Final Stats

By Paul Watley | UTAMavs.com

SAN MARCOS, Texas - There was plenty to be thankful about for UT Arlington in its opening round matchup of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament as the Mavericks gobbled up Appalachian State in four sets (16-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-21) on Thursday afternoon.

"It's exactly what I predicted," UT Arlington coach Diane Seymour said. "Anytime you are in the spot of the four or five seed you are going to expect a dog fight in the conference tournament because we are the two closest seeds."

The win advances the Mavericks to the Sun Belt Conference Semifinals and improves their record to 25-8 this season while the Mountaineers season comes to an end with a 21-10 mark.

Leading the charge for the Mavericks was the duo of Stacey Koch and Taylor Gross. Koch registered 12 kills with a hitting percentage of .308 while Gross notched ten kills while hitting .320 with six blocks.

"Back in conference play when we went to their place, they beat us and so we definitely owed them this one and it was a great time for that to happen," Koch said.

UTA's defense had four players reach double-digit digs with Caitlyn Cooney and Qiana Canete leading the way with 21 digs each. Canete also got in on the act offensively as she recorded nine kills.

Amanda Welsh and Cassidy Wheeler split up the setting duties as the pair of players each recorded 18 assists in the match.

The Mavericks controlled the nets in the four-set win as they out blocked the Mountaineers 12-6 and out hit Appalachian State .164 to .136.

After jumping out to a 7-3 lead early on a kill by Gross, the Mavericks offense stalled as the Mountaineers went on a 6-2 run. UTA worked to regain control of the set as Cooney picked up a kill from a Koch set, but that was the final time the Mavericks would hold a lead in the set as five straight points gave Appalachian State control of the set and a 7-1 run closed out the set in favor of App State 25-16.

Gross led the Mavericks in the opening frame with three kills and a hitting percentage of .600. Canete make her mark defensively as the freshman OH registered six digs while Cooney notched four of her own. The Mavericks were also out hit in the first set .366 to .051.

The momentum seemed to be against UTA early in the second set as they trailed 4-1 after an attack error. However, the Mavs slowly chipped away at the Mountaineers lead and eight straight UTA points put the Mavericks on top 16-12. Appalachian State would get as close as one point at 16-15, but that was as close as it would get as UTA finished out the set with a 9-5 run to take the set 25-20.

Gross' strong play continued in the second set as she registered four kills with a hitting percentage of .800 to go along with three blocks. Koch also chipped in as the junior OPP notched three kills while hitting .750. The Mavericks shut down the Mountaineers offense in the second set, holding them to -.022 hitting while UTA registered a hitting percentage of .179.

After holding onto a one-point lead at 4-3, the Mavericks put together an 8-2 run capped off with a Hannah Baptiste kill to take a 12-6 lead. With the Mountaineers having cut UTA's lead down to two points at 19-17, the Mavs rattled off three straight points highlighted by a pair of kills from Koch and Briana Sharratt. App State then cut the lead down once again, getting within one point at 23-22 before UTA closed out the set with back to back blocks.

Sharratt stepped up in the third set as the Sun Belt All-Conference first team performer five kills and a hitting percentage of .625 to go along with two blocks. Koch kept swinging away as The Colony native registered four kills in the set. Canete kept things on lock down defensively as she notched eight digs in the set. UTA out blocked App State 3-1 and out hit the Mountaineers .302 to .227.

The Mavericks struggled out of the gate in the fourth set, falling behind by as many as nine points at 17-8. UTA then mounted a comeback for the ages as they went on a 9-1 run that was highlighted by a pair of Canete kills to biring the Mavs within one point at 18-17. Later in the set Appalachian State took a 20-19 lead, but the live was short-lived as UT Arlington closed out the set with a 5-1 run to take a 25-21 and claim the match 3-1.

The reward for the Mavericks' Thanksgiving Day victory is a matchup with the top-seeded UALR who holds the nation's longest current winning streak at 22 straight matches. The match is slated to begin at 4 p.m. with the winner advancing to the Sun Belt Championship Match.