LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV volleyball capped a perfect weekend at home Sunday afternoon, outlasting UC San Diego, 3-2, at The Pavilion to claim the Rebel Challenge championship with three victories in three days.
HOW IT HAPPENED: UNLV prevailed 18-25, 25-18, 26-24, 23-25, 15-12, improving to 4-7 on the season while completing its first three-match winning streak of the year. The victory also marked the Rebels' second five-set win in their last three matches after they defeated Fresno State in five sets at the Linda Murphy Ridge Invitational one week earlier. The championship capped an impressive home-opening weekend for the Rebels. UNLV swept Southeastern Louisiana on Friday, defeated UC Irvine in four sets Saturday and then survived UC San Diego in a back-and-forth finale that required the full five sets. After opening the season 0-6, UNLV has now won four of its last five matches. UNLV finished off UC San Diego (4-7) with 64 kills and a .236 hitting percentage, compared with 61 kills and a .221 mark for the Tritons. The Rebels also held a commanding 26-16 advantage in blocks and a 7-6 edge in service aces. Both teams finished with 54 assists, while UC San Diego held a narrow 65-64 advantage in digs.
Basia Latos once again powered the UNLV offense, delivering a match and career-high 23 kills on 50 attacks while hitting an impressive .360. Latos also added nine digs and two block assists while finishing with a team-best 24 points. Jaida Harris added 15 kills, while Logan Lindsay contributed eight kills and hit .208. Harris also recorded a service ace, three block assists and five digs, finishing with 17.5 points.
Rheanna Deen-Jackson delivered a dominant performance at the net, recording nine blocks to lead all players. She also added seven kills on 17 attacks while hitting .353 and finished with 11.5 points. Jada Ingram contributed six kills and four block assists, while Lindsay added five block assists.Behind the attack, Kamryn Scroggins turned in another outstanding all-around performance. The setter finished with 46 assists, 13 digs and a match-high five service aces, while also recording four kills without committing an attack error. The Pearland, Texas native accounted for five of UNLV's seven service aces and helped keep the Tritons' offense under pressure throughout the afternoon.
Defensively, Caleigh King led all Rebels with 18 digs, and UNLV's 64 digs were nearly even with UC San Diego's 65, despite the Tritons generating 163 attacks compared with 165 for the Rebels. UC San Diego received a pair of strong offensive performances from Molly McCluskey and Ireland McNees. McCluskey finished with 18 kills and hit .240, while McNees added 17 kills. Katelyn Hernandez contributed 10 kills, and Marleena Catalan finished with 26 assists. The Tritons also received 16 digs from Paulina Baillie and 13 from McCluskey.
UNLV hit .211 in the fifth set, recording seven kills against just three errors, while UC San Diego was held to six kills and six errors and hit .000. With UC San Diego up 12-11 in the fifth set, the Scarlet & Gray went on a 4-0 run to claim the set (15-12) and match.
2026 Rebel Challenge All-Tournament Team
Jaida Harris, UNLV
Basia Latos, UNLV
Molly McCluskey, UC San Diego
Paulina Bailey, UC San Diego
Madison Triplett, UC Irvine
Brea Payne, Southeastern Louisiana
2026 Rebel Challenge Tournament MVP
Kamryn Scroggins, UNLV
THE REBEL CHALLENGE FINAL STANDINGS
1. UNLV 3-0
2. UC San Diego 1-1
3. UC Irvine 1-1
4. Southeastern Louisiana 0-3
UP NEXT: UNLV will open up the Mountain West portion of its schedule with back-to-back home matches against MW newcomer, UC Davis, Thursday, Sept. 24 (6 pm) and Saturday, Sept. 26 (1 pm).
