LAS VEGAS (UNLVrebels.com) – Following the Mountain West Volleyball Championships last week, the UNLV volleyball team (19-12, 11-7 Mountain West) takes off this week to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) Tournament to continue the 2023 season. The Rebels are set to face off against Sacramento State in the first round of the bracket, the Hornets playing host to the first two rounds of the Scarlet & Gray's path in the event.
The two programs will face off on Thursday, Nov. 30 at 7 p.m. at the Nest, hosted by Sacramento State on its campus. The match will be the first time the teams will match up against one another since the 2016 season during the UNLV Challenge and the fourth meeting overall in program history.
This will mark the fourth time since the 2018 season that the Rebels have participated in the NIVC, UNLV bringing home the tournament crown back in its last run in 2021. During the 2021 run, they took down Valparaiso in the clean 3-0 sweep in the championship match for their third sweep in the tournament.
After Sunday's announcement of UNLV heading into the NIVC, head coach
Malia Shoji became the second coach in program history to lead the Rebels past the conference tournament in their first season at the helm. Redshirt senior
Isabel Martin became the second student-athlete to earn two consecutive Mountain West Player of the Year awards, co-winning it this season while also picking up All-Mountain West First Team honors. The Rebels found two more players on the All-Mountain West list,
Gabrielle Arretche-Ramos and
Jordyn Freeman picking up Honorable Mention honors.
The Rebels sit 19-12 overall in the 2023 season and finished third overall in the Mountain West standings with a 11-7 record during conference play. The Mountain West features one other program aside from UNLV in the tournament, Wyoming qualifying for the event on their 20-9 record in the 2023 season. The Cowgirls face off against South Dakota in the first round earlier in the day on Nov. 30.
REBEL LEADERS
Martin continues in the postseason as one of Division I's premiere offensive players, ranking in the top 20 student-athletes in multiple statistical categories. Sitting 11th overall with 500 kills on the season, she ranks third in program history for a single season while currently 13th among DI athletes in points (565.5) and 19th in kills per set (4.31).
As a program, UNLV finds itself in the top-30 programs in a handful of categories, earning 20th overall among DI programs in team service aces at 212 in 2023. The team also ranks 21st in team kills (1,594) and 26th in hitting percentage (.272), junior
Dakota Quinlan boosting that average with her 33rd-ranked rate of .386 on the season.
Freeman leads the Rebel defense in blocks this season, compiling a team-high 118 total blocks in 2023 to rank among the top-100 individuals in Division I. Freshman
Caleigh King has been one of UNLV's key back row student-athletes on the defense, leading the team in total digs this season at 250.
Isha Knight's rise as the libero has boosted her to have the highest dig rate this season on the roster, averaging 2.47 digs per set in the 72 sets she's appeared in.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
The Hornets boast impressive play on both sides of the net, ranking second in the nation as a program in team total blocks (326.5) and eighth overall in team kills (1,640). Their pair of middle blockers in Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin and Kalani Hayes sit 10th and 11th overall in the nation in total blocks, the two of them reaching a combined 300 blocks during the 2023 season. The program led the Big Sky conference in nine different statistical categories, leading the league in kills per set (13.33) and hitting percentage (.244) on the offensive front.
Sacramento State's offense is led by Bridgette Smith, the senior outside hitter leading the team in points per set (4.2) and kills per set (3.66) during the 2023 season. The program splits their setting duties between Kate Doorn and Hailey Plugge, each earning over 650 assists on the season in 123 sets played. Kamba-Griffin holds the highest hitting percentage on the roster, pushing a .374 rate while Hayes sits closely behind her at .363.
The program enters the tournament on a 21-11 overall record, finishing the Big Sky season at 13-3. The Hornets faced off several power-five institutions with strong showings, sweeping Iowa at the beginning of the season during the Sacramento State Invitational and pushing then-no. 3 ranked Florida to a five-set duel. Sacramento State faced off against three Mountain West teams prior to Thursday's match against UNLV, beating UNR (3-2) and San Jose State (3-0) while falling to Fresno State (0-3).
HOW TO WATCH
Fans can get tickets to any of the matches taking place in Sacramento over the weekend by buying tickets
here, but fans also have the option to watch the game on ESPN+. The game will be streamed on the app as well as live stats can be followed along
here.
