UNLV volleyball team snubbed

Tim Graham

Monday, Nov. 30, 1998 | 10:21 a.m.

To Deitre Collins and her UNLV volleyball team, neither the math nor the logic added up.

The Rebels finished among the top four teams in last week's Western Athletic Conference tournament. They finished second in the Mountain Division's regular-season standings.

On Sunday, the NCAA invited six WAC teams to this year's national volleyball tournament. UNLV, somehow, wasn't included in that group.

"I would have put money on it," Collins replied when asked what she thought UNLV's chances would have been if she knew before Sunday a half dozen WAC teams would gain entry. No other conference received more bids.

But when the Rebels gathered in Collins' office to watch the selection show via satellite from the NCAA's offices in Kansas, they were faced with frustration.

The Rebels were left out of the 64-team field despite beating four of the at-large selections, including sweeps of Utah in the WAC tourney on Wednesday and Nevada-Reno early in the season.

"When it got down to the last eight teams (getting announced), we had mixed emotions," Collins said. "We were seeing the teams that we beat making it and we thought we had a chance. But each time another WAC team was announced, our chances diminished."

UNLV finished the season 23-8. A majority of the at-large teams sported worse records, including Indiana (15-13), Ohio State (16-13) and UCLA (15-11).

"According to (the selection committee) there are 16 different criteria," Collins said with a chuckle. "I guess we need to find out what those are.

"They say our schedule might not have been strong enough, but we beat teams who were selected for the tournament. Our schedule was tough enough to accomplish what we wanted to accomplish, but I guess that still wasn't enough."

The fact the Rebels got as close as they did was an accomplishment in itself, considering they just completed only their third season after a long dormancy. One of their original goals was merely qualifying for the conference tournament.

But while 64 other programs prepare for the ultimate postseason, UNLV will meet today to discuss next season.

"We had a good year no matter if we did or didn't go to the tournament," said Collins, the WAC's coach of the year. "There's always a couple things you can do better, but if I had the season to do over again I wouldn't change a whole lot.

"Next year we just have to set the goal of sitting in front of the TV (for the selection show) and not feeling the way we did (Sunday). We need the committee to be thinking UNLV all the time so there isn't a doubt."