Sept. 17, 2005
Final Stats
SAN MARCOS, Texas - Texas-Arlington dropped its third straight match, losing a heartbreaker, 24-30, 28-30, 30-23, 30-19,16-14 to defending Southland Conference Champion Texas State Saturday evening at Strahan Coliseum.
Texas-Arlington (2-9, 0-2 SLC) took the opening two games, before Texas State (3-6, 2-0 SLC) stormed back to take the last three games and the match.
The two teams traded points in game five, with neither of them stringing two points together until the Mavericks did so to take 12-11 lead and force the Bobcats into a timeout. Texas-Arlington increased its lead to 14-12, but the Bobcats fought off two match points and won the last four points to take the match.
In game one, the two teams traded points before Texas State called a timeout with Texas-Arlington in the lead, 17-15. The Mavericks' Gina Kalb had the hot hand early, tallying four kills and a solo block in the early going. After the timeout, Texas-Arlington went on a 6-1 run, keyed by three hitting errors by the Bobcats to take a 23-16 lead and force Texas State into another timeout. Sophomore Morgan Rogers helped the Mavericks finish off game one with two kills.
Texas State jumped out to a 23-17 lead on the strength of five kills by Lawrencia Brown. The Mavericks cam storming back, using a 13-5 run to close out the game, 30-28. Sophomore Torie Dacus came up huge down the stretch, registering two kills and a block. With Texas-Arlington ahead, 29-28, Dacus' kill finished off a long rally and gave the Mavericks a commanding 2-0 lead.
In game three, the Bobcats jumped out to yet another lead, taking a 14-8 lead before the Mavericks called a timeout. Elizabeth Nwoke had three kills during the stretch. Texas-Arlington cut the lead to 20-18, but the Bobcats used a 10-5 run to close out the game and cut the lead to 2-1.
Game four saw Texas State take a 22-11 lead, with Nwoke leading the way with five early kills. The Bobcats received seven kills from Nwoke during the game to even the match with a 30-19 victory.
Senior Ashley Van Antwerp led the team with 19 kills, while sophomore Morgan Rogers and junior Ashley Smith added 25 and 23 kills respectively.
The Mavericks struggled hitting the ball once again, posting a .194 hitting percentage compared to a .240 hitting percentage by Texas State.
Nwoke led the Bobcats with a match-high 26 kills and setter Jesi Graham led all players with 82 assists.
The last time the Mavericks lost a match after winning the first two games was a 3-2 loss to Nicholls State in 2003.
Texas-Arlington will open up a two-game homestand on Thursday versus conference-rival Stephen F. Austin. The match will begin at 7 p.m. at Texas Hall. The Mavericks will also host Sam Houston State on Friday at 7 p.m.
