Nov. 23, 2013
Final Stats
By Taylor Wright | UTAMavs.com
TROY, Alabama - UT Arlington volleyball fell to rival Texas State in the Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Championship match Sunday afternoon.
With the loss, the Mavericks conclude the season with a 19-15 overall record and a 10-8 SBC mark.
Senior middle blocker Charmaine Whitmore and junior outside hitter Taylor Gross were both named to the Sun Belt Conference All-Tournament team.
Sophomore Stacey Koch led the offense for the Mavs with 13 kills and a .476 attack percentage. Junior setter Amanda Welsh paced UTA with a team-high 23 assists. Senior Shelby Dickson recorded a team-high 13 digs in the match while Ashley Bennett rounded out the defense effort with five total blocks, all assisted. Megan Casey and Caitlyn Cooney each notched an ace in the loss.
UT Arlington jumped out to a quick 6-3 lead in set one over Texas State. Taylor Gross and Ashley Bennett combined for a block to keep a small two-point lead on the Bobcats, 16-14. Texas State would tie things up at 20-20 before going on a three-point run but the Mavs responded to tie the set again, 23-23. The UT Arlington push was too little, too late as Texas State took set one, 27-25.
Texas State opened the second set just a step ahead of UTA with a 10-7 lead. After a few unforced Maverick errors, the Bobcats extended their control of set two, 19-13. UT Arlington rallied to close the gap but it was too much to overcome as the Bobcats won set two, 25-19.
UTA was slow to start the third set as the Mavs quickly found themselves down 8-2. Strong serving from Cassidy Wheeler and Casey helped UT Arlington chip away at the Bobcat lead, 12-10. A kill from Koch brought the Mavericks within two before Casey recorded an ace, 18-17. UTA's season came to a close as Texas State took set three, 25-22.
UT Arlington ends the season as the Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Championship runner-up. The Mavericks say goodbye to seniors Megan Casey, Shelby Dickson and Charmaine Whitmore with the conclusion of the year.
