CEDAR CITY, Utah (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV volleyball team (8-2) defeated Southern Utah (0-8), 3-1, during the second match of the Southern Utah Invitational Friday night at the America First Event Center.
The Scarlet & Gray dominated the Thunderbirds during the first two sets by scores of 25-13 and 25-17, before dropping the third set to Southern Utah, 25-19, but dominating again in the fourth set, 25-13.
Redshirt-junior Isabel Martin paced the Scarlet & Gray with 18 kills, seven digs, two blocks and 20 points, followed by junior Gabrielle Arretche-Ramos with 14 kills, eight digs and 15.5 points.The Rebels were led by double-digit outings from Jhenna Gabriel's 42 assists and 10 digs and freshman Maya Sands's match-high 17 digs.
The hitting contest went to UNLV as it outhit SUU .295 to .200. Martin's .486 hitting percentage and Jordyn Freeman's .300 hitting percentage made the Rebel duo the squad's leaders in attack efficiency.
UP NEXT: The Rebels will head to St. George, Utah to play the final match of the Southern Utah Invitational against Utah Tech tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. (PT), in the Burns Arena. Utah Tech, formally known as Dixie State University, moved up to NCAA Division I status officially during the 2021-22 season. This will be the first contest against the Trailblazers in program history for the Rebels.
OTHER NEWS & NOTES
- Dating back to 2019, UNLV has gone 65-14 in its last 79 matches. The Rebels have won eight of ten matches this season and 34 of its last 42.
- 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-
