LAS VEGAS (UNLVrebels.com) – The UNLV volleyball team will hold one final match in its 2024 preseason schedule, facing off against Utah Tech for an exhibition match.
 
The Rebels, under second-year head coach Malia Shoji, will take on the Trailblazers on Saturday, August 24 at 12 p.m. PT on their home court in Cox Pavilion. Tickets are free for all who want to see the Rebels in action. Fans can also follow along through the live statistics here.
 
The Scarlet & Gray return 12 student-athletes on their roster, including five of their six starters from the 2023 season. Among the returners are 2023 All-Mountain West honorees Jordyn Freeman and Gabrielle Arretche-Ramos, as well as other high-impact players such as Arien Fafard and Dakota Quinlan. 
 
The previously-mentioned Rebels hold several high marks in UNLV's all-time record book, Quinlan setting the single-season record with a hitting efficiency of .374 in 2023 while also sitting atop the career mark at .362. Freeman ended the 2023 right behind her middle-blocker teammate in the career list for the aforementioned statistical category, sitting second at a hitting efficiency of .327. Freeman also appears in several other career lists, ranking sixth in both assisted blocks (336) and total blocks (378). Chloe Thomas joins Freeman in the total blocks category with 243, rounding out the top-10 list. Fafard eclipsed the 2,000 mark in career assists during the 2023 season, moving sixth place in the Rebel record book for her career (2,042). 
 
UNLV's additions to the program include three-pin hitters in Alondra Alcaron, Basia Latos and Jada Ingram. The Rebels also have brought in Kody Wengler, who is a libero and Rheanna Deen-Jackson, who is a middle blocker.
 
Latos is from Lazy, Poland, and joins the roster with a plethora of international experience, including her time competing for Team Poland in the U22 EuroVolley Championships this past summer. Alarcon, a transfer from Florida Southwestern, was named the 2023 VolleyMag National Player of the Year among NJCAA student-athletes and led her team to a NJCAA National Championships appearance in 2022. Ingram was selected on the Kansas Volleyball Association's 6A All-State Tournament team for three-consecutive seasons as well as tabbed on the AVCA 2023 Club All-America list. Deen-Jackson led her high school program to new heights while setting single-season and career records in both blocks and hitting percentage at Atascocita High School, reaching the third round of the Texas state playoffs for the first time in school history. A top libero from Hawaii, Wengler led Damien Memorial High School to three-consecutive top-three finishes at the Hawaii High School Athletic Association Volleyball State Tournament during her final three seasons while collecting All-State DII First Team accolades during her career.
 
UNLV capped the 2023 season with a 19-13 record, earning a postseason berth for the sixth-consecutive season with a spot in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship.
 
ABOUT UTAH TECH:
The Trailblazers finished the 2023 season with a 9-17 record, facing off against Mountain West opponents three times during the season. Among their wins included a five-set win over New Mexico, capping the New Mexico Lobo Invitational with two wins in their three matches. Kennedi Knudsen and Hannah Howard return as Utah Tech's top-two scorers from 2023, Knudsen compiling 319 kills and 230 digs last season while Howard collected 240 kills of her own.
 
HOME OPENER: 
UNLV will open the 2024 regular season in The Rebel Challenge, hosting Northwestern, Iowa State and Pacific in the three-day weekend. The Scarlet & Gray will face Northwestern first, the first serve set at 6 p.m. PT on Saturday, August 30. The program will later face the Cyclones and the Tigers in the consecutive days. The full season schedule may be found here.
 
Season tickets, which start as low as $50, are available now and may be purchased by clicking here. Active alumni, faculty/staff and seniors (ages 62+) are just $40. Single-game tickets are also available for just $6 online and in advance. Kids 12 and under are free all season long. Fans that wish to attend Saturday's match will need to enter through the Thomas and Mack Center. Fans that need ADA accommodations will also need to enter through the front doors of the TMC.
 
To stay updated on all things UNLV volleyball, follow on social: Twitter / X, Instagram and Facebook. News and updates on the Rebels will also be posted online at UNLVrebels.com.