LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV volleyball team came within two points of forcing a deciding fifth set Saturday afternoon, but UC Davis found a way to close out a marathon fourth set and complete a four-set victory on Saturday afternoon at The Pavilion.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Aggies defeated the Rebels 25-19, 13-25, 25-20, 35-33 to sweep the weekend series and leave UNLV with an 0-2 start to Mountain West play. The Rebels fell to 4-9 overall, while UC Davis improved to 6-7 and 2-0 in conference play.
With UC Davis holding a 30-29 advantage in set four, UNLV received a big swing from Jaida Harris, who delivered a kill to even the score at 30-30. The Rebels then took the lead, 31-30, after UC Davis' Isabella Umpierre was unable to put away an attack. The Aggies answered to make it 31-all, but UNLV regained the advantage when Cami Christiansen put down a kill from Kamryn Scroggins, putting the Rebels one point from extending the match. UC Davis again responded, however, tying the set at 32-32. The Scarlet & Gray then moved ahead 33-32 when Harris came through with another kill, once again putting the Rebels within a point of forcing a decisive fifth set. But UC Davis finally found the opening it needed. Brooke Hibino tied the score at 33-33 with a kill before recording another kill to give the Aggies a 34-33 lead. On the ensuing rally, UC Davis closed the match when an attack by Basia Latos was blocked by Umpierre and Allie Caldwell, giving the Aggies a 35-33 fourth-set victory.
Despite the loss, UNLV produced an impressive offensive performance, finishing with 60 kills on 175 attacks while hitting .240. UC Davis had only two more kills, recording 62 on 177 attempts, and hit .237. UNLV held a 53-51 advantage in assists and finished with 67 digs compared with 66 for the Aggies. UC Davis, however, held the decisive advantages in blocks, 18-6, and service aces, 5-4. Harris once again led the Rebels offensively, producing a match-high 19 kills on 52 attacks while hitting .250. Harris also recorded eight digs, two block assists and 20 points. Harris was joined in double figures by Latos and Christiansen, who each finished with 10 kills. Christiansen was particularly efficient, putting away 10 kills on just 16 attacks without committing an error to hit an outstanding .625.
Rheanna Deen-Jackson added nine kills while hitting .400, while Jada Ingram contributed seven kills on 22 attempts. The Rebels' balanced attack allowed four players to finish with at least seven kills. Scroggins directed the offense with 37 assists, while also contributing three kills, 14 digs and one service ace. Caleigh King added seven assists and 13 digs from the back row. The Rebels also received a strong defensive performance from Arrie Brown, who finished with 11 digs and two service aces. Brown, Scroggins and King combined for 38 of UNLV's 67 digs.
The biggest challenge for UNLV came at the net, where UC Davis recorded 18 blocks compared with six for the Scarlet & Gray. Caldwell led the Aggies with six blocks, while Umpierre added five. Offensively, UC Davis received a pair of standout performances from Hibino and Ally Chandler. Hibino recorded 18 kills while hitting .311, while Chandler added 16 kills and hit an exceptional .516. Umpierre chipped in 12 kills while also recording 15 digs and five blocks.Setter Mia Starr orchestrated the UC Davis attack with 43 assists, while Umpierre's 15 digs helped anchor the Aggies' defensive effort.
UNLV hit .313 in the fourth set, producing 24 kills against only four errors on 64 attacks. UC Davis was even more productive, however, hitting .371 with 27 kills on 62 swings. After hitting .220 in the opening set, the Rebels responded with a .243 mark in the second and eventually finished the match at .240. The second set was particularly strong, with UNLV producing 12 kills and only three errors while holding UC Davis to four kills and a -.086 hitting percentage.
UP NEXT: UNLV heads to its first conference road trip with a pair of matches against MW newcomer UTEP on October 1 (5 pm PT) and October 3 (12 pm PT).
