ARLINGTON, Texas. – Making their first appearance in a postseason tournament in 17 years, the UT Arlington volleyball team (18-13) will host UTSA on Thursday, Dec. 5 to open the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC). The winner of the match will advance to play the winner of Sam Houston State and Houston on Friday.

MATCHUP: UTA (18-13) vs UTSA (16-13)
WHEN: Thursday, December 5 | 7 p.m. (CT)
WHERE: Arlington, Texas | College Park Center
WATCH LIVE | LIVE STATS | BRACKET (PDF)
 
TICKET INFORMATION
Game Tickets can be purchased at the ticket gate on game day for $6/day.
 
POSTSEASON NIVC TOURNAMENT OVERVIEW
The National Invitational Volleyball Championship will be an annual tournament involving 32 to 40 of the nation's top women's Division I Volleyball teams. All games, including the semifinals and championship, are hosted by participating schools. Every round is single elimination.

UTA NOTES
• The Mavericks made a run in the SBC Conference Tournament, defeating the #6 seed Appalachian State 3-1 and the #3 seed South Alabama 3-2, before falling the #2 seed Coastal Carolina 3-1.
• Sophomore middle blocker Bre Walp found her stride during the conference tournament as she was named to the All-Tournament team.  The Portland, Texas native hit .465 with 32 kills in the tournament.
• The 18 wins this season are the most for the Mavericks since Head Coach JT Wenger took over in 2017.  He has increased his win total each season that he has been at the helm.
• The Mavericks finished the season with 1,547 team kills, the most in the Sun Belt Conference. Madelyn St. Germain led the SBC in digs per set (4.94) and total digs (563), while Bre Walp led the conference in total blocks (120).

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | UTSA
• The Roadrunners rank 12^th in the NCAA in service aces per set (1.77) and 26^th in total service aces (191).  Emily Ramirez leads way with 51 service aces, good for 20^th in the NCAA.
• UTSA is 16-13 on the season and advanced to the Conference USA semifinals as the #6 seed, defeating #3 seed North Texas.  The Roadrunners fell to 21^st-ranked Rice 3-1 in the semifinal match.
• UTSA and UT Arlington have met 34 times, with the Mavericks holding a 27-17 advantage. The Roadrunners registered a 3-1 triumph Sept. 13, 2013, the last time the two sides met. They own a five-match winning streak, including sweeps each of the last two times the teams battled in Arlington.
• Hannah Lopez (276), Brianna McCulloch (256) and Kirby Smith (247) spearhead the UTSA attack, each registering over 245 kills on the season.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | SAM HOUSTON STATE
• The Bearkats rank 6^th in the NCAA in total kills (1,717) and attacks (4,838) and 9^th in the NCAA in assists (1,572).
• Ashley Lewis is 9^th in the nation in total attacks (1,436), while Addison Miller is 11^th in the nation in total digs (633).
• Sam Houston earned the #2 seed in the Southland Conference Tournament, advancing to the final before falling to Stephen F. Austin 3-1.
• The Mavericks own a 39-17 series history against the Bearkats dating back to 1979. Sam Houston took last season's match 3-0 in the CPC. The two teams are 5-5 over the past 10 matches.
 
KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | HOUSTON
• Houston ranks in the top 20 in the NCAA in four different categories: total attacks (5,078; 2^nd), digs (2,093; 13^th), total kills (1,629; 18^th) and total blocks (300; 18^th).
• Two Cougars rank in the top five in the NCAA in different categories. Rachel Tullos is 2^nd in the nation in blocks (179), while Katie Karbo is 5^th in the nation in digs (696).
• Molly Grumbo has an OPS of .957.  She is batting .341 with 61 hits, 13 doubles and 7 home runs.
• The Cougars own the all-time record 21-16 against the Mavericks, but UTA has won three straight including a 3-2 win in Houston earlier this season.  In that match, the Mavericks overcame a 2-0 deficit to win in five set.

LAST TIME OUT | @UTAMavsVB Falls In Sun Belt Semis To No. 2 Coastal Carolina
Playing in the Sun Belt Tournament semifinals for the third time in the program's seven seasons in the league, UTA dropped a hard-fought match to No. 2 Coastal Carolina 3-1 (24-26, 23-25, 25-23, 19-25) at Texas State's Strahan Arena on Saturday night.
 
"Our team should be really proud of the effort the put forth," said head coach J.T. Wenger. "We beat two really good teams to get here and we pushed Coastal to the brink. We're playing some really good volleyball right now and our team should be really proud of themselves.
 
Madison Hill and Brooke Townsend led UTA with 12 kills each. The 2019 Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year Madelyn St. Germain finished with 25 digs and a pair of service aces. Bre Walp added 9 kills, 3 blocks and a couple digs, while Kylie Jedlicka chipped in with 6 kills and 8 digs. Jessica Stancliff and Kylee Kapp recorded 27 assists and 15 assists, respectively.
 
Coastal Carolina outhit the Mavs .317-.227 and won the blocks battle 22-11.

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