Oct. 11, 2008
Box Score | Photo Gallery 
ARLINGTON, Texas - The UT Arlington volleyball team suffered a heart-breaking 17-25, 22-25, 26-24, 25-22, 12-15 loss against Southland Conference preseason favorite Texas State on Saturday afternoon at Texas Hall in Arlington. Freshman Amanda Aguilera continued to shine for the Mavericks with her fourth consecutive double-double, including career highs in kills (20) and digs (19). Freshman middle blocker Christy Driscoll notched a season-high 10 blocks while leading all players in the loss.
The Mavericks (4-15) continue to search for their first Southland Conference win falling to 0-5 in league play. Texas State (11-12) joined a three-way tie for first place in the SLC Western Division with a 4-1 conference mark.
"Any time we play Texas State it is a battle," UT Arlington fifth-year head coach Diane Seymour said. "I'm extremely impressed with how our girls played today. I know it is disappointing to lose again, but I think we have turned the corner battling against the team that was picked to win this conference."
Despite dropping the opening two sets, UT Arlington battled back to send the match into a deciding fifth set. Aguilera and Texas State senior middle blocker Emily Jones Wilkes were the main offensive weapons for both teams throughout the match. The first set saw Wilkes hit .778 (7 kills-0 errors-9 attempts) while Aguilera led all players with eight kills in 13 swings.
"I think we came out and fought harder than we have all season," Aguilera said. "We got a little taste of what it was like to win, so now we want it more. We had a lot of intensity and played a lot better."
Aguilera and Wilkes each tallied 20 kills to lead all players in the match.
The second set had 10 ties and five lead changes with the main change in momentum happening after the Bobcats called a timeout following two straight points by the Mavericks to give UT Arlington a 22-20 lead.
Texas State answered immediately as they closed out the set on a 5-0 run. Senior Ally Wade and Driscoll combined for six of the Mavericks' 12 winners in the second frame.
UT Arlington was also led by sophomore setter Raegan Daniel, who posted her team-leading fifth double-double of the season with a career-high 15 digs, and she equaled her career-best 45 assists.
In the third set, Aguilera and freshman Eld-hah Kaswatuka each recorded kills in the final five points to extend the match. Wade sparked the Mavs again with four kills on nine swings in the set.
The fourth set went back-and-forth, with neither team grabbing more than a five-point lead, until the Mavericks took the lead for good when Aguilera and Kaswatuka collected kills down the stretch to give the Mavs a 25-22 fourth-set victory.
The fifth set was knotted up at 7-7 before Texas State went on a 5-0 run to force a UT Arlington timeout with the score 12-7.
The Mavericks were far from out as Driscoll, Wade and Daniel all collected block assists on three separate blocks to bring the Mavs within two points, 12-14, before junior outside hitter Jessica Weynard scored the winning point for the Bobcats.
Driscoll was steady all match at the net, especially in the fifth set where she tallied four block assists. She finished with 10 kills and a .318 hitting percentage. Wade had a career-high six blocks with 12 kills, marking her seventh double-figure kills match of the season.
Kaswatuka notched a season-high six kills, and freshman libero Alicia Shaffer collected her fifth straight match with at least 10 digs with 18.
Texas State was led by Wilkes (20 kills), Weynard (14 kills, 12 digs) and senior Lawrencia Brown (match-high 28 digs).
The Mavericks will play a mid-week conference match on Wednesday, Oct. 15, traveling to play Northwestern State (6-9, 1-4), who is currently in last place in the SLC Eastern Division.
MATCH NOTES:
UT Arlington drops to 39-20 all time against Texas State, with a 15-10 record against the Bobcats in Arlington ... Texas State's victory snapped a two-match losing streak against the Mavericks... The Mavericks' 167 attempts are a season-high and their 50 assists equaled their most this season... Aguilera posted season highs in kills (20), digs (19) and attempts (52)... Aguilera's 20 kills and 52 attempts are the most by any Maverick this season... Aguilera has now collected four straight double-doubles, the longest streak for any UT Arlington player this season... Texas State's kills (72), attempts (184) and assists (64) were most allowed by the Mavs this season... The Bobcats' 78 digs equaled the most digs allowed by UT Arlington this season.
