Volleyball Heads To Utah This Weekend For Two Matches - University of Nevada Las Vegas Athletics

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – The defending Mountain West regular-season champion UNLV volleyball team will head back out on the road this weekend for two matches in Utah.

The Rebels will face Utah in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 1 at 6 p.m. PT and then travel to Ogden to play at Weber State on Saturday, Sept. 2 at 1 p.m. PT. Video stream and live stats links will be available on the volleyball schedule page at UNLVRebels.com.

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LAST WEEKEND: UNLV (2-1) opened its season Aug. 25-27 at the Buffs Invitational, hosted by Colorado. The Rebels went 2-1 at the event, which included a win over the host Buffaloes and marked new UNLV head coach Malia Shoji's first career victory. UNLV won that match by a final score of 3-1, splitting the rest of the weekend with a 3-0 loss to North Texas and a 3-1 win over Campbell.

REBEL LEADERS: Senior outside hitter Isabel Martin leads the UNLV attack averaging 4.7 kills per set so far this season with a hitting percentage of .309. Senior setter Arien Fafard is the team's assist leader with 10.2 per set, while freshman libero Caleigh King is the digs leader at 3.5 per set.

HOMECOMING: This trip to Utah will be a homecoming of sorts for Coach Shoji, as she spent eight seasons on the Utes' staff prior to becoming UNLV's head coach.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS:

Utah (1-2)
Utah opened the season by splitting its two matches at the Utah Valley Invitational in Orem, Utah on Aug. 25 and 26. The Utes lost 3-1 at Utah Valley and then defeated North Carolina State, 3-0. Utah is coming off of a 3-0 loss at Utah State on Wednesday. The Utes are led by Lauren Jardine's 4.4 kills per set, Victoria Wahlgren's 9.4 assists per set, Vanessa Ramirez' 4.5 digs per set and KJ Burgess' 1.5 blocks per set.

Weber State (2-1)
Weber State hosted the Wildcat Invitational last weekend where it went 2-1. The Wildcats defeated Utah Tech, 3-2, and Manhattan, 3-0, before falling to Saint Mary's, 3-2. WSU will play at Utah State on Thursday night (Aug. 31) and host Loyola Marymount on Friday eventing (Sept. 1) before facing the Rebels. Weber State's stat leaders are: Dani Richins with 3.5 kills per set, Kate Standifird with 10.5 assists per set, Makayla Sorensen with 4.2 digs per set and Saane Katoa's 1.6 blocks per set.

HOME OPENER: UNLV will host its first home match on Tuesday, Sept 12 against Southern Utah before welcoming Coppin State, Portland and Lamar to the Cox Pavilion at the UNLV Tournament Thursday-Saturday, Sept. 14-16. The full season schedule may be found here.

REBEL ROSTER MAKEUP: The Rebels returned 11 letterwinners from last season's team, including the 2022 MW Player of the Year and the 2023 Preseason MW Player of the Year in senior outside hitter Isabel Martin. Also returning are last season's all-conference honorees: senior outside hitter Gabrielle Arretche-Ramos and senior middle blocker Jordyn Freeman.

Martin also earned all-region honors last season and was named an honorable mention All-American.

The Rebels have also added five new players to their 2023 roster.

Other Rebel individuals to keep an eye on early this season are junior middle blocker Dakota Quinlan and freshman libero Caleigh King.

PRESEASON MW FAVORITES: UNLV was named the preseason Mountain West favorite along with Utah State in a poll voted on by the conference's head coaches.

LAST SEASON: UNLV went 26-5 overall in 2022, including a 17-1 record in Mountain West play, and made another NCAA Tournament appearance.

UNLV SEASON TICKETS: Season tickets for UNLV volleyball are on sale now and may be purchased at UNLVtickets.com or by calling 702-739-FANS (3267). Season tickets are $50 for adults (13 and older), and $40 for active alumni, seniors, and faculty and staff.

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Players Mentioned

Arien Fafard

Caleigh King

Isabel Martin

Dakota Quinlan

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