Final Stats

By Paul Watley | UTAMavs.com

ATLANTA, Ga. - Behind a true team effort, UT Arlington rallied from a 2-0 deficit for an impressive 3-2 (21-25, 26-28, 25-22, 25-17, 15-9) comeback win at Georgia State on Friday night.

"This is the first time we have gone down 0-2 and stormed back and been able to gather ourselves and play good volleyball," UT Arlington coach Diane Seymour said. "I told the girls in the lockerroom that they need to see what went wrong and then learn from that for Sunday's match."

The win puts the Mavericks at 21-5 this season with an 11-3 mark in the Sun Belt while the Panthers fall to 7-15 overall with a 5-8 record in the conference. UTA also clinches their eighth win in a row which is the longest streak for the Mavs since 2010.

The Mavericks found themselves in a deep hole after dropping the first two sets, but UTA roared back to win the match in five as three players registered double-digit kills. The win marks the first time that the Mavericks have comeback from a 2-0 deficit since the 2007 season when UTA came back to defeat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi after dropping the first two sets.

Qiana Canete led the Mavs as the Copperas Cove native recorded a team high 16 kills in the match. Canete put together her 17th double-double effort of the season as she also put up 20 digs in the match.

Briana Sharratt and Taylor Gross also chipped in for UTA offensively as the duo recorded 13 and 11 kills respectively. Sharratt also made her presence known at the net as the sophomore MB recorded a team high six blocks on the night as the Mavs out blocked the Panthers 10-9.

"We need to have the mentality of needing to start off strong instead of having that lull in the beginning," Sharratt said. "It's great knowing that we are good enough as a team to comeback and that we can rely on each other and trust that we can comeback after getting down."

Caitlyn Cooney did her part defensively as the junior libero recorded a team high 25 digs in the match.

UTA out hit Georgia State .233 to .167 to go along with only 22 hitting errors for the Mavs compared to 33 for the Panthers.

After trailing 9-6 in the opening frame, the Mavericks responded with three straight points to tie the match at nine points. Later in the set with the two teams deadlocked at 14, Georgia State took control of the set with a 8-1 run that put them up 22-15. UTA did its best to make the comeback as they cut the Panthers lead to three points at 24-21, but it was too little too late as Georgia State closed out the set 25-21.

Gross led the charge in the first set as the senior OH recorded four kills while hitting .500. Canete chipped in defensively as she recorded a team high five digs in the set.

Looking to come out fast in the second set, UTA got out to a 5-2 lead highlighted by kill from Sharratt and Gross. Georgia State then cut the lead down to one point at 15-14 before UTA rattled off two straight points to go up 17-14. After a Gross kill put the Mavs up 24-22 with a chance to tie up the match, UTA failed to convert as the Panthers ended the set with a 6-2 run that gave them the set 28-26.

Sharratt stepped up in the second set as she notched four kills with a hitting percentage of .600 to go along with four blocks and three digs. Cooney did her part defensively as the Houston native recorded seven digs in the set.

Trailing 9-6 to start out the third set, UTA responded with five straight points to take an 11-9 lead. Later in the set with UTA trailing 13-12, the Mavs took control of the set with a 7-1 run that was capped off with a Sharratt kill. The Panthers made it close late as they tied up the set at 21, but UTA held onto the lead as they ended the set with a 4-1 run to take the second frame 25-22.

Canete put up five kills in the third set to help guide the Mavericks to victory. Directing the UTA offense was the duo of Amanda Welsh and Cassidy Wheeler who each registered four assists in the set.

UTA jumped out to another fast start in the fourth frame as they took an 11-4 lead thanks to a Canete kill. After the Panthers put together a comeback attempt cutting the lead to four points at 14-10, the Mavericks dashed any comeback efforts with five straight points which were capped off with a Canete kill that put UTA up 19-10. Georgia State cut the lead down to seven points at 24-17 before UTA closed out the set 25-17.

Canete led the way once again in the fourth set as she notched five kills and four digs. Welsh helped direct the offensive attack as she recorded a team high ten assists. Cooney kept the ball alive for the Mavericks as she notched eight digs in the set.

The momentum from the third and fourth sets carried into the final set for the Mavericks as they jumped out to an 11-4 lead thanks to an Ashley Bennett kill. Georgia State would get as close as six points at 14-8, but UTA completed the comeback effort, taking the fifth set 15-9.

Canete and Sharratt split the majority of the offensive load in the final frame as the two players recorded three kills apiece. Welsh had six assists to go along with one kill in helping clinch the Mavericks victory. UTA outhit the Panthers .450 to .130 in the final set, recording only one hitting error compared to five for Georgia State.

The Mavericks will complete the weekend road trip on Sunday when they take on Appalachian State at 11 a.m. on Nov. 2.