The Nevada women’s volleyball team traveled to Riverside, Calif. on Sept. 8 to 9, where they competed in the Cal Baptist University/The University of California, Riverside Tournament. and Cal Baptist University hosted the tournament. Similar to the last two tournaments the program has competed in, the women went 1-2 on the weekend.
The Wolf Pack started the opening game with a match against the Oregon State Beavers. Nevada had an overall match total of 42 kills, seven aces, 15 blocks and a hitting percentage of .106. Nevada came out strong at the start of their match against the Beavers and won set one 25-22.
The Wolf Pack held many leads on the Beavers in set two. Starting with a 6-0 point lead, the Pack continued to execute the game on top and extended their lead to 25-18 finishing set two with a 2-0 lead on Oregon State.
Going into set three against the Beavers, the Wolf Pack did not allow their opponent to extend any major leads. After tying 15-15 and 23-23, Nevada drops set three 23-25.
In the fourth set, Nevada and Oregon State went back and forth throughout the whole set until the last 4 points of the set, where the Beavers took a lead and Nevada dropped set four 21-25.
The two teams went into set five with a 2-2 matchup. Oregon State began with a lead and kept it through the set. Nevada dropped set five 8-15 for an overall of 2-3 sets in their match against the Beavers.
The leaders of the match include:
- Nicanora Clarke, Nevada outside hitter, led the offense with 16 kills.
- Bella Snyder, Nevada middle blocker, led defense eight blocks.
- Sia Liilii, Nevada outside hitter, scored two aces and saved 20 digs.Jaclyn Sanchez, Nevada setter, made 28 assists.Hikialani Kaohelaulii, Nevada libero, saved with 23 digs.
The Wolf Pack took on Cal Baptist Lancers in their second match of the tournament, going another five sets and ending 2-3.
Nevada had an overall match total of 57 kills, 18 blocks, 8 aces and a higher overall hitting percentage – compared to the Lancers – at .198 overall.
Starting off set one, Nevada ran a 3-0 lead on the Lancers. The Lancers made a quick comeback to set the score at 3-5. The two teams went back and forth throughout the set. The set lasted past the 25-point maximum with Nevada taking set one 26-24.
Set two Nevada saw their first set loss in the match up against the Lancers and dropped the game 22-25.
After both teams reached set point once already in the third set, Nevada finished the third set 27-25 and secured a 2-1 set lead over Cal Baptist.
Going into set four, Nevada needed one more set win to secure the overall match win. With multiple back-and-forth leads between the two teams, Nevada dropped set four 20-25.
As set five came around, the Wolf Pack and Lancers fought until the end. However, Nevada dropped the final set 14-16, making the match overall 2-3 in favor of the Lancers.
The leaders of the Pack for the second match include:
- Clarke with 16 kills
- Liilii with 15 kills and 14 digs
- Jordan Schwartz, Nevada middle blocker, with eight blocks
- Snyder with 14 kills and eight blocks
- Kaohelaulii with 27 digs
- Tehya Maeva, Nevada setter, with 44 assists and 23 digs.
Nevada moved on to play in their last match of the CBU/UCR tournament against UC Riverside Highlanders. The Wolf Pack came out offensively strong in their last game of the tournament with a match overall of 41 kills and an overall hitting percentage of .282 against the Highlanders.
In set one, the two teams barely let any leads on each other pass by until the very end, where the 20-20 tie was turned into a 25-21 win for Nevada. Nevada led 1-0 going into set two against the Highlanders.
The two teams tied frequently in set two. After tying at 13-13, 19-19, and 24-24, Nevada finished the set off with a 26-24 win. The Wolf Pack went into set three leading 2-0 and needed one more win to sweep the Highlanders.
Nevada took many leads against UC Riverside in set three. The Wolf Pack’s smart offensive strategy helped Nevada see their third win against the Highlanders 25-19 with a 3-0 sweep in their final game of the weekend.
Game leaders for the final game of the tournament include:
- Liilii with 18 kills
- Snyder with three blocks
- Maeva with 34 assists and 12 digs
- Kaohelaulii with 17 digs.
The Wolf Pack left Riverside, Calif. with a new overall record of 3-6. Nevada is heading home to get ready for another week of volleyball, where they will host their first home games of the 2023 season in The Wolf Pack tournament on Sept. 14 and Sept. 16 in the Virginia Street Gym.
Lexi Trent can be reached via email draridon@sagebrush.unr.edu or via Twitter @LexiTrentUNRJ
