UNLV had opportunities to make Friday night uncomfortable for Boise State. The Rebels just could not finish enough of them.
Boise State swept UNLV 25-22, 25-19, 25-16 at ExtraMile Arena, dropping the Rebels to 0-4 during a difficult opening stretch of the 2026 season.
The margin was not created by a massive difference in total kills. Boise State finished with 40 to UNLV’s 37.
The bigger separation came in how efficiently those attacks ended.
UNLV committed 26 attack errors, twice Boise State’s total of 13, and hit .096 for the match. The Broncos hit .267 and controlled the net with an 8-2 advantage in team blocks.
That combination turned competitive stretches into another straight-set loss.
First set was there for UNLV
The opening set gave UNLV its best chance to change the direction of the match.
The Rebels produced 14 kills to Boise State’s 12 and stayed within striking distance deep into the set. Jaida Harris was heavily involved offensively, Rheanna Deen-Jackson found success through the middle and Basia Latos provided points from the pin.
But nine UNLV attack errors kept Boise State from having to do too much offensively.
The Rebels were still close late. UNLV cut the deficit to 23-20 after consecutive plays from Deen-Jackson, including a kill and a block, and later pulled within 24-22 before Boise State closed the set.
That 25-22 loss proved costly because it was the one set in which UNLV had the better kill total and kept Boise State’s efficiency relatively low.
The Broncos hit just .116 in the opener. UNLV hit .102.
Once Boise State cleaned up its offense, the match became much harder to turn.
Harris leads, Deen-Jackson stays efficient
Harris provided UNLV’s most consistent volume throughout the night.
The redshirt junior outside hitter finished with a match-high 12 kills on 32 attacks and added eight digs. She accounted for nearly one-third of UNLV’s kills and continued to carry a significant share of the offense after being named Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year.
Deen-Jackson gave the Rebels their cleanest attacking performance.
The junior middle blocker finished with seven kills on 13 attacks with only two errors, good for a .385 hitting percentage. She also recorded one of UNLV’s two team blocks.
Cami Christiansen added four kills on 11 swings and hit .182, while Jada Ingram finished with three kills and one service ace.
Latos had eight kills and reached 500 career kills during the match, giving the junior outside hitter a notable milestone on an otherwise difficult night.
Her workload also showed how often UNLV leaned on her. Latos took 31 swings, second only to Harris, but finished with nine attack errors as Boise State repeatedly disrupted the Rebels at the net.
Boise State pulls away with efficiency
The second set showed the clearest difference between the teams.
UNLV improved offensively to a .172 hitting percentage, but Boise State jumped to .375 with 16 kills and only four errors on 32 attacks.
The Rebels stayed competitive through portions of the set, but Boise State consistently answered before UNLV could put together a long enough run to change the pressure of the match.
By the third, that gap widened further.
Boise State hit .385 in the final set and committed only two attack errors. UNLV finished with 12 kills, but 11 attack errors pulled its hitting percentage down to .027.
For the Rebels, the issue was not simply generating swings. They attempted 115 attacks compared with Boise State’s 101.
The problem was turning those opportunities into clean points.
Boise State’s block played a major role in that. The Broncos finished with eight team blocks, led by Kendall Hastings’ four block assists, while UNLV managed two.
The Broncos also had enough offensive balance to keep UNLV from settling into one matchup. Sydney Dreves led Boise State with nine kills, Azlynn Tittmann added eight and Hastings finished with seven while hitting .600.
UNLV did get a strong defensive performance from freshman Arrie Brown, who finished with a match-high 13 digs. Harris added eight, while Kamryn Scroggins and Latos each recorded six as the Rebels nearly matched Boise State in total digs, 44-43.
Scroggins finished with 20 assists and handled the largest share of the setting duties. Alexa Ankerstar added eight assists, while Kaia Thiele had four.
Up next
UNLV closes the Boise State Classic against North Dakota State on Saturday at 10 a.m. PT in Boise.
At 0-4, the Rebels are still searching for their first win of the season. The quickest path to changing that is clear: reduce the attack errors, keep Harris involved and find more of the efficiency Deen-Jackson produced against Boise State.
Friday showed UNLV can stay connected when the margins are tight. Saturday is another chance to turn those stretches into a complete match.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Las Vegas Aces, Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
