UTA Volleyball Splits Games Saturday

ARLINGTON, Texas – UT Arlington wrapped up the 2015 Maverick Classic by splitting games against Grambling State and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at College Park Center on Saturday.

“I feel good about where we are at this point in the season,” UT Arlington coach Diane Seymour said. “We got exactly what we wanted this weekend with confidence and a couple of wins that we got early. We needed to be tested like that against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi tonight and I think we did a good job in our first test.”

One Maverick achieved a career milestone on Saturday night when senior libero Caitlyn Cooney cracked her way into the UTA top ten all-time charts for career digs. The Houston native ended the second match of the day with 27 digs, bringing her career total to 1,428. The mark passes former Maverick Chris Rudiger who ended her career with 1,413 digs.

“We’re really early in the season so I want to be able to keep up in rallies with my defense,” Cooney said. “It feels good to be there and I want to keep moving up. I’ve got a goal to reach, but more importantly I think that this weekend we got to see each other’s personalities and see how we play.”

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Game 1

UT Arlington used a dominating performance in its opening match against Grambling State at College Park Center on Saturday afternoon.

The Mavericks claimed sets in impressive fashion, winning 25-9, 25-10 and 25-5. UTA also

hit .328, while holding Grambling State to -.103. Service aces were abundant for the Mavs as the team registered a total of 15 service aces, including five apiece from Cassidy Wheeler and Qiana Canete.

The Mavericks jumped out to an early lead in the match, claiming a 25-9 victory in the opening frame. Canete was able to jumpstart the UTA offense with three kills on four attacks, while also chipping in defensively with two blocks and one dig. The Mavs showed skill in serving the ball as they recorded six service aces in the set, including three from Wheeler. In addition to her five aces, Wheeler also notched 17 assists and five digs.

Caitlyn Cooney led the Mavericks in digs with 12, putting her 12 digs away from breaking into the UTA top ten charts for career digs. Freshman Marisah Ingram was able to make an impact for the Mavs, as the middle blocker acquired six kills and four blocks in the match.

Stacey Koch finished with a match-high nine kills off of 13 attempts to go along with two blocks.

There was no slowing down in the second set for UT Arlington as it closed out the frame with a 9-1 one that ended with the Mavs on top 25-10. Freshman middle blocker Marisah Ingram got in on the action in the second set, registering three kills to go along with a .750 hitting percentage. Stacey Koch pitched in with three kills of her own to go along with one block.

The domination carried over into the third set as UTA picked up a match-clinching 25-5 victory. Koch set the tone in the final frame with four kills on five attempts. Caitlyn Cooney held down the court defensively with six digs.

Game 2

A back and forth match between UT Arlington and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the finale of the Maverick Classic saw the Mavericks fall in five sets, 25-18, 16-25, 25-17, 21-25, 10-15.

The Mavericks received a strong outing from Koch who accumulated a match-high 19 kills to go along with a .586 hitting percentage. Canete also chipped in offensively and defensively with 19 digs and 11 kills, marking the sophomore outside hitter’s first double-double of the season.

Wheeler crushed her previous career high of 31 assists when she dished out 46 against the Islanders. The junior setter also recorded six digs, three kills and two blocks.

UTA out-blocked AMCC 11-8, while also out-digging the Islanders 86-80. The five-set match was seen in front of 724 fans, which is the sixth largest volleyball crowd in College Park Center history.

The Mavericks will return to the court on Wednesday when they play host to North Texas with the match slated to begin at 7 p.m.

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