SALT LAKE CITY (UNLVRebels.com) – The defending Mountain West regular-season champion UNLV volleyball team lost at Utah 3-1 (25-19, 17-25, 14-25, 23-25) on Friday night at the Jon M Huntsman Center.
The Rebels (2-2) were led by Isabel Martin's 19 kills and hitting percentage of .325. She also added eight digs. Arien Fafard had a team-high 38 assists, while Caleigh King turned in a team-leading 10 digs. Gabrielle Arretche-Ramos also recorded double figures in kills with 12.
Utah (2-2) was paced by Lauren Jardine's match-high 21 kills and Kamryn Gibadlo's 12. Jardine, Gibadlo and Allie Olsen all recorded hitting percentages over .450. Viktoria Wahlgren recorded 41 assists and Vanessa Ramirez added 16 digs.
The Rebels had a hot start to begin the match, winning the first set behind Fafard's 13 assists and a hitting percentage of .387. UNLV struggled in sets two and three, hitting below .075 in each, but fought back in the fourth set, hitting .343, however it wasn't enough to force a fifth. Utah out-hit the Rebels .364 to .197 for the match, and tallied a total of 10 more kills (55-45). There were a total of 16 ties and six lead changes throughout.
News & Notes:
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The match was a homecoming of sorts for new UNLV head coach Malia Shoji, who spent eight years on Utah's staff before coming to Las Vegas to lead the Rebels.
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UNLV has split its matches so far with teams from the Pac-12, both on the road, defeating Colorado and losing to the Utes.
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The Rebels returned 11 letterwinners from last season's team.
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UNLV, which has been named the preseason league favorite along with Utah State in a poll voted on by the conference's head coaches, has added five new players to their 2023 roster.
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2022 Mountain West Player of the Year Isabel Martin was also named the 2023 Preseason MW Player of the Year.
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Also returning are last season's all-conference honorees: senior outside hitter Gabrielle Arretche-Ramos and senior middle blocker Jordyn Freeman.
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Martin also earned all-region honors last season and was named an honorable mention All-American.
- UNLV went 26-5 overall in 2022, including a 17-1 record in Mountain West play, and made another NCAA Tournament appearance.
NEXT FOR THE REBELS: UNLV will remain in Utah, traveling to Ogden, to play at Weber State on Saturday, Sept. 2 at 1 p.m. PT. Video and live stats links are available on the volleyball schedule page at UNLVRebels.com.
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.
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.
