UNLV VOLLEYBALL TO OPEN HOME SCHEDULE WITH FOUR MATCHES THIS WEEK
Rebels host Southern Utah Tuesday, then Coppin State, Portland at Lamar Thursday-Saturday in home tournament
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The defending Mountain West regular-season champion UNLV volleyball team will open its 2023 home schedule with four matches this week, starting with Southern Utah on Tuesday, Sept. 12 at 6:30 p.m. at the Cox Pavilion.
The Rebels will then host their tournament, featuring Coppin State, Lamar and Portland, starting Thursday. UNLV will face Coppin State on Thursday, Sept. 14 at 6:30 p.m., Portland on Friday, Sept. 15 at 6:30 p.m. and Lamar on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 1 p.m. All matches will be held at the Cox Pavilion.
LAST WEEK: UNLV (4-4) went 2-1 last week at the University of Washington Tournament in Seattle with 3-0 wins over Memphis and Florida International, before dropping a five-set affair vs. Washington. The Huskies are receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25 Poll.
ALL-TOURNAMENT: Following play at the UW Tournament, senior outside hitter Isabel Martin and junior middle blocker Dakota Quinlan were each named to the All-Tournament Team. Martin led the Rebels with 43 kills (3.9 per set) and 53.5 points (4.9 per set), while hitting .345 over the three matches. She also recorded eight service aces and had 16 digs. Quinlan led the team in hitting percentage at .450 (21 kills with three errors in 40 attempts) and total blocks with seven. She accounted for 28 points (2.6 per set).
REBEL LEADERS: Isabel Martin leads the UNLV attack this season and is second in the MW with 4.3 kills per set and 4.9 points per set. Dakota Quinlan leads the team in hitting percentage and is fourth in the MW at .395, while Arien Fafard is the team’s assist leader and sixth in the MW with 7.74 per set. Fafard and Martin are both tied for seventh in the league in service aces at 0.4 per set. Caleigh Kings leads the team in digs with 3.3 per set and Jordyn Freeman is the blocks leader with 0.8 per set. As a team, UNLV ranks first in the MW in service aces with 2.0 per set, third in hitting percentage (.239) and fourth in both kills and assists with 12.9 and 11.8 per set, respectively.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS:
Southern Utah (3-4)
Southern Utah only had one match last week, a 3-2 home win against Fresno State. The Thunderbirds also have wins vs. Providence College and Eastern Washington this season, while their losses are to CSU Bakersfield, Portland State and Saint Mary’s. SUU is led in kills by Makenzie Templeton with 3.0 per set, assists by Macy Short with 8.4 per set, digs by Calli Johnson with 3.6 per set and blocks by Carissa Richie with 0.8 per set.
Coppin State (8-1)
Coppin State has won seven straight matches, most recently going 2-0 at the Penn Invitational this past weekend with 3-0 wins over Lafayette and Penn. CSU also has wins over McNeese State, Jacksonville State, UNC Greensboro, Morehead State, Marshall and Loyola (Md.), while its only loss was at Auburn. The eagles are led in kills by Ammaarah Williams with 3.6 per set, assists by Andrewa Tsvetanova with 10.5 per set, digs by Ashley Roman with 5.2 per set and blocks by Laila Ibrahim with 0.6 per set.
Lamar (0-8)
Lamar is still looking for its first win of the season. The Cardinals went 0-3 at last week’s Lady Techster Invitational hosted by Louisiana Tech, falling to Grambling State (3-0). Little Rock (3-2) and Louisiana Tech (3-1). LU is led in kills by Emily Mood with 2.7 per set, assists by Jodie Edmonds with 7.2 per set, digs by Freedom Stephenson with 3.6 per set and blocks by Wiktoria Warpechowska with 0.9 per set.
Portland (4-5)
Portland hosted its own tournament last week, going 1-2 with a loss vs. Wyoming (3-2), a win over CSUN (3-2) and a loss to Eastern Washington (3-2). The Pilots are led in kills by Maui Robins with 3.1 per set, assists by Maddie Corpe with 4.3 per set, digs by Kili Robins with 2.8 per set and blocks by Taina Kaauwai with 0.9 per set.
OTHER TOURNAMENT MATCHES: The non-UNLV matches scheduled for this week at the Cox Pavilion as part of the tournament are Portland vs. Lamar on Thursday, Sept. 14 at 3 p.m., Lamar vs. Coppin State on Friday, Sept. 15 at 3 p.m. and Coppin State vs. Portland on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 10 a.m.
LIVE COVERAGE: Video stream and live stats links from UNLV’s matches are available on the volleyball schedule page at UNLVRebels.com. The non-UNLV matches will have live stats at the same link.
REBEL ROSTER MAKEUP: The Rebels, who are led by first-year head coach Malia Shoji, returned 11 letterwinners from last season’s team, including the 2022 MW Player of the Year and the 2023 Preseason MW Player of the Year in senior outside hitter Isabel Martin. Also returning are last season’s all-conference honorees: senior outside hitter Gabrielle Arretche-Ramos and senior middle blocker Jordyn Freeman.
Martin also earned all-region honors last season and was named an honorable mention All-American.
The Rebels, who have been named the preseason league favorites along with Utah State in a poll voted on by the conference’s head coaches, have also added five new players to their 2023 roster.
Other Rebel individuals to keep an eye on as the season begins are junior middle blocker Dakota Quinlan and freshman libero Caleigh King.
PRESEASON FAVORITES: UNLV was named the preseason league favorite along with Utah State in a poll voted on by the conference’s head coaches.
LAST SEASON: UNLV went 26-5 overall in 2022, including a 17-1 record in Mountain West play, and made another NCAA Tournament appearance.
UNLV SEASON TICKETS: Season tickets for UNLV volleyball are on sale now and may be purchased at UNLVtickets.com or by calling 702-739-FANS (3267). Season tickets are $50 for adults (13 and older), and $40 for active alumni, seniors, and faculty and staff. Kids 12 and under receive free admission.
