CORVALLIS, Ore. (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV volleyball team (5-2) won its fourth straight match after beating Montana State (4-4) in straight sets on the second day of the Oregon State-hosted ASICS Invitational at Gill Coliseum. Four of the five wins this season for the Scarlet & Gray have come via a sweep as they beat the Bobcats by a score of 25-21, 25-23, 25-18. Furthermore, this is the Rebels' second consecutive sweep after defeating UC Irvine yesterday afternoon.
HOW IT WENT DOWN: After building a 2-0 lead, the Scarlet & Gray was forced to fight back against the Bobcats in the third - a frame that featured five ties and four lead changes. Facing a three-point deficit at the 13-10 mark, UNLV rattled off a 7-0 run powered by a pair of kills from Alondra Alarcon and Kaelynn Sims along with a trio of Montana State attack errors and a Jaida Harris service ace.
The Rebels outhit the Bobcats by 59 points (.265 to .206) with help from 13 more kills (48-35), although Montana State had five fewer errors (18-15) in six fewer attack attempts (113-107). UNLV hit between .211 (second set) to .485 (third) in the contest and posted 16 kills in the first set, 14 in the second and 18 in the third, while its errors topped out at 10 in the first stanza. MSU, on the other hand, hit between .020 (second) and .171 (first) and had five errors in the final two sets.
Alarcon posted a match-high 14 kills with nine digs, two service aces and one assist while hitting .636 overall. Sophomore middle blocker Rheanna Deen-Jackson posted eight kills for a .533 clip as well as two assists and one block assist. Junior libero Caleigh King captured her third double-digit dig performance with 13 in the contest as she also collected a pair of service aces and assists, along with one kill.
Sims had her best match of her freshman campaign, as the middle blocker garnered a season-high seven kills and four block assists. Setter Agata Makowska tallied 11 assists, one dig and one service ace, while Harris picked up nine kills, six digs, two block assists and two service aces.
REBEL OF THE GAME: Freshman setter Kaia Thiele registered her first career double-double with 22 assists and 11 digs, both season highs. Thiele became the first Rebel this season to register a double-double.
UP NEXT: The Rebels will wrap up the ASICS Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 13 at 3 p.m. PT against Oregon State.
