ARLINGTON, Texas – The UT Arlington volleyball team (6-4) had its six-match winning streak snapped in the finale of the Maverick Invitational Saturday night at College Park Center as Sam Houston State (8-4) picked up a 3-0 victory in the Mavs' final non-conference game of the year.
 
Entering the match, UTA had dropped just two sets in the entire month of September (five matches), but the Mavericks couldn't get going against a seasoned Sam Houston State club. UTA hit just .142 – its 3rd-lowest of the season – while SHSU connected a .205 clip, the 2nd-highest the Mavs have allowed since their first two matches of the year.
 
Zhanelle Geathers led the Mavericks with match-high-tying 13 kills – her fourth double-figure performance of the season and one off matching her season high. UTA also out-blocked the Bearkats, 10-4, paced by six from Bre Walp.
 
However, UTA made six service errors, while SHSU had seven aces versus just one service error, leading to several easy points for the visitors.
 
Sam Houston State claimed each of the first two sets by identical 25-18 scores before staving off a late UTA charge in the third set and pulling out a 25-23 triumph to claim the Maverick Invitational crown with a 3-0 mark versus UTA's 2-1 showing.
 
HEAD COACH J.T. WENGER'S THOUGHTS
"There's some things we did well and some things we need to improve on; they exploited some items we'll certainly work on in practice this week to get ready for conference play. The descrepency in the service line feels a lot worse when considering we were already giving up some advantages in other aspects of the game.
 
SET-BY-SET RECAP
Set 1: The first set started off as a back-and-forth affair with neither team leading by more than two through the first 22 points. But with the Bearkats leading, 12-10, they rattled off three-straight points to take a 15-10 lead and prompt a UTA timeout. The Mavericks couldn't get any closer than four points the rest of the way as Sam Houston State took set one, 25-18. The major difference in the opening set came in hitting percentage as the Mavericks hit just .077 compared with .270 for Sam Houston State.
 
Set 2: The Mavericks got off to a much better beginning in the second set, and after Kylie Jedlicka finished off a long rally with a kill, the Bearkats called time with UTA leading, 9-7. However, out of that timeout Sam Houston State responded with an incredible 11-0 scoring run to take a commanding 18-9 lead. The Mavs put together a four-point run midway through the set, but the Bearkats proved to be too much and took the second set by the same exact score as the first, 25-18.
 
Set 3: With the set knotted at 12-12, Geathers helped put together her own personal 3-0 scoring run: first recording a block assist and then registering back-to-back kills to put the Mavs up 15-12. UTA was able to maintain that cushion, albeit briefly, before Sam Houston State tied the set back up at 17-17. The set remained tied at 23-all following a Madison Hill kill, but Sam Houston State claimed the final two points and the match.
 
MAVERICK INVITATIONAL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Madison Wallace (Sam Houston State)
Taylor Cunningham (Sam Houston State)
Ashley Lewis (Sam Houston State)
Zhanelle Geathers (UTA)
Madison Hill (UTA)
Kayla Matthews (Grand Canyon)
Teagan DaFalio (Grand Canyon)
Alexa Nichols (Belmont)
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
UTA and Sam Houston State renewed their lengthy rivalry which dates back to time as Southland Conference foes. However, despite the setback Saturday night, the Mavericks have a commanding lead in the matchups, 50-20.
 
FINAL NOTES
Maverick Invitational final standings: Sam Houston State (3-0), UTA (2-1), Grand Canyon (1-2), Belmont (0-3).
 
NEXT UP
UTA will still carry plenty of momentum into the start of Sun Belt Conference play next weekend when the Mavericks make the trip to the Bayou State. The Mavs will first be at Louisiana on Friday, Sept. 21, at 6:30 p.m. before concluding the road swing at ULM on Sunday, Sept. 23, at Noon.
 
TICKET INFORMATION
Volleyball tickets for the 2018 UTA season are officially on sale through UTATickets.com and at the UTA College Park Center Box Office! 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.