UNLV 3, VALPARAISO 0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-18)

VALPARAISO, IN — In becoming the first mid-major program to win the revamped NIVC, UNLV played five matches on the road and won every one, the last in a resounding victory over Valparaiso as Mariena Hayden paced the effort with 12 kills and nine digs.

The Rebels (28-9), out of the Mountain West Conference, won the most matches in program history this season and played on the road in all their NIVC matches in 2021. The Beacons (26-10) won four matches to reach the NIVC final, all in 3-0 sweeps and all on their home court.

UNLV had an 18-9 lead in kills while taking the first set, closing it out on an ace from Lauryn Burt and a kill from Hayden. In Set 2, the score was tied at 17-all before the Rebels pulled away, getting the final two points on blocks. In the closing set, UNLV took an early lead and made it stand up, closing the deal with kills from Hayden (reigning Mountain West player of the year) and Kate Brennan.

Gabrielle Arretche-Ramos had 10 kills for UNLV; Brennan had eight kills, Arien Fafard dishes out 22 assists, and Shelby Capllonch added 15 digs. Jordyn Freeman led the way in blocks with nine.

For Valpo, Peyton McCarthy had nine kills and Brittany Anderson had 13 assists. Rylee Cookerly had 10 digs, leaving her just one short of the NCAA D-I record of 3,176.

This marked the fourth edition of the rebooted NIVC, which originally ran from 1989-95. Previous winners of the updated NIVC (powered by Triple Crown Sports) were Georgia Tech (2019), Iowa State (2018) and Ole Miss (2017).

Tournament officials also announced the 2021 NIVC all-tournament team:

Mariena Hayden (MVP) - UNLV
Shelby Capllonch - UNLV
Jordyn Freeman - UNLV
Brittany Anderson - Valparaiso
Peyton McCarthy - Valparaiso
Serena Patterson - UTEP
McKayla Wuensch - UConn

VALPO 3, UCONN 0 (28-26, 27-25, 26-24)
 
VALPARAISO, IN – Valparaiso came out on top of three highly-contested sets over UConn to advance to the championship of the 2021 NIVC on Friday night. The Beacons will host the UNLV Rebels in the championship match on Sunday, Dec. 12th at 8 p.m. ET.
 
Peyton McCarthy and Maddy Boyer paced the attack for Valparaiso with 12 kills each, but Valpo’s offense was limited to just .179 hitting as UConn racked up 14 blocks in the three sets. Valpo’s floor defense was strong, though, registering 76 digs for the match. Elise Swistek led the way with 19 digs for the Beacons, while Bella Ravotto had 18 digs and Rylee Cookerly had 14. Cookerly needs just 11 digs in the championship match to set the all-time NCAA Division I record for career digs.
 
Caylee Parker kept UConn in the match all night with 19 kills on .400 hitting and 10 digs for her ninth double-double of the season. As a team, UConn outhit Valpo, .243-.179, and out-blocked the Beacons 14-7, but the Huskies had eight service errors in the match and had no answer for Valparaiso’s floor defense. 

UNLV 3, UTEP 1 (15-25, 25-21, 25-18, 25-17)

EL PASO, TX — UNLV stayed strong in the face of more than 2,000 UTEP fans and endured a first set where the Miners hit better than .500, coming back to win three straight sets and secure the victory in the first semifinal of the 2021 NIVC.

The Rebels (27-9) will face either UConn or Valparaiso in the championship match, with time and location still to be determined. UNLV also reached the NIVC semis in 2018.

UTEP (24-9) hit .538 in the first set, with two key aces from Serena Patterson helping to finish off the set. The Rebels hit .464 to even the match, 1-1.

Mariena Hayden had 14 kills for UNLV; Chloe Thomas and Gabrielle Arretche-Ramos each added seven kills, Lauryn Burt delivered 21 assists and Shelby Capllonch had 16 digs.

