Sept. 16, 2014
Final Stats
SAN MARCOS, Texas - UT Arlington dropped a 3-2 (18-25, 25-22, 17-25, 25-14, 19-17) heartbreaker to Texas State on Tuesday night. After taking two of the first three sets, the Mavericks dropped the final two frames in the Bobcat victory. UTA relied on a strong performance at the net as it notched 16 blocks compared to just five for Texas State.
"Whenever you get into a fifth set with someone on their home court it's tough to win," UT Arlington coach Diane Seymour said. "I think that the home court came through for Texas State tonight."
The Mavericks fall to 10-3 on the year as they drop their first conference match of the season while the Bobcats improve to 6-7 overall with a 1-0 record in Sun Belt play.
Freshman Qiana Canete led UT Arlington as she ended the match with a double-double for the seventh time in a row. The OH came away with 14 kills and 18 digs on the night. Hannah Baptiste also chipped in as she put up 13 kills on the night. Amanda Welsh directed the Maverick offense as she recorded a double-double with 23 assists and 11 digs in the five-set loss.
"We fought hard and just kept fighting," Welsh said. "We do have some new people on the court and are still working things out, but to see that fight out of the whole team is great."
The first lead of the opening set for UTA came when a kill by Canete put the Mavs up 15-14. After a kill by Texas State cut UTA's lead down to one point at 17-16, the Mavericks responded with a 8-2 run that was capped off with a Baptiste kill from a Welsh set to end the set.
Baptiste and Briana Sharratt paced the Mavs through the first set as they each recorded four kills. Welsh and Cassidy Wheeler did their part to help the offense, recording six and five assists respectively.
After storming out to a 7-2 lead in the second set, Texas State closed the gap and took its first lead of the match when an attack error by Welsh put the Bobcats up 18-17. Texas State then closed out the set by scoring back to back points to take the second frame 25-22.
Canete led UTA in the second set as she recorded five kills and a hitting percentage of .400. The Mavs went from hitting .294 in the first set to just .102 in the second set loss.
Trailing 6-5 in the third set, UTA answered back with a 5-1 run to take the lead at 10-7 thanks to a Stacey Koch kill. The Mavs closed out the set on a 9-4 run when a block by Ashley Bennett and Canete put UTA up 2-1 in the match.
Canete continued her strong play in the third set as she put up a match-high six kills.
Looking to keep the match going, Texas State jumped out to an 8-3 lead early in the fourth set. After a kill by Baptiste pulled the Mavericks within three points at 10-7, the Bobcats responded by scoring six straight points. UTA attempted to close the gap late as they went on a 5-2 run to make it 20-13, but it was too little too late as Texas State ended the set on a 5-2 run of its own.
Gross and Baptiste led the charge in the fourth set as they recorded three and two kills respectively. Welsh helped lead the offensive attack for UTA as she notched five assists in the set.
The Mavericks came out of the gate fast in the fifth set, taking a 7-3 lead after a Bennett and Gross block. However, Texas State came storming back with a 6-1 run that put the Bobcats up 9-8. From that point on neither team would have a lead of more than two points. While the Mavericks had three chances to end the match in the final set, they failed to convert those opportunities as the Bobcats took the final set 19-17.
Gross was dominant defensively in the final set for UTA, recording four blocks. Baptiste also did her part as she recorded two kills in the final frame.
The Mavericks were out hit .162 to .147 while the Bobcats committed 35 attack errors compared to 25 for UTA.
The Mavericks will return to action this Friday night when they take on Troy at College Park Center with the match set to begin at 6:30 p.m.
