UNLV volleyball team takes conference lead

Laura Miramontes had 24 kills and Melody Nua added 65 assists as the 25th-ranked UNLV women’s volleyball team rolled to its 10th straight victory and took the lead in the Mountain West Conference with a 30-23, 21-30, 30-17, 30-25 win over Texas Christian on Saturday night at Cox Pavilion.

With the victory, UNLV finished 10-1 at home, improved to 21-3 overall, including a leading 12-2 in conference, and sent a not-so-subtle message to the rest of the Mountain West.

"(But) we’re trying to first send ourselves a message because we know we’re good enough to be there," coach Allison Keeley said. "We are playing confident and aggressive and will let the cards fall where they may."

The Rebels hold a half-match lead over 18th-ranked Colorado State in the Mountain West standings.

On a night when the school honored its seniors, the Rebels, led by their fantastic four of Maria Aladjova, Brittani Lumsden, Jada Walker and Miramontes, dominated after the match was tied 1-1.

Miramontes led the charge in Game 4 with a service ace, six kills and five digs.

"We just really settled our nerves because we were getting a little too excited and caught up in the moment," Miramontes said. "We just refocused because we were making our own mistakes."

Mistakes or not, the Rebels have flourished in the moment, winning 10 straight conference games and finishing with a perfect 8-0 home record against Mountain West opponents.

"We’ve been working hard and are just really excited and just motivated," Miramontes said. "We’ve been playing really well, especially at home and we just wanted to do it for the crowd on senior night."

The Rebels go on the road Friday night against Utah, before finishing the regular season in Provo against Brigham Young on Saturday.

UNLV dominated the Utes at home back in September with a 3-1 victory, but the Rebels know it’s a totally different atmosphere on the road.

"We have to focus even more because it’s hard on the road," Miramontes said. "We’re really focusing and coming together at the right time."

UNLV can definitely use the emotion from a victory on senior night as they prepare for their final two road conference games.

"It gave us a confidence boost in some of the things we’re doing well," Keeley said.

"I think it will give them a little more motivation to get out there and attack."

TCU dropped to 8-8 in the Mountain West and 21-11 overall.