Patterson setting up big season for UNLV volleyball

An All-Mountain West performer as a freshman, Alexis Patterson didn’t make the first team last season.

It wasn’t all her fault because UNLV underwent numerous lineup changes, and as a setter, that made life especially challenging.

But Patterson also took ownership regarding her part on the team, and she went home over the summer to the Phoenix area and committed to not only follow the team’s conditioning schedule, but changed her eating habits.

Gone were her loves of chocolate and coffee with sugar as well as the typical three meals a day, and in were the smaller five to six meals.

“All those things coming together is what helped me to be in the best shape that I could possibly be in,” Patterson said. “Before, I would do one or the other, but when you put it together, it’s a lot more effective.”

Now Patterson is playing at an all-conference level, and is a key reason the Rebels are 15-1, including 4-0 in the Mountain West. She is second in the conference in assists, averaging 11.33 per set.

“When she came in, she had to learn all the plays in Farsi, which is my husband’s (assistant coach Mashallah Farokhmanesh) language,” coach Cindy Fredrick said. Patterson’s teammates “all call our their sets to her at once, and she has to deliver whatever set they’re calling out to whomever she thinks should hit the ball. It’s a lot of pressure.

“It’s not only that, she’s blocking, she’s playing defense. Plus, she has a great serve. So she’s got a lot of things on her plate. It’s not a one-dimensional position.”

Patterson is exceeding academically as well. She is a two-time conference Scholar-Athlete Award recipient, a kinesiology major who carries a 3.7 GPA.

“It really boils down to time management,” Patterson said. “I know a lot of people say that, but it is true. We’re in the gym a lot. We’re in the weight room a lot. We’re all together a lot with volleyball. Coach always says, ‘You have volleyball, your social life and your academics, and in season you have academics and your sport. You don’t get a social life.’ Which in some respects is true.

“You have to cut out a lot of things that you’d like to do because you have to make time for studying and make time for homework and all those kinds of things and tutoring. It’s a really big benefit to us because when we do go on the road, Coach is really awesome about having mandatory study hall time.”

The team GPA is 3.4, with players majoring in engineering, pre-med and international business in addition to the four kinesiology majors.

“There are no small details,” Fredrick said. “So their dedication to being good students and their dedication to wanting to be good volleyball players has really paid off.”

Part of the payoff for Patterson is her return to all-conference form, one big reason the Rebels are winning big.

“My mentality as a freshman was to hit the ground running and pick up as much as I could as we went along,” Patterson said. “Last year, I really tried to focus on my skills and improving and fine-tuning. Over summer, I really did go home with the mentality of, ‘I want to be in the best shape that I can possibly be in to come back because that will improve my overall game.’”

■ MEN’S GOLF — The Rebels play in the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate in Birmingham, Alabama, on Monday and Tuesday, marking the end to their fall season. Their spring season begins Feb. 15 at the Jerry Burns Intercollegiate in Hawaii. UNLV finished tied for first, sixth and seventh in its three fall tournaments so far. The Rebels are third in the Mountain West in scoring, averaging 2.34 over par, behind No. 1 San Diego State (0.97) and Colorado State (2.18).

■ WOMEN’S GOLF — UNLV tops the Mountain West in scoring, averaging 5.08 over par. Behind the Rebels are San Diego State at 5.52 and Fresno State at 7.26.

Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow on Twitter: @markanderson65