Quarterfinal recaps, Tuesday Dec. 7

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.