Sept. 11, 2003
AUSTIN, Texas...Senior Elizabeth Davis and junior Caley Smith each slammed 16 kills as The University of Texas at Arlington fell 3-1 (25-30, 26-30, 30-25, 21-30) to host Texas in the final match of the day at the Time Warner Cable Texas Invitational in Austin. The Mavericks fell to 1-6 with the loss and will face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Friday at 5 p.m. in their final match of the tournament.
The Mavericks struggled to find any kind of rythmn in game one, hitting only .136 as a team. UT opened the match with a 7-2 run, forcing Janine Smith to take an early timeout. UTA fought back to within two at 10-12 on an attack error by Longhorn Kathy Hahn. The Mavs continued to push, but couldn't come any closer as the Longhorns took game one, 30-25.
The squads juggled the lead throughout game two as the score was knotted 13 times. UTA led by as many as two at 15-13 before the Longhorns went on a 4-0 run to take the lead. Two straight kills by senior Elizabeth Davis put the Mavericks back in the game, deadlocked with the 'Horns at 23. A 3-0 run put the Longhorns back in charge, before consecutive UT errors brought the Mavericks within one. UT used a 4-1 run to close out the game, winning 30-26 and taking a two game lead into the locker room.
UTA came out strong in game three, trying to avoid the sweep. A 7-3 run, fueled by Davis, forced the Longhorns to climb from behind. The Mavericks pushed their lead to eight at 18-10 on a service ace by senior Julie Felts. UTA extended its lead to 21-12 before the Longhorns used a timeout. A 4-1 run brought UT within four, forcing a UTA timeout. The Mavericks continued to push points as a Heather Dunn dump put UTA in charge 26-20. UT managed to pull within four, but a kill by senior Melissa Robinett put the game away for the Mavericks, 30-25.
The squads traded points early in game four before the Longhorns pushed ahead, taking an 11-7 lead after capitalizing on the Mavericks errors. UTA attempted to rally, but continued to fall behind as coach Smith took her final timeout with her squad behind 19-13. Longhorn Mira Topic controlled the game putting down six kills as UT went on to defeat the Mavericks 30-21 in game four and take the match, 3-1.
Joining Davis and Smith in double digit kills was senior Melissa Robinett as she put down 15 in the Mavericks offensive efforts. Smith led the defense as well, hitting the floor for a match-high 19 digs. Joining her in double figures was sister Ashley Smith with 11, while Davis and setter Heather Dunn chipped in with 10 a piece. Dunn recorded 48 assists in the match.
Texas-Arlington returns to action Friday evening for a 5 p.m. affair with Texas A&M-Corpus-Christi on the final day of the Time Warner Cable Texas Invitational.
...utamavericks...
