Oct. 23, 2007
Box Score
UT Arlington made a statement Tuesday night. They are not ready to concede the Southland Conference title and a berth to the NCAA Tournament without a fight.
The Mavericks made quick work of Texas State, defeating the Bobcats 3-1 (30-19 30-15, 31-33, 30-28) in a league showdown at Texas Hall. UT Arlington (14-9, 7-3) snapped a two-match losing skid while Texas State (12-10, 5-5) dropped its third straight conference match, all on the road.
Freshman Bianca Sauls led UTA for the third straight match with 18 kills. Sophomore Liz Curry had a season-high 15 kills and senior Torie Dacus added 10 kills. Dani Johnson led with 23 digs and Dacus had her 12th double-double of the season with 16 digs.
Texas State was led by Melinda Cave with 23 kills and Lawrencia Brown with 14.
"We put a lot of pressure on our seniors that they can make what they want to of this season," said UTA Arlington coach Diane Seymour. "Hopefully we got a little confidence back tonight."
Seymour started Curry and Sauls together for the first time this season and brought Teena Sobczak off the bench.
"Teens brings us a lot on the back row and it is just as important and the front line players," said Seymour. "Putting Bianca and Liz on the front row gives us a lot of firepower when they are clicking and tonight they showed how explosive they can be."
In game four, UTA watched an eight-point lead shrink to four before Seymour called timeout with UTA on top, 22-18. A kill by Sauls and a block from Emily Nedderman and Murray stretched the lead out to 26-19 en route to the win.
UT Arlington had a chance to close out the match in three games, leading 29-26 after a block from Sauls and Gina Kalb. Texas State answered to tie the match a 30-30 after a Brown kill. The Bobcats got a kill from Stephanie Puckett and Brown to win the game, 33-31.
UTA took a commanding 2-0 lead after winning game two, 30-15. The Mavericks used a 10-3 run to break a 3-3 tie. Back-to-back kills by Bianca Sauls and Ellen Murray gave the Mavs' a 13-6 lead before a Texas State timeout. UTA lead 22-12 after a kill by Sauls and a block from Sauls and Murray.
In game one, UT Arlington went on a 6-0 run to take a 9-4 lead and never trailed the rest of the game. The lead swelled to 25-14 after an Ellen Murray ace. Defensively, the Mavericks held Texas State to an attack percentage of .064. Dacus and Sauls had four digs apiece in the game.
UT Arlington continues their final homestand Thursday when they host Northwestern State at 7 p.m.
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