Nov. 6, 2010
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ARLINGTON, Tex. - Alicia Shaffer spearheaded UT Arlington's 98-dig performance and the Mavericks stayed hot by beating Nicholls 3-1 Saturday afternoon at Texas Hall.
Shaffer recorded 34 digs - the second-best total in a four-set match in a Southland Conference match - in leading the Mavs to a 25-16, 21-25, 25-23, 25-21 victory. Shaffer holds the season-high from a four-set match when she had 37 digs earlier this season.
UTA's defensive effort enabled the team to overcome a sporadic offensive effort and win its fifth consecutive match.
The five-match win streak marks the first since the team strung together a five-match streak from Oct. 23-Nov. 3, 2007.
"I think it's really important and I figured this might be exactly where we were at coming into our final week of conference play against two tough opponents," UTA coach Diane Seymour said. "This is the longest streak this group of girls has been on since 2007. Hopefully we can continue that."
The Mavericks came out hot, hitting .316 in the Game 1 win, but sputtered on offense for much of the match. They finished with a .181 attack percentage.
The consistent defense never allowed Nicholls to seize control of the match, however. Even after the Mavs dropped Game 2, the defense allowed UTA to win Game 3 despite hitting just .145.
Bianca Sauls led the way with a season-high 16 kills. She also had 14 digs to earn her eighth double-double of the season.
"Bianca has been playing better and better over the past few matches and it's refreshing to see her get back to that," Seymour said. "If we can look at our three seniors and think about how well they played on Thursday and they all played well again, I want that for them. I want them to go out on a high-note. Them playing well helps us all play well."
Tara Frantz extended her personal double-digit kill streak to 11 matches by posting 15 kills. She hit a team-best .282 and also tallied four blocks.
All three hitters and both middle blockers finished with at least six kills thanks to the masterful distribution from setter Raegan Daniel, who finished with 47 assists - her 10th 40-assist match of the year. The senior also posted 15 digs for her 11th double-double of the season.
Christy Driscoll and Emily Shearin made their offensive presence felt, going for six and eight kills, respectively. Shearin also added a team-high five blocks.
"It gave me a lot of confidence," Shearin said. "When we all work together we can get things done."
Amanda Aguilera also earned a double-double with 11 kills and 19 digs. She added three aces as well.
Nicholls finished with 104 digs, led by 27 from Danielle Daigle.
UT Arlington returns to the floor Thursday when it hosts Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Mavericks won the first meeting this year 3-2 in Corpus Christi. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
