Star sophomores setting up UNLV volleyball to reach new heights

Rebels eye first NCAA Tournament berth in eight years

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ZAK KRILL/COURTESY UNLV

UNLV sophomore Alexis Patterson competes in a recent volleyball match.

Tue, Oct 13, 2015 (2 a.m.)

UNLV volleyball mopped the court with its upstate rivals Saturday afternoon.

The Rebels swept UNR in straight sets for the sixth consecutive time, only a week after the football team claimed the Fremont Cannon.

But unlike the cannon game, the volleyball rivalry belongs to UNLV. The Rebels have beaten the Wolf Pack in 13 straight meetings and there’s no end in sight with the future looking bright.

After shattering school records last season with 26 victories including 14 conference wins, UNLV is looking to improve on possibly its best team ever. And the Rebels are doing it with youngsters.

Two of the team’s most important players, Alexis Patterson and Ashley Owens, are only sophomores.

Last year, as a freshman, Patterson stepped right into one of the most important positions on the court.

“You usually don’t see a freshman out there running the offense,” coach Cindy Fredrick said. “But we didn’t have anyone for her to sit behind, and she was a good enough setter when we recruited her that she could run this offense.”

As a setter, Patterson is similar to a quarterback in that she runs the offense and sets up nearly every spike by her teammates.

To put it into perspective, Patterson led the team with 1,171 assists last year — about 10 per set — and the next closest Rebel was the now-graduated Allison Davies with 83.

“The responsibilities of being a freshman setter are absolutely huge, and she handled them great last year,” Fredrick said. “She has to remember everyone’s sets. She has to remember every play, plus we run our plays in Farsi, my husband’s language.”

Fredrick’s husband, UNLV assistant coach Mashallah Farokhmanesh, has taught teams to call plays in his native tongue since they began coaching together 29 years ago.

Now that Patterson has the Farsi down pat, she has been able to focus on the physical side of the game where she's improved dramatically.

She has already racked up 632 assists, ranking in the top 100 of the nation.

“Last year was kind of about getting through rough patches and hitting the ground running, whereas this year as a sophomore with a lot of returners on the team, it’s more about taking responsibility and embracing my position running the court,” Patterson said.

And while the gaudy assist numbers are impressive, Fredrick says an unflappable demeanor is what she loves most about Patterson’s game.

“She does a great job of distributing the ball,” Fredrick said. “She’s got a lot of good court calmness and you need that in a center. Her greatest quality for us is that she runs a good offense and she’s very calm.”

And Patterson is only going to get more comfortable on the court with two more years of eligibility after this season. Her teammates are well aware of that, and couldn’t be happier to have her setting up their spikes.

“We connect very well, and I know I can trust her to get me the ball whenever I need it,” Owens said. “It’s good that we’re close on and off the court because the connection is always there.”

Click to enlarge photo

UNLV sophomore Ashley Owens elevates for a ball in a recent match.

Owens didn’t see as much time as Patterson during her freshman season, but the 6-foot-3 center has burst onto the court this season.

“She loves to block, and that’s what you want in the middle hitter,” Fredrick said. “She’s got really long arms and she’s tall on top of that. It’s fun to watch her get up there and block.”

Owens has already amassed 84 blocks this year, ranking 25th in the country.

She anchors a dominant front line that has stonewalled teams this season – particularly in conference play.

The Rebels rank 12th in the NCAA with 2.94 blocks per set, which has led them to a 4-1 start in Mountain West Conference play.

The next step in Owens’ game is improving her offensive play. With her height and length, she has all of the physical tools to become a dangerous weapon for UNLV in the future.

“She just has to get better timing on her hits, and work on staying off of the net, which are pretty common when you are first starting,” Fredrick said. “Once she gets those down she is going to be deadly.”

Owens has already shown flashes of her offensive potential in practice.

“In warm-ups she absolutely crushes the ball over the net, but the timing in a match is completely different, and she gets a little excited,” Fredrick said. “She is going to be a force, there’s no doubt about it.”

And while Patterson and Owens certainly stand out, they aren’t alone on this team when it comes to young, talented players.

Bree Hammel is the undoubted leader on the team, and paces the Rebels with 192 kills on the season. Hammel is only a junior and will be back next year along with Alyssa Wing, who is currently third in kills.

Elsa Descamps, a 6-foot-2 freshman out of Toulouse, France, also looks to add to UNLV’s impressive front line for years to come.

The Rebels appear headed in the right direction as they chase their second-ever NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2007.

“We have a long way that we can still go,” Owens said. “We are getting close to the tournament and we really want to get there. I only see us going up from here.”

Jesse Granger can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Jesse on Twitter at twitter.com/JesseGranger_.

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