UTA Volleyball Win Streak Ends
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ARLINGTON, Texas – UT Arlington entered Friday’s match against UALR looking to end the Trojans 16-match winning streak, but it was the Mavericks ten-match home winning streak that came to an end with UTA on the wrong end of the four-set loss (25-16, 25-27, 25-20, 25-17).
“They outhustled us all over the court and beat us in every statistical category,” UT Arlington coach Diane Seymour said. “We just didn’t answer. When they came at us, we did not answer.”
The win drops the Mavericks to 21-7 this season with an 11-5 mark in the Sun Belt while the Trojans improve to 22-4 overall with a perfect 16-0 record in conference play.
The Mavericks were led by Qiana Canete who recorded a team-high 11 kills in the match to go along with seven digs and two assists.
“I was disappointed,” Canete said. “We went in expecting to win. We knew they would be really tough competition and we just didn’t show up tonight.”
Stacey Koch also chipped in as the junior OPP registered ten kills and four blocks paired with a hitting percentage of .261.
Amanda Welsh and Cassidy Wheeler both directed the UTA offense as the duo recorded 18 and 17 assists respectively.
Caitlyn Cooney led the charge defensively as the junior libero recorded a match-high 26 digs.
The Mavericks jumped out to a 4-1 lead early in the opening set, but the tide switched
on UTA and UALR took over momentum. The Trojans would force the Mavs into a timeout at 9-5 and carried control of the set throughout. UALR would hit .361 in the first set compared to UTA’s .148 and knocked back-to-back aces to close it out 25-16.
Canete and Sharratt paced UTA through the first set as the two players recorded two kills apiece. Cooney chipped in defensively, registering seven digs in the set.
The second set turned into a back-and-forth exchange late despite UTA controlling the pace early. The Mavs held a six-point advantage at 18-12 before the Trojans made their charge. UALR rallied to tie the set at 22, but it was UTA who would come out on top. Canete powered a hit down the line to give UTA a set point at 26-25 and UALR would lose the set on an attack error. The set dropped was UALR’s first after the Trojans had swept the previous three matches.
Four Maverick players stepped up in the second set as Canete, Sharratt, Koch and Hannah Baptiste each chipped in three kills. Cooney again registered seven digs while Welsh and Wheeler combined for 11 assists.
UTA came out of the break appearing to have control of match. The Mavericks built up a 9-5 lead and sent UALR to a timeout. However, after building a five-point advantage, the Mavs let the Trojans back in. UALR moved into a 20-18 advantage and the Mavericks were unable to bounce back, dropping the third 25-20.
Ashley Bennett, Canete and Koch paced UTA offensively in the third frame as each player notched three kills. Welsh and Wheeler once again guided the Mavs offensive attack as the pair registered seven and five assists respectively.
The Trojans broke out in the fourth set to put the match away. UALR went up 11-6, forced UTA into a timeout, and never looked back. The Trojans hit an efficient .395, their highest of the match compared to UTA’s .121, its lowest of the match.
Canete and Koch each picked up three kills in the set while Cooney and Taylor Story combined for nine digs.
The Mavericks were outhit .290 to .167 and out blocked 11-7 in the match.
UTA is back in action on Sunday when it hosts South Alabama at 12 p.m. at College Park Center.
