Sept. 16, 2016
Photo Gallery | Day 2 Tickets
By Michael Eldridge | @DFWSportsMike
ARLINGTON, Texas - Marisah Ingram's career-high in kills helped UT Arlington split the opening day of the UTA Invitational at College Park Center on Friday.
The Mavericks (4-9) used Ingram's attack to overcome a 2-0 deficit in Match 1 to defeat Samford. In the day's finale in front of 1,035 fans (third most in CPC volleyball history), New Mexico was able to overcome a third-set setback to down UTA 3-1.
UTA returns to action on Saturday in the final day of the tournament with a pair of matches. First up is Houston Baptist at 12 p.m. and then the finale at 7 p.m. vs. UTEP.
Day 1 Quotables:
Head coach Diane Seymour
"We played two long matches. We were happy that we were able to come out on top after being down 0-2 this morning. Then, we had a hard-fought match tonight against a very good Mountain West New Mexico team that a lot of people didn't even give us a chance to beat. We were right there with them if we could have blocked the ball a bit better. That could have bounced into a fifth set that anybody could have won."
Kaitlyn Granger
"We started out sluggish and it was small things we needed to fix. We tweaked things like blocking, finding shots to hit and choosing the right hitter to give the ball to. Toward the third set, we felt like we gave a lot of energy and it turned out to be a win. We gave our hardest in the four-set loss."
Seymour on the record crowd
"The crowd tonight was fantastic. We always hate when we disappoint them like that, but the energy was great and they were right there with us in that fourth set. They were really excited for us and thought we were going to close the door, so I hope they come back."
Seymour on what the team needs to improve going into Saturday
"We have to block the ball better against outside hitters. We're going to play a good one tomorrow against HBU's outside in Bailey Banks. We have to try to slow down their top offensive producer. We just didn't do that tonight."
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Match 1: UT Arlington 3, Samford 2 (Final Stats)
After rallying to bring the game back to 2-1, late set heroics helped lead the charge and steal momentum away in the fourth. UTA tied the set at 20-20 and knocked down five of the final six points of the frame to send it to a deciding set. Despite remaining close early in the fifth, Samford could not handle the UTA attack as UTA hit a match-best .333.
PLAYERS OF THE MATCH
Three UTA hitters finished with double-digit performances on offense. Marisah Ingram led the way with a career-high 14 kills, while Zhanelle Geathers had 12 and Kaitlyn Granger finished with 11.
KEY STATS
After hitting just .061 and .091 in the first two sets, UTA's offense was able to come alive, including a .244 hitting percentage in the third and a .333 attack in the fifth and deciding set. ... The Mavericks improved to 2-2 in five-set matches, winning both at home thus far.
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Match 2: New Mexico 3, UT Arlington 1 (Final Stats)
The Mavericks shot out of the gates and held an 11-6 lead, its largest of the match, in the first. But it was New Mexico who stole momentum away and held off a third-set setback.
The Lobos used an effective attack with their size advantage and maintained an 10-8 lead in blocks. The Mavs converted at a .179 clip in the opening set but the Lobos would best it with a .375 hitting percentage in the first, and a .485 attack in the second on the way to a quick 2-0 lead.
UTA's offense found its rhythm in the third to avoid the sweep. Ingram reached double-digit kills once again and had a team-high 10 going to the fourth.
The Mavs fed off the crowd's energy and found themselves in a dogfight midway through the set. Down 18-17, UTA turned it around and knocked down four kills in a row, forcing back-to-back timeouts by New Mexico. The second timeout proved fruitful for the Lobos as it would come out to tie the set at 22. UTA pulled ahead late but was unable to put down two set points, allowing the Lobos to pull it out with the final two points.
PLAYERS OF THE MATCH
Ingram led the UTA attack for a second match in a row but was just one kill shy of tying her career high set in Match 1 as she had 13 kills. Canete picked up 20 digs to go along with 11 kills in earning her eight double-double of the season. Granger joined Zhanelle Geathers with 12 kills.
KEY STATS
New Mexico's offense proved efficient, hitting at a .346 attack percentage for the match, including knocking down 18-of-33 in the second for a match-high .485. ... UTA avoided the sweep by taking the third set, UTA has not been swept this season.
