Feature: Freshman duo impresses in first season (Oct. 28, 2015)

By Ben Rikard | UTAMavs.com

ARLINGTON, Texas - The UT Arlington sports year was filled with upsets, championships, buzzer-beaters and memorable performances that will go down in Maverick history.

Leading up to the 2016-17 seasons beginning with UTA volleyball in August, UTA Athletics is making sure we do not forget the accomplishments of the past season. Running from June through August, we will be counting down the top-15 moments and performances with "Best of 2015-16" features.

Moment No. 12: Volleyball's freshman duo sets standard at the net
The next moment on the countdown encompasses an entire season as the volleyball duo of Zhanelle Geathers and Marisah Ingram turned in one of the best seasons at the net of any freshmen in UTA history.

Geathers and Ingram teamed up to become a dominant force in 2015, combining for 205 blocks between them. The East Texas pair's - Geathers from Lindale and Ingram from Carthage - block total was the second most by any pair of Maverick freshmen in program history.

Only the 1983 duo of Kim Draper and Katie Weismiller, who teamed up for 256 in their opening season, finished with more than Geathers and Ingram.

Overall, the pair was the third-best blocking duo in the Sun Belt with Ingram finishing fourth in the league with 1.09 blocks per set and Geathers right behind her, ranking sixth with 1.02 per set. At the national level, only UTEP's Kyle Baumgartner and Maddie Morgan's 225 blocks were more among freshmen pairs.

Their totals also moved them into the single-season top 10 among fresmen at UTA with Ingram's 108 rejections tying Christy Driscoll's 2008 freshman mark for third, and Geathers' 97 denials placing her eighth on that same list.

Led by the freshman pair, UTA finished second in the SBC with 2.38 blocks per set in 2015 and will have one of the top defensive fronts in the league entering into the 2016 season.

Best of 2015-16 Schedule
No. 1 -- August 4
No. 2 -- August 1
No. 3 -- July 28
No. 4 -- July 25
No. 5 -- July 21
No. 6 -- July 18
No. 7 -- July 14
No. 8 -- July 11
No. 9 -- July 7
No. 10 -- July 5
No. 11 -- June 30
No. 12 -- Freshman volleyball duo sets standard at the net
No. 13 -- Baseball erases 10-run deficit at Georgia State
No. 14 -- Lady Mavs crush rivals on the road
No. 15 -- Guanlao shoots up leaderboard on SBC final day