USAF ACADEMY, Colorado (UNLVRebels.com) - After a long five-set battle against the Air Force Falcons (8-10, 0-6 MW) Saturday afternoon, the UNLV volleyball team (14-3, 5-1 MW) came out victorious at the Cadet East Gym.
The Scarlet & Gray dropped the first two sets to the Falcons by scores of 26-24 and 25-21, but came back to dominate in the third and fourth frame, 25-17 and 25-13 and finally came out on top after taking the fifth set 16-14.
REBEL OF THE MATCH: Redshirt-junior Isabel Martin paced the match with 15 kills and 25 digs.
Jhenna Gabriel led the Rebels with 48 assists, 10 digs, one service ace and 5.5 points, followed by freshman Maya Sands with 14 digs, one service, four receptions and two assists.
The hitting contest went to UNLV as it outhit Air Force .211 to .178. Redshirt-junior Jordyn Freeman's .250 hitting percentage and sophomore Chloe Thomas's .242 made the duo the squad's leaders in attack efficiency.
UP NEXT: The Rebels will head over the Rocky Mountain State to take on Air Force Saturday, October 8 at 12 p.m. (PT).
OTHER NEWS & NOTES
- Dating back to 2019, UNLV has gone 71-15 in its last 86 matches. The Rebels have won 14 of 17 matches this season and 40 of its last 49.
- UNLV returned eight letterwinners this season. Also returning to the squad from last season were Gabrielle Arretche-Ramos, Arien Fafard, Jordyn Freeman, Chloe Thomas, Isha Knight, Keyana Cruse, Dakota Quinlan, Livvy Setla, Isabel Martin and Thea Sweder. There are eight newcomers, which include three freshmen, a trio of transfers and a pair of graduate transfers.
- UNLV is led by fifth-year head coach Dawn Sullivan, who looks to guide her squad to the postseason for the fifth straight season.
- Junior Arien Fafard had her 1,000th career assist during the opening weekend of the Rebels' 2022 campaign at UNT.
- The Rebels defeated No. 19 Kansas on September 10, 2022, making that the second win over a ranked team since 2016. The first being then No. 25 Washington State during the fall 2021 season at the Rebel Challenge (Sept. 4, 2021).
-UNLV-
