ARLINGTON, Texas - UT Arlington stretched its winning streak to five matches in a row in topping Grand Canyon 3-1 on Friday night at College Park Center to open the Maverick Invitational. 

It was an offensive outburst that featured four Mavericks reaching double figures, led by a season-high 14 kills from senior Zhanelle Geathers. The win pushed the Mavericks (5-3) to their longest winning streak since 2016, while Grand Canyon fell to 7-4 - topping Belmont in a sweep earlier in the tournament. Madison Hill featured a match-high .478 attack percentage on the way to 12 kills, while Petra Manderson joined Kylie Jedlicka with 11 kills apiece. Manderson earned her first double-double of the year with 16 digs. Alex Janak earned her fourth with 25 assists and 11 digs. 

UTA continues action on Saturday when it closes nonconference action. The Mavs host Belmont at 1:30 p.m. and Sam Houston State at 6:30 p.m.

The Mavericks came out red hot to start with a quick run into a 6-0 lead in the opener, its best start of the season. Grand Canyon inched its way back into the set to bring it with two points to force a Maverick timeout. The break was just what the Mavs needed as a kill from Jedlicka was smashed through the middle. UTA closed out the set with a late run capped by a combination block by Hill and Michaela Wright to take it 25-22. 

Grand Canyon matched the intensity that UTA opened with to lead much of the second set. Geathers caught fire from each side of the attacking line without an answer by the Antelopes. Geathers powered down two in a row to tie the set at 20, while Manderson's ace pushed the Mavs into the lead for the first time in the set. Geathers took it from there, powering three of the final five points on the way to double digits in kills through two sets. Geathers knocked a set-high six in the second. 

The Antelopes wouldn't go quietly despite falling down by two late in the third set. A 6-0 run pushed GCU into the lead, holding off a late rally attempt to take the third 25-20. A pair of runs throughout the middle of the fourth set saw a swing of three consecutive points each way, with the Mavs coming out on top with a slick kill by setter Alex Janak to force a GCU timeout, giving UTA a 17-14 lead. Out of the break, Geathers put down another kill as the five-point swing sent the teams to another break. GCU tried to make a late rally after fighting off four match points, but a service error ended the fourth at 25-23. 

POSTGAME QUOTES
Head coach J.T. Wenger
Overall thoughts on the win...
"It was a tough match. We played pretty well statistically. We had a bunch of hitters hitting above their average's and that is a good thing to see. Grand Canyon had a good game plan and this was a battle."

On the performance of the offense...
"When you look through it, Madison Hill had another stellar night, Petra Manderson had a really good night. Kylie started off hot, Geathers had a big night and was there from start to finish and Michaela Wright had a big night and did a nice job. We had a lot of offense coming from a lot of different directions."

Madison Hill
On opening the tournament with a win...
"It was a big win for us. This is just our second tournament at home, we had a great opening tournament but we had a lot of energy with a lot of people here. It felt really good to get this win.:"

On lessons learned from dropping the fourth set after holding a lead... 
"We learned that we need to stay calm, keep talking to each other. We had a lot of miscommunication with balls dropping. We need to focus on staying together and staying positive and moving on to the next."

On the performance of those around her on offense... 
"It is always fun to get kills. Kills are one of my favorite things. It was a lot of fun to see them all hitting around me."

ON THE COURT LEADERS
Wright tallied a season high with nine kills, also swatting away two blocks... Bre Walp led the team with three assisted blocks. Madelyn St. Germain was just digs shy of her season high in digs with 21... Jedlicka led UTA with two aces.

QUICK NOTES
Grand Canyon won the opener 3-0 over Belmont, while Sam Houston State matched the score over the Bruins in the second match of the day... The Mavericks and Antelopes met for the first time... Geathers' 14 kills pushes her total to 968 as she's on pace to join the 1,000-kill club... UTA's .251 hitting percentage was a team season high.

Season Tickets On Sale Now
Volleyball tickets for the 2018 UTA season are officially on sale through UTATickets.com and at the UTA College Park Center Box Office! 
 
The Mavs will host 13 total home matches at the gorgeous College Park Center, including a pair of tournaments to open the home slate. UTA will welcome Air Force, Loyola Maryland, Binghamton, Grand Canyon, Belmont and Sam Houston State for tournaments before hosting seven Sun Belt Conference games. All student tickets are free for all athletic home events. Students are asked to scan their UTA Student ID. 
 
Season tickets are available for $50, while single-game tickets can be purchased for $6 and group tickets (10 or more) at $3. Season tickets will go on sale Monday, July 23 at 10 am at UTAtickets.com while single game tickets are expected to go on sale in early August. Fans can also get the Mav Mania All-Sports Pass, which is $99 and includes access to all home athletic sporting events! For more information visit UTAtickets.com or call the College Park Center Box Office from 9-5 on Monday-Friday at 817.272.9595.