UTA vs NC State Box Score | UTA vs McNeese State Box Score

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OXFORD, Miss. - UT Arlington split a pair of matches on Saturday at the Ole Miss Invitational, but walked away on a high note closing out the weekend with a 3-1 win over McNeese State after falling to North Carolina State, 3-1, at The Pavilion.

Kaitlyn Granger was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 2.67 kills per set and putting together a pair of double-digit kill matches for the weekend.

UT Arlington will next travel to Abilene on Tuesday for a road match with Abilene Christian before trekking to the Gulf Coast next weekend for a tournament at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi that will see them square off with the host Islanders as well as two matches against UNLV.

Match 1: North Carolina State 3, UT Arlington 1
After dropping a closely-fought opening set, UTA evened things up at 1-1 with a Set 2 win but could not carry that momentum any further as North Carolina State picked up a 3-1 (25-20, 22-25, 25-15, 25-19) win in the Saturday opener.

UTA gave up a late 6-2 run in the opening set after having tied things at 19-19, but got six kills from Kaitlyn Granger in the second set to square the match at the break; however, the Mavs hit just -.042 in the final two sets against a Wolfpack squad that ended up getting 46 of its 58 kills from its top three hitters.

It was just the second all-time meeting between the Mavs and Wolfpack, with the last meeting being a 3-0 win for UTA all the way back in 1987.

PLAYERS OF THE MATCH
Cassidy Wheeler dished out 30 of UTA's 40 assists, while Kaitlyn Granger finished with a team-high 13 kills. Six of her kills came in the second set, the Mavs' lone set win of the match. Qiana Canete picked up just six kills, but turned in a team-high 18 digs.

KEY STATS
The Wolfpack managed to hit .225 or better in each of its three winning sets, while UTA hit no better than .059 in any of those sets.

Match 2: UT Arlington 3, McNeese State 1
The Mavs finished off the weekend on a high note with a 3-1 (25-12, 28-26, 25-20, 25-18) win over McNeese State in the tournament finale, getting eight blocks from Marisah Ingram and 13 kills from Canete to snap a four-match losing skid.

UTA rolled to a 25-12 win in Set 1, but despite leading by as much as three points late in Set 2, could not convert on any of its three set-point tries. The Cowgirls took advantage, forcing extra points and eventually stealing the set to square the match and keep UTA from a commanding 2-0 lead.

But UTA rebounded in Set 3, hitting .242 and using one of Claire Schwettmann's three kills to break a 19-19 deadlock and spark a 6-1 rally that finished on Canete's 10th kill of the night and give the Mavs a 2-1 advantage in the match.

UTA hit .308 in the final set and opened up a five-point lead midway through while getting three kills apiece from Canete and Granger in the set. The final of Ingram's four kills for the match pushed the lead to 21-16 late in a set that UTA never trailed after taking the lead early on at 3-2.

PLAYERS OF THE MATCH
Marisah Ingram set a new career high with eight blocks, while Canete finished with 13 kills and 18 digs for her fourth double-double of the season. Geathers picked up 10 kills and four blocks, and Cassidy Wheeler got her second double-double with 27 assists and 10 digs. Taylor Murata added 20 digs as well.

KEY STATS
The Mavs outblocked the Cowgirls 12.0-3.0 for the match, helping them hold McNeese State to just .117 hitting. UTA hit at a .219 clip itself, including better than .300 in both Sets 3 and 4.

QUOTABLES
Seymour on overall play of the weekend
"It was a frustrating weekend in a lot of ways. We were too inconsistent as far as where our intensity was, and even in the final match we didn't stay as intense as we should have. You can't win 25-12 and then keep the other sets so close."

Seymour on finishing the weekend on a high note
"We were definitely more who we are in that final match against McNeese State. We were tough to defend and a lot of offensive balance. They couldn't really stay with us when that happened. "

Seymour on finishing the weekend on a high note
"Marisah, Jessica and Zhanelle were big on the block for us. That really sets us up to get some positive touches and score some points at the net. It's a strength of ours that we have to be able to take advantage of."

Seymour on setter play
"Cassidy (Wheeler) obviously knows what to do at the right time and she really made some good plays defensively this weekend, especially in the last match. Claire (Schwettmann) is still adjusting to speed of the game, but it's obvious she has a great feel and instinct for it. She will get cleaner with her touches, but is still setting the right hitters at the right time and really provided us with a boost that last match with some of her attacks."