UNLV REBELS Volleyball Team Leapt Over By Frogs
Makenzie Moea’i, Sara Nehf led Rebels with 15 kills apiece in loss to TCU Thursday.
FORT WORTH, Texas (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV Rebels (5-10, 1-1 MWC) had their two-match winning streak snapped with a 3-1 loss to the TCU Horned Frogs (10-6, 1-1 MWC) at the University Recreation Center in Fort Worth, Texas Thursday night. The defeat was the first for UNLV in Mountain West Conference action, as TCU won with set scores of 25-23, 21-25, 25-15, 25-19.
UNLV’s offense was led by 15-kill performances by both Makenzie Moea’I and Sara Nehf. Moea’i’s 15 kills were a career- and season-high tally and she also contributed seven digs and three assists.
The Rebels also got nine kills from Kelsey Keeler and eight more from Candice Thomas.
Amanda Alles chipped in a match-high 40 assists and added seven digs, two kills and two assisted blocks, as well.
Kela Lau Hee paced the Rebel defense with a match-high 17 digs and was joined in double figures by Keeler, who added 11 of her own.
UNLV was out-hit by a .203 to .303 margin and notched 10 less kills (49-to-59), five more errors (21-to-16) in four less attempts (138-to-142). The Rebels had two sets where they hit above the .300 barrier with a .317 output in the second and a .320 in the fourth. Unfortunately, they hit .159 in the opening frame and a .000 in the third. TCU, on the other hand, improved set-by-set. The Horned Frogs opened up with a .159 before hitting .293 in the second followed by a .414 in the third and finished with a .429 in the fourth and final stanza.
In all, the match featured 17 ties and five lead changes. The majority of both came in the first two sets with five ties and two lead changes occurring in the first, while there were 10 and two, respectively, in the second. The third and fourth frames only featured one tie apiece with one lead change in the fourth.
The Horned Frogs owned two different six-point leads in the first set before UNLV rallied to knot the first set up at 18-18 for the first of five ties. UNLV took a brief lead at 18-18 before TCU evened things up at 19-19. The teams tied the set three more times with the last coming at the 22-22 mark. The home team reeled off three of the final four points for the 25-23 win.
The second set was a see-saw affair with the teams playing closely through most of the frame. UNLV pushed out to a four-point advantage at the 21-17 juncture before winning by the same margin, 25-21.
The final two sets were nearly TCU’s from the get-go. They led from the opening serve in the third before keeping a safe distance between themselves and UNLV in the fourth.
TCU got double-doubles from Irene Hester and Christy Hudson, as they both used kill and dig combinations to achieve the feat. Hester notched a match-high 16 kills and added 10 digs, while Hudson pitched in 15 kills and led her squad in digs with 13. Kristen Hester topped out at a match-high .474 hitting efficiency with help from her 11-kill outing.
Mehgan Horio led all players with 47 assists and added six digs.
UNLV will stay on the road for one more conference affair with a Saturday matinee with the New Mexico Lobos in Albuquerque. The match is slated for a 1:00 pm MT/12:00 pm PT first serve.
-UNLV-
