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ARLINGTON, Texas -- Zhanelle Geathers recorded her second straight double-double and set a new career high with 23 kills to lead UTA volleyball to a five-set win (16-25, 25-23, 16-25, 25-20, 15-11) over Houston to claim the title of the UTA Invitational Tournament, on Saturday night at College Park Center.

UTA (3-0) cruised through the UTA Invitational Tournament under first-year coach J.T. Wenger, earning three-set sweeps vs. Southern and McNeese and the five-set thriller vs. Houston. Wenger has led the Mavs to its first 3-0 start since 2013, with UTA earning its second straight victory over Houston (1-2).

LEADING THE MAVS
A native of Lindale, Texas, Geathers starred during the weekend to help the Mavs to the three wins.

"Z did a great job today," Wenger said. "Playing high and not dragging the ball down, which is something we've been talking about and she is showing that. That is what we ask of our athletes and she's improved. Her passing was fantastic, especially in the fifth, taking a big chunk of court. Doing a nice job of holding up the service game. It was a great effort."

The 6-foot-3 preseason All-Sun Belt Conference selection totaled 23 kills, a .340 attacking percentage, with 11 digs. It marked her second straight, and second career double-double. In three games, Geathers has 40 kills, 4.00 kills per set, 2.9 digs per set and .50 blocks per set, hitting at a .280 clip.

"It is crazy going from a middle to the right side and now going back," Geathers said. "I was hoping for it but I wasn't expecting it and then J.T. gave me the offer, I was ready. I always thought I could play back row, but when the time came it worked out."

UTA also got a double-double from Qiana Canete, who collected 12 kills, three assists and 16 digs. Freshman setter Kailyn Gilbreath set a new career high with 43 assists, adding five kills in 10 swings and eight digs, while sophomore setter Haley Higgins finished with eight assists. Sophomores Kylie Jedlicka and Madison McConnell provided big swings throughout, with Jedlicka setting a career high with a match-high 18 digs, adding eight kills. McConnell finished with 12 kills - on 19 swings - adding four digs and three blocks. Sophomore UTA libero Madelyn St. Germain charted a kill, two assists, two service aces and 16 digs.

NEXT
UTA returns to action on Friday, traveling to face host Belmont in the Bruins Invitational Tournament in Nashville, Tenn. The Mavs will face the Bruins at 11:30 a.m. CT on Friday and then face Middle Tennessee State at 3 p.m.

FIRST GAME
Houston opened up strong with a 4-0 run to start the match before UTA got on the board with a kill from Madison McConnell. That sparked a 4-2 run for the Mavs to get within two but Houston answered with an 8- 0 run that built its lead to 15-4. UTA then went on a 7-2 run to cut the Houston lead to 17-11 but the Cougars scored three straight to build a nine-point advantage. After UTA notched two straight points, Houston answered with a trio of its own. UTA then got kills from Kylie Jedlicka and Zhanelle Geathers and a service ace from Haley Higgins to force a UH timeout, trailing 23-16. UH finished off the set with the next two points for a 25-16 win.

SECOND GAME
The teams alternated points to take the set to 5-5, before Houston built a lead with a 3-0 run. UTA stopped the run with a kill from Canete, cutting the lead to 8-6, with an attack error on UH cutting it to 8-7. After dropping a point, UTA went on a 4-0 run and a 7-1 run overall to take a 13-11 lead. Houston answered to force a UTA timeout with the Cougs leading 14-13. The Mavs finished off the set with a 12-2 run to rally from behind, including a 5-0 run to take a 23-21 lead. The teams traded points to get to UTA to a 24-23 lead, before Kailyn Gilbreath snuck a kill over the net for the 25-23 win.

THIRD GAME
After UTA opened the set with the first two points, Houston took a 3-2 lead with three unanswered. UTA's 3-0 run gave the Mavs a 5-3 lead and after Houston's evened it with back-to-back points, Geathers hammered home a kill for a 6-5 lead. The teams then traded points before UTA stretched its lead to 10-6 and forced a Houston timeout following a Jedlicka kill. The Mavs and the Cougs traded points to reach 13-10, before UTA closed out the set with a 12-4 run, finished by a Geathers kill.

FOURTH GAME
The fourth set saw each team score to open, before Houston went on a 2-0 run for a 3-1 lead. The teams then traded points with UTA trailing 15-16 as the Mavs couldn't put together a run on consecutive points with UH getting three of 2-0 runs to build its lead. After a 3-0 run by UH the Mavs called timeout, trailing 18-15. Houston took the lead to 20-16 before the Mavs cut the lead to three. A 4-0 UTA run saw the Houston lead narrowed to 20-19 but the Cougs went on a 5-1 run to close out the match.

FIFTH GAME
After UTA started the scoring, Houston answered with a pair of 2-0 runs to take a 4-2 lead. The teams traded points before UTA went on a crucial 5-0 run to take an 8-5 lead. Following a UH timeout, Brianna Lynch cut the UTA lead to 8-6 with a kill but UTA got it back after a service error. Leading 9-6, UTA closed out the final stanza on a 6-4 run to clinch the 15-11 win.

UTA INVITE STANDINGS
UTA (3-0, 9-2 sets)
McNeese (2-1, 6-5 sets)
Houston (1-2, 7-6 sets)
Southern (0-3, 0-9 sets)

All-Tournament Team
Vaterra Calais, S, Jr. (Southern)
Brianna Lynch, OH, Sr. (Houston)
Keegan Nelms, OH, So. (McNeese)
Jenny D'Alessandro, MB, Sr. (McNeese)
Qiana Canete, OH, Sr. (UTA)
Zhanelle Geathers, MB, R-Jr. (UTA)
Madison McConnell, OH/MB, So. (UTA)

FOLLOW THE MAVS SOCIALLY
For up-to-date news, photos, videos and updates you can follow UTA sports program online at UTAMavs.com or via any of several social media accounts on twitter @UTAMavs, Instagram @UTAMavs, Snapchat @UTAMavs and Facebook at UTArlingtonAthletics. Follow @UTAVolleyball on twitter and at UTAVolleyball on Facebook.