ARLINGTON, Texas – The UT Arlington volleyball team has their sights set on capturing the program's first Sun Belt title as they head to Atlanta, Ga., for the 2018 Sun Belt Championships (Nov. 15-18). UTA, the No. 5 seed in the Conference Tournament, will face No. 8 Troy in the first round on Nov. 15 (6:30 p.m. CT) with the winner moving on to the quarterfinals to face No. 4 Little Rock on Nov. 16 (6:30 p.m. CT).

#5 UTA vs. #8 TROY
2018 SUN BELT CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS | 1ST RD
Matchup: UTA (15-11, 9-7 SBC) vs. Troy (11-18, 5-11 SBC)
When: Thursday, Nov. 15 | 6:30 P.M. CT
Where: GSU Sports Arena | Atlanta, Ga.
Live Video | Live Stats | Complete Bracket | Championship Central

LAST TIME OUT | UTA VS. TEXAS STATE (NOV. 9)
The UTA volleyball team closed out its 2018 regular season schedule with a 3-0 (25-15, 25-21, 25-13) loss to Texas State on Friday night (Nov. 9) at College Park Center.

It was also Senior Day as student manager Courtney Wheeler, Zhanelle Geathers, Madison Helt, Alex Janak and Libbie Vickers were honored following the match.

Brooke Townsend and Madison Hill led the Mavs with eight kills each. Geathers finished with six kills and a block, while Janak recorded 13 assists, three digs and three kills. Kylee Kapp tallied 14 assists and four digs and Kylie Jedlicka added 15 digs and five kills on the night.

SUN BELT ALL-CONFERENCE RECOGNITION
Three UTA volleyball players earned conference recognition for helping lead the Mavericks to a 15-11 overall record (9-7 SBC) and the No. 5 seed in the upcoming Sun Belt Volleyball Championships (Nov. 15-18). Junior Madison Hill was selected to the All-Sun Belt First Team, while redshirt-senior Zhanelle Geathers and junior Kylie Jedlicka garnered All-Sun Belt Second Team selections, the league announced on Tuesday (Nov. 13).

Hill, a three-time Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week in 2018, led the Sun Belt in hitting percentage (.399), which also ranks her 13th in the country. The Rockwall, Texas native has also recorded a team-high 272 kills, 85 digs and 71 total blocks, to rank second-best on the team. In conference-only matches, the transfer from Marshall averaged 2.95 kills/set (183 total kills) to rank eighth in the league and also ranked second in the Sun Belt with a .415 hitting percentage.

Geathers, who also earned All-Sun Belt Second Team honors last season, has racked up 224 kills, 33 digs and 51 total blocks. In conference action, the Lindale, Texas native averaged 2.35 kills per set (129 total kills) with a .167 hitting percentage. In 26 matches this season, Geathers has recorded double digit kills on 11 occasions and has registered a block in 22 matches.

Jedlicka ranks second on the team with 245 kills (2.72 /set). She has also totaled 198 digs and 39 blocks this season. In conference matches, the League City, Texas native ranks ninth in the league in kills per set (2.93). She has landed double-digit kills in nine matches this season, including a career-high of 22 in a 3-2 win at Georgia Southern on Oct. 7. The junior outside hitter also has 10 games with double digit digs and has a trio of double-doubles on the season.

MAVS AMONG THE NATION'S BEST
Madison Hill and Alex Janak rank in the top 50 nationally in a couple of categories.

Madison Hill
Hitting Percentage – 13 (.399)

Alex Janak
Service Aces – 45th (40)
Aces Per Set – 47th (0.41)

UTA IN THE SUN BELT RANKINGS
The Mavericks lead the Sun Belt in digs per set (16.22/set), while also ranking third in the conference in opponents hitting percentage (.183).

Individually, Madison Hill and Alex Janak lead the Sun Belt in hitting percentage (.399), service aces (40), respectively. Madelyn St. Germain averages 4.51 digs per set to rank second in the league, while Janak owns a 5.54 assists per set average to rank 10th in the conference.

KEEP UP WITH THE SUN BELT CHAMPIONSHIP
All seven matches of the 2018 Sun Belt Volleyball Championship are set for live coverage on ESPN+. Follow the championship action via Twitter (@SunBelt) or live stats available on SunBeltSports.org.

2018 SUN BELT CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD
For the first time, Texas State enters the Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Championship with the No. 1 seed as the Bobcats captured the 2018 regular-season title outright.
 
The championship gets underway Thursday, Nov. 15, from GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, on the campus of Georgia State.
 
Texas State (24-6, 15-1 Sun Belt) secured the Sun Belt regular-season title and No. 1 seed outright on Nov. 3 to give the Bobcats their first conference regular-season championship since winning the Southland Conference Championship in 2011. The West Division champion has one Sun Belt Tournament title to its credit, capturing the 2013 championship as the No. 3 seed.
 
Appalachian State (21-7, 13-3), the East Division champion and No. 2 seed, rolls into the championship on an eight-match winning streak. The division title is the first for the Mountaineers since the Sun Belt went to a divisional format in 2016. Appalachian State's 13 conference victories are tied for the most Sun Belt wins since joining the league in 2014.
 
Coastal Carolina (12-12, 11-5) comes in as the No. 3 seed and the second-place team out of the East Division. The Chanticleers have won the Sun Belt Tournament title in their first two seasons in the conference – 2016 as the No. 2 seed and 2017 as the No. 1 seed. Coastal Carolina won six of its last seven matches to close the regular season.
 
Little Rock (18-11, 10-6) swept its final matches on the road to grab the No. 4 seed. The Trojans seek their first Sun Belt Championship title since taking the title as the top seed in 2014.
 
UTA (15-11, 9-7), by virtue of its regular-season sweep of Arkansas State (17-12, 9-7), earned the No. 5 seed over the Red Wolves. Arkansas State is the No. 6 seed. Rounding out the eight-team bracket is No. 7 seed South Alabama (13-16, 7-9) and No. 8 seed Troy (11-18, 5-11).

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | TROY
Troy volleyball's dynamic outside hitter Cheyenne Hayes was named to the All-Sun Belt Second Team, the league office announced Tuesday morning (Nov. 13). Hayes ranked second in the conference with 425 kills and a 3.76 kills per set average in 2018. She reeled off a streak of 19 straight matches with double-digit kills from August to October and added five more matches of the likes before the season concluded.
 
The sophomore was third in the league with 37 service aces on the season and set the conference's highest single-game ace total with seven in the season opener – one shy of a school record.
 
Nationally, Hayes ranks 33rd in kills, 28th in total attacks and 29th in points – her 478.5 points are the ninth most by any player in school history. She is Troy's first all-conference player since Blair Winston and Alexandra Alexander were named second teamers in 2012.

Eighth-seeded Troy (11-18, 5-11) is the championship field for the fifth time since 2012. The Jaguars reached the semifinals in back-to-back tournaments in 2012 and 2013.

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