For UTEP, Patterson closed with 18 kills and three aces, and Paulina Perez Rosas had 11 kills. Ryley Frye and Kristen Fritsche each dished out 20 assists and Alyssa Sianez had 19 digs.

UCONN 3, NORTH FLORIDA 1 (25-23, 20-25, 25-21, 25-21)
 
STORRS, CT – Taylor Parnell had 16 kills on .433 hitting and a match-high five blocks to propel the University of Connecticut to the semifinals of the 2021 NIVC with a four-set victory over North Florida.
 
Caylee Parker added 14 kills and Allie Garland had 10, while McKayla Wuensch dished out 44 assists and was everywhere on defense with 18 digs. UConn hit .272 compared to .291 for North Florida, but the difference in the match came at the service line where UConn racked up nine service aces compared to four for North Florida. The Huskies also out blocked the Ospreys, 8-4.
 
Solimar Cestero and Kailey McKnight paced the way for North Florida with 12 and 11 kills, respectively.
 
UConn will now head on the road to take on Valparaiso for a berth in the NIVC Championship. The match is slated for 8 p.m. ET on Friday, Dec. 10. 

By Kyle Koso
 
In years to come, there will be a million tales spun about how various college athletic programs dealt with COVID-19’s seismic alterations to “normal,” with most stories ending in tears or laughter or silent, stunned reflection.
 
All the disruptions did allow some teams, however, a chance to reset and remodel how they went about their business, often leading to progress on the other side. One group that is shining, now out of the pandemic’s shadows, is the volleyball squad from UConn, sitting 23-10 on the year and in the quarterfinals of the NIVC.
 
The Huskies will host North Florida (24-7) on Wednesday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. ET for a berth in the NIVC semifinals.
 
This is the first postseason moment for UConn since the 1994 NIVC, with head coach Ellen Kimball steering the team through its return to the Big East. Kimball was an assistant on the staff starting in 2014, taking over as interim head coach in early 2019 before getting the job free and clear in October. Once COVID hit, Kimball understood the down time and shifting concerns of her student-athletes didn’t mean it was impossible to put her stamp on the program.
 
“There were definitely moments of frustration and stress. I try to take it as the glass-is-half-full version … we were on pause, and you know there’s this belief that you have to be in the gym and be training, and if you’re not, you’re not doing any work,” said Kimball, a two-time MAC player of the year during her time at Ohio in the late 2000s. “I think the opposite; from the sports psychology perspective … looking at personalities and relationships, we viewed that as the work. And we did a lot of it. We checked in every day in some facet, we had group conversations.
 
“We began (to see) that life isn’t to be taken for granted, the opportunity to play volleyball and be together, you definitely can’t take that for granted. Three years ago, if there was a conflict with someone, you’d maybe sweep it under the rug and have this artificial harmony, but now we are comfortable having those conversations. It takes as much practice as it does the practice you have in the gym.”
 
With the mindset properly anchored with the Huskies, how they showed up on the court has been one of the surprises of the 2021 fall campaign. Grad transfer (from Wichita State) McKayla Wuensch earned Big East setter of the year, the first major conference award for a UConn player since 2008, and a roster with that ideal mix of upperclass savvy and underclass promise secured a bunch of quality wins, including one over Top 20 stalwart Creighton.
 
“Our success really didn’t happen overnight. We looked at the COVID spring (UConn went 4-7) as part of our process, not really like a time to shine,” Kimball said. “When we weren’t competing, we had a lot of conversations, tough ones, and a lot of buy-in. We saw everyone wanted the same goals, would make the compromises necessary, come in and work hard regardless of wins and losses and just living with no regrets. We then had the excitement for this new (fall 2021) season, being in a new conference, very much the underdog. Nobody out West had any idea who were or what our capabilities might be.”
 
Caylee Parker (with a team-high 422 kills) and Kennadie Jake-Turner (274 kills) earned first-team all-Big East honors; the team also found stability in the back row with the play of Houston transfer Karley Berkland, and there’s another high-quality killing arm connected top junior Jasmine Davis (331 kills), one of two California natives who crossed the country to suit up for UConn.
 
