Volleyball Heads West to UNLV Tournament

The University of Louisville volleyball team heads to Las Vegas this weekend for the UNLV Tournament where the Cardinals will face UC Irvine, Weber State and host UNLV.

UofL will face UCI Sept. 8 at 12 p.m. followed by Weber State later that same day at 5 p.m. The Cards take on host UNLV on Saturday, Sept. 9 at 2 p.m. All times are local.

The Cardinals are 2-3, coming off their own Cardinal Classic where they upset No. 24 Western Kentucky and Kent State before falling to Illinois. Three of UofL's first five opponents were nationally ranked, including now No. 1 Minnesota. The Cards are the only team to take a set off the Gophers so far this season.

UofL is led by senior Tess Clark and sophomore Melanie McHenry, who were both named to the all-tournament team, and lead the team in points with 64 and 61 respectively. New setter, Wilma Rivera, is averaging 9.94 assists per set and has been ranked as high as No. 16 in the country. Rivera, along with Gabbie Wiley, are both nationally ranked in aces per set. Wiley had a season-high five against No. 25 Western Kentucky.

UC Irvine

The UC Irvine Anteaters have opened the young season undefeated with a record of 6-0 and have only dropped three total sets. The Anteaters opened their slate going 3-0 at the Molten Classic in Berkeley, Cal. They opened the weekend with a 3-1 (25-21, 25-21, 12-25, 25-19) win over host California. They then went on to sweep Seattle (26-24, 25-13, 25-15) and Loyola Chicago (25-23, 25-17, 25-16). Last weekend, UC Irvine swept the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic in St. Louis, Mo. The Anteaters opened by sweeping Kennesaw State 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-23), then moved on to beat host St. Louis 3-1 (25-19, 25-15, 19-25, 26-24), and Illinois State 3-1 (17-25, 25-16, 25-25-21, 25-20).

Irvine is led by junior outside hitter Haley DeSales and junior opposite hitter Harlee Kekauoha who both bring in 27 kills. DeSales is also second on the team with 30 digs, while senior libero Luna Tsujimoto leads the team with 44 digs. The Anteaters are averaging 12.1 kills per set and have amassed 20 aces on the season.

Weber State

The Weber State Wildcats have struggled to start the season with an overall record of 1-5. The Wildcats opened the season going 0-3 at the Arizona State tournament in Tempe, Ariz. They were swept by Arizona State (25-18, 25-18, 25-19) in the opener, then lost to Boise State 3-1 (25-20, 25-17, 17-25, 25-18) and North Dakota State 3-1 (25-19, 25-11, 21-25, 26-24). Last weekend Weber State traveled to the Pepperdine-Cal State, Northridge Challenge in Northridge California where they came out with a 1-2 record. They opened the weekend getting swept 3-0 (27-25, 25-15, 25-11) by co-host Cal State, Northridge, but bounced back to get their first win of the season 3-2 (23-25, 25-22, 25-20, 19-25, 15-13) over Northeastern. In the last match, the Wildcats were swept (25-14, 25-15, 25-21) by co-host Pepperdine.

Senior outside hitter Amanda Varley leads the team with 70 kills and 3.18 kills per set on the young season. Senior libero Thamires Cavalcanti is top on the team with 95 digs on the defensive side. Sophomore middle blocker Hannah Hill-Deyoung leads the team with 27 blocks thus far this season.

UNLV

The UNLV Rebels come into this weekend with an overall record of 3-4. The Rebels started the season going 3-1 gathering wins over Binghamton 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-18), Eastern Washington 3-1 (18-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-12), and Eastern Kentucky 3-2 (25-23, 23-25, 27-29, 25-21, 15-11) at the UNLV Invitational. They dropped a game with a score of 3-1 (25-20, 25-21, 23-25, 25-21) to UC Davis. Last weekend, UNLV struggled at the New Mexico State Tournament in Las Cruces, N. M. going 0-3. They fell 3-1 (25-17, 25-16, 22-25, 25-15) to North Dakota, 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-21) to No. 11 UCLA, and 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 26-24, 25-17) New Mexico State.

Freshman outside hitter Marlena Hayden leads the Rebels with 84 kills. Senior middle blocker Ashley Owens is top on team with a .267 hitting percentage, while sophomore libero Leka Kiner-Falefa paces the Rebels with 127 digs.

Tournament Information
Tournament details, links and information can be found here: http://www.unlvrebels.com/sports/w-volley/spec-rel/rebel-challenge-17.html

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Players Mentioned

Tess Clark

Melanie McHenry

Wilma Rivera

Gabbie Wiley

University of Louisville Athletics