Oct. 26, 2010

Match Notes

ARLINGTON, Tex. - Two weeks ago, UT Arlington dropped consecutive home matches to Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State.

The Mavericks look to return the favor this week to both teams.

As UTA prepares for its Wednesday night match at Stephen F. Austin, coach Diane Seymour remembers the chances her team had to knock off the Ladyjacks and the Bearkats.

"We competed hard against Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State, who we play this week," Seymour said. "I feel pretty good about it. I feel like they didn't overpower us in any way and we let both of those matches here at home get away from us with a few mistakes that we made. I think our team feels upbeat even about the two road matches in front of us."

This week marks a pivotal stretch for the Mavericks, who enter the second half of their four-match road trip tied for seventh in the Southland Conference.

With the top eight teams qualifying for the SLC Tournament, Seymour knows there is plenty of work to do.

"I think it's pretty clear when we look at the opponents we're about to face over the next six matches, with the exception of Southeastern Louisiana, all of those teams are in the mix to be in the top eight," Seymour said. "It looks like we'll all play this out. It looks like the top three seeds are all sure but the rest of us are playing for the four-eight spots."

UTA is currently tied with Stephen F. Austin - both have a 4-6 record in league play - and Sam Houston State is a game ahead with a 5-5 mark in conference. The Mavericks could vault both teams with a perfect week.

The road troubles UT Arlington faced earlier this year have vanished. The team is 3-3 on the road in conference play and has won three of its last five matches away from Texas Hall.

"We talked about it as a team: We don't have to win them all on the road," Seymour said. "If we go .500 on the road we set ourselves up to be in a good position for seeding purposes in the conference tournament if we take care of things at home. I don't think there's a concern about playing on the road any more. It's just a concern about playing consistent right now."

Now the Mavs look to vanquish their recent struggles against the Ladyjacks, who have won the last 10 matches in the series and 30 of the last 31 games.

UT Arlington put itself in a bit of a hole by dropping home contests to Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State.

However, the Mavs can put themselves right back on level ground by winning this week.