UNLV VOLLEYBALL TO CONCLUDE NON-CONFERENCE SLATE AT ARIZONA STATE TOURNAMENT
The Rebels, who are receiving votes in the national rankings, will face Pacific on Friday and ASU on Saturday
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The defending Mountain West Champion UNLV Volleyball Team (7-2), which has won five matches in a row, will close out the non-conference portion of its schedule this week at the Sparky Volleyball Invitational, hosted by Arizona State.
The Rebels are scheduled to face Pacific (3-6) on Friday, September 17 at 1 p.m. and ASU (6-3) on Saturday, September 18 at 5 p.m. Both matches will have live stats available online, while the ASU match will be livestreamed by Pac-12 Networks. All links may be found on the UNLV volleyball schedule page at UNLVRebels.com.
LAST WEEK: The Rebels were back east last week and turned in a perfect 4-0 record at Colgate, vs. Niagara, at Cornell and vs. Bucknell. They claimed the Cornell Invitational title with three consecutive 3-0 sweeps, and senior middle blocker Kate Brennan was named tournament MVP, while fifth-year senior outside hitter Mariena Hayden and senior setter Lauryn Burt were both named to the all-tournament team.
MOUNTAIN WEST FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK (x2): Middle blocker Chloe Thomas was also honored for her performance last week as she was named the MW’s Freshman of the Week for a second time this season.
WINNING: Dating back to 2019, UNLV has won 36 of its last 41 matches, including seven of nine this season with five straight wins heading into the Pacific match. UNLV’s only losses this season are to two ranked teams (No. 9 Purdue and No. 15 BYU).
AMONG THE NATIONAL LEADERS: Hayden ranks No. 1 in the nation this season in aces per set at 0.85, while junior outside hitter Shelby Capllonch is 21st (0.56). Brennan ranks ninth in the nation in hitting percentage (.468).
GOING FOR PROGRAM’S 450TH VICTORY: UNLV volleyball’s all-time record is 449-409-2. The Rebels’ next win will mark their 450th in program history.
MOVING UP THE UNLV CHARTS: Hayden is No. 2 all-time at UNLV in career kills and currently has 1,559 for her collegiate career. She is only the second student-athlete in UNLV history to record 1,500 kills. Maria Aladjova is No. 1 on that list with 1,601 (2004-07). Hayden has also moved into the No. 5 spot in career digs with 1,192.
FIRST WIN OVER A RANKED TEAM SINCE 2016: Earlier this season the Rebels faced three straight ranked teams: at then-No. 15 BYU, vs. then-No. 8 Purdue and vs. then-No. 25 Washington State. UNLV’s win over Washington State marked its first victory over a ranked opponent since defeating then-No. 22 Utah in the NCAA Tournament in 2016.
OTHER NEWS & NOTES:
- UNLV returned nine letterwinners this season including Hayden, an All-American and MW Player of the Year, and Brennan, an All-MW First Team performer.
- Also returning to the squad from last season were Gabrielle Arretche-Ramos, Burt, Capllonch (honorable mention All-MW), Arien Fafard, Jordyn Freeman, Paola Garcia and Paris Oliveira. There are eight newcomers, which include six freshmen and a pair of international student-athletes.
- UNLV is coming off a record-breaking season during the spring that saw the Rebels go undefeated in regular-season play (12-0) and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Rebels ended the season with a 13-1 overall record, falling to eventual national champion Kentucky.
- UNLV is led by fourth-year head coach Dawn Sullivan, who was honored following the Spring 2021 season with the MW’s Coach of the Year award.
- For the first time in program history, the Rebels were predicted to finish atop the MW volleyball standings by the league’s 11 head coaches as the preseason poll was released in August. Hayden was chosen as the Preseason Conference Player of the Year.
- Hayden was named Honorable Mention All-America by the AVCA following Spring 2021 after being selected to the organization’s Pacific South All-Region Team. She also was UNLV’s first league Player of the Year in volleyball.
- Hayden entered this season as the NCAA’s active leader in aces (269) and aces per set (.674). Additionally, she sat 12th in total attacks (3,897), 13th in kills (1,484) and 23rd in kills per set (3.72).