On Saturday afternoon, the UNLV women’s volleyball team fell to the Air Force Falcons by a final match score of 3-1.
The Runnin’ Rebels come into their match against the Air Force with an 8-4 overall record. They have excelled at home court with a record of 5-1.
Going into the match against Air Force, they were third in the standings in the Mountain West Conference.
Set 1
The Rebels got out to an early 7-3 lead. Freshman middle blocker Rheanna Deen-Jackson stood out with four kills, making it hard for the Falcons to solve the Rebels’ attack.
After a net violation challenge went in the Falcons’ favor, the Rebels’ lead dissipated from a four-point lead to a two-point lead, and the Rebels maintained it for most of the set.
Both teams struggled with service errors, handing points back and forth to each other throughout the opening set.
Falcon’s junior opposite hitter Alex Hatchett tied the game at 21-21 with a kill that forced the Rebels to take a much-needed timeout.
The Falcons took their first lead in the game after Falcon junior outside hitter Ashley Bible got a kill, leading to set point.
This led Air Force to take the first set after a double-touch error by the Rebels.
The Rebels struggled in their zone, reaching six errors, while the Falcons only had three.
Set 2
Air Force took an early 4-0 lead, forcing the Rebels to use a timeout to regroup. Their first point came from junior outside hitter Alondra Alarcon.
First-set serving errors continued into the second set, leading the Rebels to claw away at the four-point deficit.
Deen-Jackson hit a perfect kill, bringing some life back into the Rebels as they began to fight back.
After another pair of serving errors for both teams, the Rebels scored six points in a row to take a 12-11 lead—their first lead in the set.
After a massive block by senior right-side hitter Chloe Thomas, the Rebels extended their lead by two 14-11.
Freshman outside hitter Jada Ingram stood out in the contest, aiding her team to a 19-15 lead after a kill and a block to her name.
Deen-Jackson continued to produce as she racked up four kills to further their lead to 22-17.
The Rebels reached a set point after a Falcons attack error, which resulted in the set score being 24-18.
The Falcons didn’t go down without a fight as they cut their deficit to 24-20, but after a serving error by Bible, the Rebels took the second set 25-20.
Set 3
The Rebels faced similar starting struggles with another four-point deficit at the beginning of the set.
Despite the Falcons going on a five-point run, the Rebels slowly started to cut into the Falcons’ lead, making it 7-5 with three back-to-back kills from Thomas.
However, after two attacking errors by the Rebels, the Falcons started to get further ahead and maintain a four-point lead.
The Rebels’ struggles continued as the Falcons’ ball touch challenge against Thomas went their direction, extending their lead to 15-10.
Despite the difficulties, fifth-year right-side hitter Gabrielle Arretche-Ramos made promising plays, totaling three much-needed and timely kills throughout the set.
The Falcons reached a set point after Falcons’ Hatchet hit a kill in a large open area in the Rebels’ zone.
After the Falcons thought they had taken the match at 25-20, UNLV head coach Malia Shoji challenged the play for being out, and the point was quickly removed, giving the Rebels some life.
Following the Rebels winning the challenge, two plays later, the Falcons took the set with a kill by Falcons’ Bible with a score of 25-21.
Set 4
Like the previous sets, the game started with multiple service errors by both teams. However, Air Force again led early after a tight start, 4-3.
The Rebels took their first lead in the match since set 2 with an 8-7 scoreline.
The set continued back and forth as the Rebels took the lead, and the Falcons quickly tied the game up.
After yet another service error by the Falcons, the Rebels took a 15-13 lead, looking to even score the total match at two sets apiece.
Despite UNLV’s best efforts, Air Force regained the lead 18-16 after back-to-back kills, forcing the Rebels to call a much-needed timeout.
Freshman outside hitter Basia Latos put some heat on the ball to get her ninth kill of the match to bring the Rebels within one point of the Falcons 22-21.
However, the Falcons regained a multi-point lead, 24-21, to reach set point, and Air Force would eventually end the set with a 25-21 win and take the match at 3-1.
Preview of what’s next for the Rebels
The Rebels are 1-1 in conference matches, reaching an overall record of 8-5 as they return home for rivalry night against the 8-6 overall University of Nevada-Reno on Oct. 3 at 6:30 p.m.
The Rebels will only face conference opponents for the remainder of the season.
