Oct. 14, 2015
UT Arlington vs. Texas State
Oct. 15 | 6:30 p.m. CT
Live Stats | Live Stream ($) UTA Notes | Texas State Notes
Match Day Page | Donate to Side-Out Foundation
By Paul Watley | @PRWatley
ARLINGTON, Texas - UT Arlington will return to College Park Center this Thursday as it plays host to Texas State in the Mavericks' annual Dig Pink match presented by Ben Hogan Sports Medicine.
The Mavericks enter Thursday's match having won seven straight at College Park Center. UTA holds a 42-32 advantage in the all-time series against Texas State with the Mavs having won the past two matches against the Bobcats in Arlington.
Chris Rudiger: fighter, survivor, winner
UT Arlington volleyball alumna Chris Rudiger was raised in a competitive family. Her grandparents never let the kids just win. They first needed to learn how.
That's the goal for any athlete - to win. It's embedded into their minds at a young age and anything less is never accepted. Rudiger learned early in life how to be victorious despite the opponent, and was never fazed when she encountered one notorious for fighting back - cancer.
"For me, the only option was, I'm going to beat it because I'm not going to let anything beat me," Rudiger said. "It's also taught me that I am human and there are days that I can't be a superhero, but I still maintain the attitude that this is not going to stop me from living my life." Read More
Last outing for the Mavericks
UT Arlington dropped a 3-0 match at Appalachian State on Saturday evening at the George M. Holmes Convocation Center, 25-12, 25-13, 25-8.
The loss drops the Mavericks to 13-7 overall and 4-4 in Sun Belt play this season. The Mountaineers improve to 14-4 this season, while keeping their conference record perfect at 7-0.
App State out-blocked, out-hit and out-dug UTA in the match. The Mavs were also held to season lows by the Mountaineers in kills, hitting percentage and blocks.
About the Bobcats
Texas State enters Thursday's match with an 11-9 overall mark, while also holding the third best record in the Sun Belt at 6-1. The Bobcats have rattled off three straight conference wins over Little Rock, Georgia Southern and UTA. The last outing for Texas State came on Oct. 9 where the Bobcats fell in straight sets on the road against Baylor.
In Texas State's five-set victory over UTA earlier this season, Jordan Kohl and Kelsey Weynand led the way, combining for 46 of the Bobcats 78 kills. Erin Hoppe did her part to direct the offense as she dished out a match-high 62 assists.
Sun Belt Standings
UTA currently holds a 4-4 mark in conference play which currently puts the team at fifth in the conference standings. Arkansas State and Appalachian State sit atop the Sun Belt standings with 8-0 and 7-0 records respectively. Texas State sits in third with a 6-1 mark and South Alabama currently holds fourth with a 4-3 record. The Mavs 4-4 record is tied for fifth with Troy and defending Sun Belt champion Little Rock.
How to Watch the Match
Tickets are available for purchase at UTATickets.com or by calling 817-272-9595.
This weekend's matches will be available for stream on UTAMavs.com with Josh Sours and Amanda Kent on the call. Live stats for all UTA matches can be found at UTAStats.com.
Promotions
Thursday's match against Texas State will serve as the Mavericks Dig Pink Match presented by Ben Hogan Sports Medicine. The first 250 fans to the match will receive pink shirts. Fans who donate a minimum of $20 at the match to The Side-Out Foundation can also receive a pink shirt.
The UTA volleyball team has partnered with The Side-Out Foundation to raise money to help make a significant and identifiable difference in the lives of breast cancer patients and their families. The partnership between the Mavericks and the Side-Out Foundation enters its eighth year with UTA having hosted a Dig Pink match since 2006. The program surpassed its 2014 goal of raising $3,000 when it brought in $5,191.22 in the month of October for the Side-Out Foundation.
Home Sweet Home
UTA holds an impressive 8-1 record at College Park Center this season, including the 30th longest home win streak at seven matches. A big reason for the success of the Mavericks at home is due to the support of the crowd. Through nine home matches this season, UTA is averaging 686 fans per home match, the 81st best mark in the NCAA and the second best in the Sun Belt. Through nine home matches in 2014, the Mavs averaged 469 fans.
Quotable
"That was unbelievable. You could feel that was by far the biggest crowd that we had. The Baylor crowd earlier in the year was pretty large too, but not on the same scale as what that night was like. A lot of it was that there was a lot of the student body here and a lot of people in pink. It was one of the best crowds, no doubt, and obviously the best attendance-wise in College Park Center that we've had. The energy was just unbelievable." -UT Arlington coach Diane Seymour on the atmosphere at the 2014 Dig Pink match against Texas State
"My mom's mom passed away from breast cancer when she was 19 years old and that's just really hard because I'm 19 and I can't imagine losing my mom. It's very important to find a cure so people don't have to deal with having their mom pass away at such a young age." -Cassidy Wheeler on the importance of having a Dig Pink match
"It's very important. I have multiple family members who have gone through it just in this year alone. It's good to have events like this and raise money to support people who are in this situation." -Zhanelle Geathers on the importance of having a Dig Pink match