You can even tell it’s working for the Huskies in 2021 when it’s not working – the team hit a wall on a big weekend in mid-November, dropping matches to Seton Hall and Butler, two teams they had swept earlier in the season. As the No. 3 team out of the Big East behind Creighton and Marquette, UConn may not have had a lane for the NCAA Tournament anyway, but those losses still came at an awkward time. More importantly, the team didn’t unravel or see their theme of progress come undone despite the setbacks.
 
“We preach consistency. We’d been playing our best, most consistent volleyball, right there where you’re really in the grind of a typical season,” Kimball added. “Looking back, at that point our exhaustion level was probably at an all-time high. Everything about this year was new, especially for the freshmen and sophomores, being in a new conference, the travel … it was a moment where we got exhausted. After that moment, we had some reflections and accountability to get back on track. We managed to find a way to grind through it.”
 
LAST WORD – Kimball on the utility of the NIVC: “Last week, there were just 95 teams playing postseason volleyball out of the 340-odd D-I programs, and that was a big factor for us. The biggest reason why, and why the administration supported this, it’s the fact of getting the experience of playing in the postseason. This is a big building block to the foundation of our program, the realization that you won’t see what it takes until you are in it. We want to have fun, win, go all the way, but we need to start expecting to play volleyball after Thanksgiving. That’s something this program hasn’t done in a very, very long time. We get to see more teams, from other conferences, see the country; there are a lot of benefits to this.”

UNLV 3, ARKANSAS 0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-17)
 
EL PASO, TX – UNLV hit a robust .375 on the night and posted a sweep of Arkansas in the NIVC quarterfinals as Shelby Capllonch posted 11 kills and 10 digs to pace the Rebels’ attack.
 
UNLV (26-9) tied the program record for most victories in a season and faces either UTEP or Weber State in the semifinals.
 
Mariena Hayden had nine kills and nine digs for the Rebels; she also had three aces and is the NCAA active leader in that category. Gabrielle Arretche-Ramos and Jordyn Freeman each added seven kills; Arien Fafard delivered 21 assists and Lauryn Burt added nine digs.
 
For the Razorbacks (20-11), Jillian Gillen and Taylor Head each had 11 kills and Ellease Crumpton notched eight kills. Gracie Ryan finished with 33 assists and 12 digs.
 
UTEP 3, WEBER STATE 2 (25-21, 26-28, 25-23, 34-36, 15-9)
 
EL PASO, TX – UTEP fought back after losing a long, pressure-packed Set 4 to polish off Set 5 and then outlast Weber State in their quarterfinal match of the 2021 NIVC.
 
The Miners (24-7) will host UNLV in a semifinal matchup on Thursday, Dec. 9 at 9 p.m. ET.
 
Alianza Darley’s kill finished off an 9-0 scoring run for the Miners to close out Set 1. Set 4 was a crazy back-and-forth affair; Patterson hit a big ace and some huge kills to get UTEP close, but a tip from Dani Nay and a kill by Makayla Sorensen gave the set to Weber State, 36-34.
 
Paulina Perez Rosas had 20 kills for UTEP, Patterson added 11 kills and six aces, Darley chipped in with 10 kills and Kristen Fritsche dished out 26 assists.
 
For the Wildcats (22-10), Rylin Adams had 22 kills and six aces. Big Sky Conference MVP Dani Nay added 19 kills, Emma Mangum had 11 kills, Ashlyn Power delivered 51 assists and Makayla Sorensen piled up 25 digs.

UTEP 3, WEBER STATE 2 (25-21, 26-28, 25-23, 34-36, 15-9)
 
EL PASO, TX – UTEP fought back after losing a long, pressure-packed Set 4 to polish off Set 5 and then outlast Weber State in their quarterfinal match of the 2021 NIVC.
 
