Nov. 7, 2008
Box Score
HUNTSVILLE, Texas - The UT Arlington volleyball team welcomed back sophomore Bianca Sauls to the lineup on Friday night, but it wouldn't come in a victory as Sam Houston State defeated the Mavericks 25-19, 25-19, 25-19, at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum. The Bearkats (12-16), who currently sit in fourth place in the Southland Conference Western Division, improve to 7-5 in league play, while the Mavericks (6-21) drop to 2-11 in the SLC.
The highlight for UT Arlington in the first set was the return of sophomore outside hitter Bianca Sauls who recorded one kill in her first set back on the court. Sauls had not played since suffering a hip injury on Sept. 10 in the Mavericks' home-opener against TCU. UT Arlington tallied a 3-15 record without Sauls in the lineup.
Sauls finished the match with two kills, eight attempts, two blocks and one dig.
Sam Houston State never trailed in the first set and didn't waste time grabbing an early 5-0 lead before UT Arlington head coach Diane Seymour called the first timeout of the match. The Mavericks responded with three straight points, which included a block assist from freshman Christy Driscoll and junior Teena Sobczak.
The Mavericks came within three points (18-21) late in the set, but the Bearkats posted three straight kills to finish the set, 25-19. Sam Houston State recorded 15 kills with four aces in the opening frame, while UT Arlington freshman Amanda Aguilera led all players with five kills and a .556 hitting percentage.
Aguilera finished the match with a team-high 11 kills and also tied for the team lead with four blocks.
After a SHSU serving error gave the Mavericks their second lead of the second set, 9-8, the Bearkats went on an 8-2 run to force a UT Arlington timeout with Sam Houston State leading 16-11.
The Bearkats finished the second set with another 25-19 victory, which included 16 kills - giving Sam Houston State 31 kills after two sets of action. The Mavericks were able to trade points down the stretch in the second set thanks to four kills from Driscoll and two winners from Aguilera.
Sam Houston State sophomore setter Kym Loving tallied 13 assists in the first set and 15 assists in the second frame to help lead the Bearkats to a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Sam Houston State offense proved to be too potent again in the third set as they finished with 18 kills in the third and final set -giving them 49 kills in the match. The Bearkats finished the match with a third straight 25-19 victory. Sam Houston State junior middle blocker Anna Ferguson led the Bearkats with a match-high 16 kills.
Driscoll finished with five kills and four blocks while freshman libero Alicia Shaffer led the Mavs with eight digs.
UT Arlington will play its final regular season road match of the season on Saturday, Nov. 8, against Lamar at 3 p.m. in Beaumont, Texas, at McDonald Gym.
