Sept. 15, 2007
Box Score
IOWA CITY, Iowa - In a match that looked lopsided on paper, UT Arlington needed to scratch and claw their way back from near defeat and hand Ball State a 30-18, 26-30, 23-30, 30-23, 15-13 defeat Saturday evening in the final match of the Hawkeye-Holiday Inn Challenge. The five-game victory give the Mavs nine victories in the last 10 five-game matches dating back to the start of the 2006 season.
With both teams at near exhaustion at the start of the deciding game, UTA looked to have things under control as they raced out to an early 5-1 advantage. The Cardinals would battle back to tie the game before a hitting error would put them down 12-10.
After a timeout, the Cardinals would score the next three points to take a 13-12 lead. UTA would get a big block from Teena Sobczak and Gina Kalb to tie the score before a hitting error by the Cardinals set up match point. Sobczak would end the match as she put down an overpass.
UTA (7-6) came out the gates just as they finished their last match and raced to a 14-7 advantage. The lead would reach double digits as the Cardinals hit -.149 in the opening game. Meanwhile, the Mavs got five kills from Sobczak and three block assists from Emily Nedderman in taking the first game 30-18.
The Cardinals (1-10) responded in the second game to battle back from an early four-point deficit to take their first lead of the game at 23-22 on a kill from Elaina Kakatolis. The lead would grow to four on three occasions and that is how it would end on a Brittany May kill. The victory put an end to a 15-game losing streak for the Cardinals.
Things went from bad to worse for the Mavs in the fourth game as they quickly found themselves down 16-8. UTA would respond out of a timeout and go on an 8-2 run to pull within two, but were never able to get any closer as the Cardinals extended their lead and took the game 30-23.
UTA looked like they would fall in the fourth game as the Cardinals led by three early. The Mavs responded and took the lead for good at 11-10 on a kill from Sobczak. UTA would push the lead to six on four-straight hitting errors from BSU before pushing it to eight on a kill from Liz Curry. After two points from the Cardinals, Dacus ended the game with a kill right down the line.
The Mavs featured a balanced offensive attack as Sobczak led the way with 15 kills, while Dacus and Kalb added 11 each. Kalb led the charge at the net with one solo block and six block assists. Nedderman added six block assists and Ellen Murray five.
The Mavs return to the court on Sept. 20 when they open up Southland Conference action against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at Texas Hall.
