Volleyball team drops MWC opener to CSU

September 21, 2009 by Barry Regan 

Colorado State beats UNLV in three straight games. Rebels move to 1-7 on the year

The UNLV women’s volleyball team found out just how fleeting confidence can be when they faced one of the Mountain West’s best.
The Rebels (1-7, 0-1) dropped their conference opener to the Colorado State Rams (8-3, 1-0) by a 3-0 margin (20-25, 19-25, 16-25).
Yet the Rebels weren’t without their chances.

UNLV held a 5-1 lead in the second game and a 6-5 lead in the third but couldn’t hold on, as they were overwhelmed by a flurry of Colorado State kills at the net as each game progressed.

“We just need to be aggressive and finish the game,” said head coach Allison Keeley. “There’s a few times where (we) just need to protect the ball and keep it in play.”

The key to the Rebels’ struggles began at the net where their hitting percentage was considerably lower than the Rams, hitting at a .141 clip compared to Colorado State’s .299. They produced 14 fewer kills (47-33) and committed four more errors (19-15).

“We played better,” said sophomore outside hitter Cursty Jackson, who contributed seven kills and three unassisted blocks, “but we just couldn’t pull through and put the ball down when it counted.”

The setting duties were once again split by senior Samantha Richard and sophomore Amanda Alles, who chipped in 16 and 12 assists respectively. Senior middle blocker Erin Greenwood was statistically the most productive Lady Rebel and led the team with nine kills while owning a .471 hitting percentage on the night.

The Rebels loss to the Rams was their sixth consecutive defeat, their longest since 2003. The Rebels know they have a long way to go before they begin to get things turned around and much of that begins with going back to the courts at practice.

“[At practice], we just need to go back to the basics and work on a little bit of everything,” Keeley said. “We need more defense and we need more offense.”

The Rebels will have a chance to get things in order Tuesday when they take on the Wyoming Cowgirls at the Cox Pavilion.