digs. Sophomore setter Arien Fafard had a match-high 19 assists, while junior outside hitter Shelby Capllonch had a career-high five service aces, including three during the 9-0 spurt to start the third set. Senior outside hitter Milica Tasic also added eight kills with just two errors, hitting .316.

UNLV dominated in kills, 43-18, outhit Bucknell .323 to -.036 and had 10 blocks to its 2 and led in assists 34-18.

Catherine Jamison led Bucknell (4-4) in kills, Sarah Ramirez had 15 assists and Jordan Hardy had 15 digs.

ALL-TOURNAMENT: Following the tournament, Brennan was named MVP, while Hayden and senior setter Lauryn Burt were on the all-tournament team. Also included were Cornell's Casey Justice and Jackie Baker, and Niagara's Amanda Darling.

NEXT FOR THE REBELS: UNLV will close out its non-conference schedule next week in Tempe, Arizona, at the Sparky Invitational. The Rebels will face Pacific on Friday, September 17 at 1 p.m., then Arizona State on Saturday, September 18 at 5 p.m. Livestream and live stats links will be available at the UNLV volleyball schedule page on UNLVRebels.com.

NEWS & NOTES:

• UNLV went 3-0 in the Cornell Invitational, also defeating Niagara and Cornell 3-0 on Friday.

• Hayden is No. 2 all-time at UNLV in career kills and currently has 1,559 for her collegiate career. She has also moved into the No. 5 spot in career digs with 1,192.

• UNLV has now won 36 of its last 41 matches dating back to 2019.

• UNLV concluded its Spring 2021 season with a record-breaking campaign that saw the Rebels 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 are 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 last month. Hayden was chosen as the Preseason Conference Player of the Year.