Sept. 21, 2013
By Taylor Wright | UTAMavs.com
Appalachian State, 3 - UTA, 1 
UTA, 3 - East Carolina, 1
BOONE, North Carolina - UT Arlington split matches on its final day at the Black and Gold Challenge with a loss to Appalachian State and a victory over East Carolina on Saturday.
"Overall, I'm happy with our performance this weekend," UT Arlington coach Diane Seymour said. "Dropping the match to Appalachian State was tough but we responded well against East Carolina. I think we have played a good pre-conference schedule and that we are right where we should be for Sun Belt play."
The Mavericks (7-6) fell to tournament host Appalachian State, 3-1 (21-25, 25-15, 20-25, 20-25) before defeating East Carolina, 3-1 (25-23, 25-17, 20-25, 25-20) to close out their time in Boone, North Carolina. Seniors Shelby Dickson (outside hitter) and Charmaine Whitmore (middle blocker) were both named to the Black and Gold Challenge All-Tournament Team.
In the loss to the Mountaineers of ASU, Whitmore led the attack for UTA with 13 kills and a .320 attack percentage. Junior outside hitter Taylor Gross followed closely behind with 10 kills of her own and a .286 attack percentage, both good for second on the team. Whitmore also notched eight total blocks in the match, two solo and six assisted.
Junior setter Amanda Welsh had a team-high 27 assists in the loss and combined with 10 digs for her first double-double performance of the season. Senior defensive specialist Megan Casey tallied 19 digs to lead the defensive effort for the Mavs.
Dickson picked up her second double-double of the season (19 kills and 14 digs) in the victory over the Pirates of ECU. Her kill total led the offense for the Mavericks and her defensive play was just one dig shy of tying sophomore defensive specialist Caitlyn Cooney for the team-high of 15.
Once again, Welsh controlled the offense with 25 assists but was followed closely by freshman setter Cassidy Wheeler's 20. Whitmore led the defense at the net with six total blocks in the match, one solo and five assisted. Casey recorded two of the team's four aces against the Pirates.
The Mavericks return home to open Sun Belt play for the first time since joining the conference in July of 2013. UT Arlington will host Louisiana-Monroe on Friday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. before taking on Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. Both matches will be held at College Park Center and live stats and video streaming can be found by clicking here.
