Sept. 18, 2010
UT Arlington-North Texas Box Score 
UT Arlington-North Texas Photo Gallery
Final Stats
ARLINGTON, Tex. - Facing match-point several times in the fourth game and fifth games, UT Arlington fought back - diving and crawling to loose balls and slamming down critical kills to keep the match alive.
UT Arlington beat North Texas 34-32 in the pivotal fourth and then came back to win the decisive fifth set for a dramatic 3-2 victory Saturday night at Texas Hall.
The 21-25, 25-22, 21-25, 34-32, 16-14 win featured several team and individual career- and season-high performances. It also put the exclamation point on a perfect weekend for the Mavericks in their UT Arlington Hilton Invitational championship.
More importantly, UTA coach Diane Seymour said, the tough victory showed resiliency in a team that struggled last weekend.
"We were just telling them in the locker room that hopefully this is a huge step for us and something we'll keep in our mind for the rest of the season - especially on the road," Seymour said. "This is something we have not done. We have not battled back from behind and been rewarded for it with a win at the end. I was very pleased to see us battle back in the fourth set and again in the fifth set, which is hard to do. This should be a huge building step for this group and their confidence."
Defensively, UT Arlington set season-highs with 97 digs and 18 blocks.
Tournament MVP Bianca Sauls led the way, turning in a career-high 27 digs. She also finished with nine kills, 10 assists, two service aces and seven blocks.
"Bianca continued to do everything for us," Seymour said. "She steps in and sets, she blocks well, she digs well. Her hitting percentage wasn't bad. And then for her to step in there and jump-serve three straight balls is big, too. I thought Bianca was outstanding this weekend."
Alicia Shaffer and Raegan Daniel chipped in with 25 and 19 digs, respectively, as well.
Emily Shearin set a career-high with 10 blocks to go along with her season-high 12 kills.
Amanda Aguilera earned her 15th career double-double, matching her career-high with 24 kills to go along with her 17 digs.
With another strong weekend, Aguilera earned her way back into her coach's good graces after coming off the bench to start the year.
"Amanda picked it up another notch in this one for sure," Seymour said. "Twenty-four kills and 17 digs and to still hit .270, that's a pretty good night."
Daniel matched her career-high with 49 assists and Tara Frantz racked up 12 kills.
The Mavs also continued their service success. They posted eight aces in the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader after setting a season-high with eight aces earlier in the day.
Amy Huddleston notched 20 kills to lead the Mean Green (8-7), who finished the tournament with a 2-1 record.
Seymour said the marathon victory combined with the tournament championship puts her team in a great position when it opens Southland Conference play later this week.
"I feel a big difference in the locker room about how these kids are feeling about themselves," Seymour said. "The confidence is coming around. Hopefully that holds true for the next couple weeks."
The Mavericks (6-8) play again Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. when they play at UT San Antonio.
