By Paul Watley | UTAMavs.com

ARLINGTON, Texas - Coming off of an impressive sweep over North Texas on Wednesday, UT Arlington will take to the road for the first time this season as it competes in the Pioneer Invitational.

After weathering a rocky start to the match, the Mavericks erased a seven-point deficit in the opening frame and never looked back as they won in straight sets over the Mean Green. Sparking the UTA offensive output was sophomore outside hitter Qiana Canete, who notched 16 kills and 11 digs en route to her second double-double of the season.

The Pioneer Invitational will feature Air Force and Villanova in addition to host school Denver. The Mavericks will square off with the Pioneers for the fifth time in program history, while they meet the Falcons and the Wildcats for the first time. The last meeting between UTA and Denver came in 2014 when the Pioneers came out on top in a five-set thriller at College Park Center.

"Denver is obviously pesky," UT Arlington coach Diane Seymour said. "We've played each other for the last four years, just randomly being in the WAC together and then running into each other in a tournament at App State and then they came here last year and now we're heading out there. For me, we've developed a kind of rivalry and I have the utmost respect for Jesse Mahoney and his squad because they are so well trained."

The Mavericks match on Friday is set to begin at 8:00 p.m. CT against Denver, with Saturday's games being played at 11:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Game Notes

- The 2014 season saw the program's best winning percentage since 2004 and the most wins since 2006.

- UT Arlington relied on a dominating performance at the net in a sweep over North Texas on Wednesday. The Mavs out-blocked the Mean Grean 10.5-4, while also registering 57 digs to UNT's 51.

- Caitlyn Cooney continued to climb her way up the all-time charts in career digs in the Mavs match against North Texas on Wednesday. The Houston native registered 19 digs, which moves her past Dani Johnson's 1,446 career digs. Cooney now is now eight digs short of moving into eighth place in career digs by a Maverick player.

- Cassidy Wheeler also chipped her way into UTA history as she moved into 10th place for career assists. The junior setter currently has 1,211 assists, just ahead of Dawn Foley who recorded 1,099 assists for the Mavericks. Wheeler now sits 353 assists short of Heidi Christensen's 1,564 assists, which currently is 9th all-time.

- Stacey Koch was named the Sun Belt Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week for her performance over opening weekend. The senior opposite hitter led UTA with 40 kills over three matches, while also registering a .562 hitting percentage.

- Seymour is two wins short of moving into third in career wins for a Maverick coach and 24 shy of moving into second, while also being 25 games away from her 200th career victory.