UTA Volleyball Sweeps Abilene Christian

ARLINGTON, Texas – UT Arlington overcame a slow start against Abilene Christian on the way to its fifth sweep of the season.

A sluggish start to the match saw the Mavericks trail 18-11, but five straight points for UTA cut the ACU lead to two points at 18-16. Still looking for their first lead of the match, the Mavs rattled off three points in a row to clinch the set 25-23.

UTA carried the momentum from the first frame into the second as it built a five-point lead at 17-12. The Mavericks were able to clinch the set 26-24 after holding off a strong comeback by the Wildcats that saw the match tied at 24.

The Mavericks seemed to put it all together in the third set of the night as they closed out the set and match with a 5-1 run that was capped off by a Cassidy Wheeler kill. UTA never trailed by more than three points as it took the set 25-21.

Qiana Canete registered a team-high 11 kills, while also hitting .370 and recording just one hitting error. The Copperas Cove native registered a team-high in kills in all but one set for the Mavericks. Canete also chipped in with eight digs and three assists on the night.

Wheeler dished out a team-high 33 assists in the match to go along with her ten digs, four kills and three blocks. Leading the digging effort was senior libero Caitlyn Cooney who came away from the night with

14 digs. At the net, it was freshman middle blocker Marisah Ingram who led UTA with six blocks.

Strong defense and a solid offense propelled the Mavericks to victory. UTA relied on out-digging ACU 53-40, while also out-blocking the Wildcats 8-6. The Mavs also hit .248 on the night compared to .167 for the Wildcats.

UT Arlington coach Diane Seymour picked up her 181st career win which gives her the third most wins by a Maverick coach. The 181 wins for Seymour passes Janine Smith who served as the UTA head coach from 1994-2003. Seymour served as an assistant coach under Smith from 1996-2003. The former UT Arlington player has also amassed a total of 454 wins during her time at UT Arlington, 335 as a coach and 119 as a player.

UTA’s 4-1 record at home to start the season has been boosted by a strong showing from the Maverick faithful. The attendance of 905 fans at Tuesday night’s match was the second biggest volleyball crowd in College Park Center history.

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