Teams on rise during fall

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While UNLV fans endured another disappointing football season this fall, many were missing the good news.

Off the gridiron, it was the best season in years for the Rebels.

The volleyball team won the Mountain West Conference Tournament championship and qualified for its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Women’s soccer earned a regular-season league title, and the men’s soccer team had a breakthrough season.

“I think the girls are pretty proud of what they’ve accomplished,” said volleyball coach Allison Keeley, whose squad finished 24-6. “But they’re also disappointed because they believed they could have been a Sweet 16 team. They believed they were going to continue in the tournament.”

Indeed, the Rebels rolled to a conference tournament championship with wins over Wyoming, Brigham Young and Utah last month before falling in a close match to Long Beach State in the first round of NCAA play on Nov. 30.

Keeley said she hopes to build on the success next season.

“Our goal is to get back to the (NCAA) Tournament,” she said.

Though Kat Mertz’s women’s soccer team was shunned by the NCAA selection committee, the coach said her program made gains this year.

The Rebels went 11-5-5, winning the conference championship with a dramatic 1-0 double-overtime victory over BYU on the season’s final day. They lost, however, to the Cougars a week later in the league tournament and later were denied an invitation to the postseason.

“It was a good season,” said Mertz, who believes West Coast teams were largely overlooked by the selection committee. “It was unfortunate we didn’t make the tournament. The girls played so well. I thought they did everything they could have done.”

Though the men’s soccer team finished with a losing record at 7-10-12, it gained the respect of its Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opponents. After serving several years as the league’s doormat, UNLV kept scores close throughout the season.

“I thought we got some really good wins this year,” second-year coach Mario Sanchez said. “It was another step in the right direction. We showed not only that we could play with the other teams in the league, but we could beat them.”

Sanchez was recognized last month by being named MPSF Coach of the Year, and freshman forward Danny Cruz was voted as the league’s top newcomer.

Most importantly, Sanchez will return most of his roster next season. Defender Mason Trafford will be the only key graduation loss this spring, leaving the Rebels in good shape to continue improving.

“We only lose one key guy,” Sanchez said. “We have another strong recruiting class coming in, as well. We feel really good about things.”

Keeley’s squad will have to overcome more significant losses next year. But even though she’ll lose four key seniors — outside hitter Maria Aladjova, outside hitter Brittani Lumsden, middle blocker Lauren Miramontes and libero Jada Walker — the coach expects her squad to contend for another postseason berth next season.

“Our conference is very challenging, and there are going to be some top-20 teams next year,” Keeley said. “We’ll have to see about a conference championship, but I definitely think we’ll be competitive enough to get back into the tournament.”

Mertz will have similar challenges, as she will lose forwards Katie Carney and Jessica Destitio, and midfielders Erica Jensen and Ashly O’Harrow. Even so, her respected defense will remain intact, giving her hope that the Rebels will get another shot at the postseason next year.

“We’re not going to lower our expectations,” Mertz said. “We’re losing some personnel and some personality, but it will be interesting to see who steps up and comes out of their shell.”