SANTA CLARA, Calif. (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV volleyball team (3-2) defeated Santa Clara (1-4), 3-2, on the road Saturday afternoon at the Leavey Center on the final day of the Santa Clara Mission Classic. The Rebels were paced by Alondra Alarcon's career-high 18 kills and eight digs with the match being decided by set scores of 25-20, 21-25, 25-15, 21-25, 15-9.

HOW IT WENT DOWN: UNLV outhit Santa Clara by 99 points (.308 to .209) and held advantages kills (56-30) and errors (16-30). The Rebels were outhit twice in the match, both in the second set (.370 to .231) and fourth set (.294 to .156), but UNLV hit an impressive .611 in the fifth and final set. The Rebels took control in the third set with a hitting percentage of .478 compared to Santa Clara's .037 clip.

The Broncos dished out 61 assists compared to the Rebels' 45 assists apiece, and the former held the edge in aces (6-4) and digs (52-48). UNLV's defense was the difference maker down the stretch as the team totaled 16 blocks assists compared to Santa Clara's six. Rheanna Deen-Jackson came through on the defensive side of the ball once again with a match-high six block assists, while Logan Lindsay chipped in three of her own.

Junior libero Caleigh King tallied a team-high 11 digs with six assists, while freshman setter Kaia Thiele had her best game of the season with 20 assists, six digs and a kill. Jaida Harris collected her third double-digit kill performance of the season with 12 kills along with eight digs and four service aces.

TURNING POINT: After seeing Santa Clara force a fifth set with a win in the fourth, UNLV pushed out to an early 5-1 lead in the fifth. The Broncos cut the deficit to three, however, the Rebels took a pair of five-point cushions and ultimately won the fifth and final set, 15-9. 

REBEL OF THE GAME: Alarcon recorded a career-high 18 kills along with eight digs, two assists and two block assists. The senior tallied a .500 hitting percentage (18-2-32) and was two digs away from a double-double.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: For their efforts, Alarcon and Harris were named to the Santa Clara Mission Classic All-Tournament Team.

UP NEXT: The Rebels will head to the Asics Invitational in Corvallis, Oregon for a trio of matches against UC Irvine (Sept. 11), Montana State (Sept. 12) and Oregon State (Sept. 13).