The Miners (24-7) will host UNLV in a semifinal matchup on Thursday, Dec. 9 at 9 p.m. ET.
 
Alianza Darley’s kill finished off an 9-0 scoring run for the Miners to close out Set 1. Set 4 was a crazy back-and-forth affair; Patterson hit a big ace and some huge kills to get UTEP close, but a tip from Dani Nay and a kill by Makayla Sorensen gave the set to Weber State, 36-34.
 
Paulina Perez Rosas had 20 kills for UTEP, Patterson added 11 kills and six aces, Darley chipped in with 10 kills and Kristen Fritsche dished out 26 assists.
 
For the Wildcats (22-10), Rylin Adams had 22 kills and six aces. Big Sky Conference MVP Dani Nay added 19 kills, Emma Mangum had 11 kills, Ashlyn Power delivered 51 assists and Makayla Sorensen piled up 25 digs.

​UNLV 3, ARKANSAS 0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-17)
 
EL PASO, TX – UNLV hit a robust .375 on the night and posted a sweep of Arkansas in the NIVC quarterfinals as Shelby Capllonch posted 11 kills and 10 digs to pace the Rebels’ attack.
 
UNLV (26-9) tied the program record for most victories in a season and faces either UTEP or Weber State in the semifinals.
 
Mariena Hayden had nine kills and nine digs for the Rebels; she also had three aces and is the NCAA active leader in that category. Gabrielle Arretche-Ramos and Jordyn Freeman each added seven kills; Arien Fafard delivered 21 assists and Lauryn Burt added nine digs.
 
For the Razorbacks (20-11), Jillian Gillen and Taylor Head each had 11 kills and Ellease Crumpton notched eight kills. Gracie Ryan finished with 33 assists and 12 digs.

​VALPARAISO 3, EVANSVILLE 0 (25-17, 25-13, 25-17)
 
VALPARAISO, IN – In the third matchup between the two Missouri Valley Conference programs this season, Valparaiso finished off Set 1 with a 10-2 run and never looked back, taking down Evansville in Monday’s quarterfinal of the 2021 NIVC
 
The Beacons (25-9), who had beaten Evansville in the other two contests this season, will play either North Florida or UConn in one of the NIVC semifinals. Valpo hit .333 overall and closed out Set 3 with a 7-0 scoring run.
 
Bella Ravotto had 10 kills for the Beacons; Elise Swistek added nine kills and Haley Hart joined Maddy Boyer in ringing up eight kills apiece. Kara Cooper chipped in with seven kills, and Brittany Anderson dished out 22 assists.
 
Also for Valparaiso, Rylee Cookerly had 12 digs putting her 25 digs shy of the NCAA D-I record of 3,176. Valpo had won both the two previous matches between the programs this season by a 3-1 margin.
 
For the Aces (21-12), Giulia Cardona closed with 11 kills, giving her 467 on the year to set an Evansville freshman record. She also added 10 digs.
 
Alondra Vazquez did her part with 10 kills – that gave her 494 kills for the year, setting a single-season record for the Aces program. Taya Haffner had 28 assists and Melanie Feliciano contributed 10 digs.

​UCONN 3, BOSTON COLLEGE 2 (21-25, 25-19, 25-22, 20-25, 15-9)
 
CHESTNUT HILL, MA – Caylee Parker had 19 kills and Taylor Pannell added 13 to lead UConn in a thrilling five-set victory over host Boston College to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2021 NIVC.
 
McKayla Wuensch had 48 assists and 14 digs, while Karly Berkland had 20 digs for a UConn team that held Boston College to just .215 hitting.
 
The Huskies hit just .246 in the match, but saved their best for the final set, where they hit .400 as a team. Boston College was once again led by Amaka Chukwujekwu, who had 16 kills on just 25 swings.
 
UConn will host North Florida in the quarterfinals of the 2021 NIVC on Wednesday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. ET.