Courtesy of UNLV Athletics –
LAS VEGAS (UNLVrebels.com) – After taking down their BigTen opponent on Friday, the UNLV volleyball team took on a member of the Big 12 conference on Saturday night during opening weekend. The Rebels took on the Iowa State Cyclones in Cox Pavilion for the second day of The Rebel Challenge, claiming their second-straight victory on a final score of 3-2.
The Scarlet & Gray (2-0) took down the Cyclones (1-1) in the five-set thriller, trading punch-for-punch with their opponent through every set of the night. The final stat line of the match was 15-25, 25-23, 20-25, 25-18 and 15-13. Iowa State recently earned top-25 votes in the latest AVCA NCAA DI Women’s Volleyball Preseason Poll.
The Rebel lineup featured three student-athletes with double-digit kills, Dakota Quinlan holding the top spot with 15 on the night. Jordyn Freeman earned 11 of her own, hitting a team-high .409 hitting percentage off of her 22 attempts in the middle. Gabrielle Arretche-Ramos was the third and final Rebel with double-digits, hitting 10.
UNLV’s setters were split evenly in time, both Arien Fafard and Olivia Mikkelsen appearing in five sets during the duel. Mikkelsen was credited 23 assists in the contest and Fafard was slotted with 22, the Las Vegas native also finding two kills on the night.
Caleigh King led the defense with a team-high 16 digs on Saturday, Quinlan behind her as the only other double-digit Rebel in the statistical category at 14. Alondra Alarcon picked up eight alongside Fafard and Mikkelsen on her way to seven kills on the night. The frontline featured three student-athletes with at least a trio of block assists, Chloe Thomas holding five in the match. Freeman and Rheanna Deen-Jackson were credited with three each, Deen-Jackson collecting the program’s only solo block of the evening as well.
The match marked the fourth time the Rebels have taken on the Cyclones, the last time being during the 2018 season when Iowa State took down UNLV in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship. UNLV is now 3-1 in the all-time standings against Iowa State.
UP NEXT
The Scarlet & Gray have one more match etched into the Rebel Challenge’s schedule, taking on the University of Pacific on Sunday, Sept. 1. The Rebels will look to continue the hot season with a first serve at 12 p.m. PT.
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