LAS VEGAS (unlvrebels.com) – The UNLV volleyball team celebrated their annual Polynesian Night on Tuesday evening, hosting the University of Hawai'i in Cox Pavilion for the first time since the 1997 season. Fans packed the house with the program's first-ever sell-out crowd with an attendance of 3,117, shattering the previous program-record that was set during the 2023 season against Utah State (1,318).
The Scarlet & Gray (6-2) certainly gave fans a show, topping the Rainbow Wāhine (6-2) in a five-set throwdown. The two programs traded punch-for-punch, the final scoreline being 25-15, 22-25, 25-16, 16-25, 15-13. The Rebels hit as high as .464 in a single set (set three), averaging a .338 attacking percentage in comparison to Hawai'I's .200 rate.
Jordyn Freeman led the way with a career night, the graduate student recorded a season-high in kills with 12 total in the match. The middle blocker recorded an attacking percentage of .558, the highest of any Rebel on the roster.
Gabrielle Arretche-Ramos and
Chloe Thomas each locked in 12 kills of their own in the match, GAR tallying three of them in the fifth set alone to help the Rebels close the win.
Dakota Quinlan finished with her third-consecutive match with double-digit kills, posting 10 of them on Tuesday night.
Rheanna Deen-Jackson stood strong for the Rebels in one of her strongest performances during her freshman campaign, recording a team-high and career-high eight blocks out of the team's 25. That number would lead the UNLV roster, splitting seven block assists and one solo block in the match. Freeman tallied the most solo blocks after recording her 50th in the last match, picking up two more alongside her four block assists. Thomas totaled five block assists in the match and Arretche-Ramos rounded out the lineup with four for the Scarlet & Gray.
The Rebels' libero,
Caleigh King, picked up her sixth game of the season with double-digit digs, leading the roster with 11 to her name on Tuesday night,
Arien Fafard joining her in the double-digit squad with 10 on the set.
Olivia Mikkelsen dug seven of her own with Alondra Alcaron matching her total. Quinlan totaled six digs as one of the team's outside hitter along with her 10 kills in the match.
UNLV totaled their first match this season with double-digit service aces in the contest, Deen-Jackson leading the way with a team-high four throughout the five-set thriller. Quinlan found three of her own, Alarcon being credited a pair and King rounding up the Rebel lineup with one.
The Rebels' ninth all-time match against Hawai'I was the first win for the Ninth Island in program history, not having faced the 'Bows since the 2003 season. Tuesday night marked the fourth-consecutive season that the Rebels have compiled six wins in the season's opening eight matches.
UP NEXT
UNLV will aim to continue the momentum through their final roadtrip before the Mountain West schedule, joining the SoCal Cup II this upcoming weekend for three games in California. They'll first take on UC San Diego in a neutral match at USC, taking place on Thursday, Sept. 19 at 4 p.m. PT. You can get updates on all-things Rebels on
UNLVrebels.com as well as the team's social medias:
Twitter / X,
Instagram and
Facebook.
