ARLINGTON – Head Coach J.T. Wenger and the UTA volleyball team (3-0) will host Arkansas State in the 2020 home opener this weekend at College Park Center. On Friday, the Mavs and Red Wolves will battle twice (11:00 a.m., 6:00 p.m.), before facing off in the series finale on Saturday afternoon (1:00 p.m.).

GM1 | UTA (3-0, 3-0 SBC) vs. ARKANSAS STATE (4-1, 4-1 SBC)
When: Friday, Oct. 16 | 11:00 A.M.
Where: Arlington, Texas | College Park Center
Live Stats | ESPN+

GM2 | UTA (3-0, 3-0 SBC) vs. ARKANSAS STATE (4-1, 4-1 SBC)
When: Friday, Oct. 16 | 6:00 P.M.
Where: Arlington, Texas | College Park Center
Live Stats | ESPN+

GM3 | UTA (3-0, 3-0 SBC) vs. ARKANSAS STATE (4-1, 4-1 SBC)
When: Saturday, Oct. 17 | 1:00 P.M.
Where: Arlington, Texas | College Park Center
Live Stats | ESPN+

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | ARKANSAS STATE
- Entering the 2020 season, Arkansas State has the 20th most wins in Division I history.
- A-State has won the last two meetings between the teams (both victories occurring in 2019).
- A-State ranks second in the Sun Belt Conference in opponent hitting percentage (.093) and is first in blocks per set (2.89).
- Arkansas State has held all its opponents to a hitting percentage of .200 or less in all five matches, including three sub-.100 marks. Dating back to last season, A-State has held its foes to under .200 in eight of the last nine matches.
- Josie Stanford's 28 kills on Oct. 3 vs. Little Rock was the most in a match by a Sun Belt Conference player this season and the highest total for an A-State player since 2018. It also is tied for the most by a player in a match in the NCAA and is the most for a four-set match this season (as of Oct. 11).
- A-State is 41-1 since the 2017 season when taking the first two sets - 2-0 in 2020.

UTA NOTES
- UTA has posted a 71-50 record in SBC play since joining the league in 2013.
- The Mavericks have won 10+ SBC matches in four of their seven seasons in the league.
- UTA finished the 2019 season with 20 wins for the first time since finishing with 25 wins in 2015.
- The Mavs also finished 8-8 in Sun Belt play and earned the No. 7 seed in the 2019 Sun Belt Conference Championships.
- UTA picked up upsets over No. 6 App State (3-1) and No. 3 South Alabama (3-2), before falling to No. 2 Coastal Carolina (3-1) in the semifinals of the SBC Tournament.
- After falling in the SBC semifinals, UTA earned a postseason berth to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC), advancing to the quarterfinals before falling to eventual tournament runner-up South Dakota.
- In SBC matches last season, the Mavericks finished ranked second in the Sun Belt in digs per set (16.18) and ranked in the top-5 in five other categories (hitting percentage, opponent hitting percentage, assists, kills and blocks).
- UTA's key losses from the 2019 season are 2019 SBC First Team All-Conference selection Madison Hill (graduation), 2019 SBC Defensive Player of the Year Madelyn St. Germain (transfer – Alabama), Bre Walp (transfer – North Florida), Petra Manderson (graduation) and Kylie Jedlicka (graduation).
- The Mavs return 10 players from last year.

UTA ATHLETICS LAUNCHES UTA BEATS CANCER CAMPAIGN
With October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, UT Arlington Athletics has announced that the department's UTA Beats Cancer initiative is back to raise funds and awareness for the cause. The campaign will kick off on October 30 for UTA volleyball's home match against Texas State.

The UTA Beats Cancer initiative is a year-round effort which begins in the fall with volleyball and concludes in the spring with the baseball and softball teams. All UTA athletic teams to join the UTA Beats Cancer campaign and each team will have their own fundraising efforts and their own cancer awareness initiative.

UTA Athletics will be fundraising throughout the season and during the designated home events, with proceeds benefiting local cancer patient and outreach platforms in Arlington through the Moncrief Cancer Institute. The fundraising goal for the 2020-21 academic year is $10,000, and fans can join the cause by easily donating online (https://www.moncrief.com/uta).

BEST START
With UTA's series sweep of Little Rock last weekend, the Mavs opened SBC play 3-0 for just the third time in program history (2013, 2016) and the first time under head coach J.T. Wenger.

WEEKLY AWARDS
After the first two series of the season were postponed and rescheduled due to positive COVID-19 cases, the UT Arlington volleyball team competed last weekend and finally had players eligible for Sun Belt Conference weekly awards. The Mavericks took three of the four SBC weekly honors this week, as Briana Brown was named Freshman of the Week, Alli Wells earned Defensive Player of the Week and Brooke Townsend picked up Offensive Player of the Week honors on Tuesday (Oct. 13).

Brown showed out in her first collegiate action. The freshman tallied 10 kills and four blocks in her collegiate debut and helped the Mavericks secure the sweep with a career-high and match-high 26 kills in the series finale on Saturday afternoon.

Wells recorded 81 digs in the three matches this weekend, highlighted by a career-high 33-dig performance in the first match of the season.

Townsend recorded double digit kills in all three matches and recorded double-doubles in two of the three. Her three service aces in Saturday's win tied her career-high.

POSTPONED AND RESCHEDULED
UTA's season-opening matches vs. Arkansas State (Sept. 25-26) and at Texas State (Oct. 2-3) were postponed and rescheduled due to quarantine protocols and positive and positive COVID-19 tests by Maverick team members.

New Dates
UTA vs. Arkansas State – Oct. 16-17
UTA at Texas State – Nov. 13-14

2020 SCHEDULE
UTA is scheduled to play 16 league matches in a divisional format separated into two- and three-match series over Fridays and Saturdays. The Mavericks are currently set to face four divisional opponents (Arkansas State, Little Rock, ULM and Louisiana) in three-match weekend series, while taking on in-state rival Texas State four times – twice in Arlington and twice in San Marcos.

Oct. 9-10: Little Rock – Little Rock, Ark.
Oct. 16-17: Arkansas State – College Park Center
Oct. 23-24: ULM – Monroe, La.
Oct. 30-31: Texas State – College Park Center
Nov. 6-7: Louisiana – College Park Center
Nov. 13-14: Texas State – San Marcos, Texas

NEW NUMBER
Sophomore Jessica Stancliff will have a new number this season. The Carrollton native gave up the No. 6 and has made the switch to No. 9.

NEW FACES
The Mavs will have seven newcomers (1 transfer, 6 freshmen) on the roster for the 2020 campaign.

Hannah Boyd, a transfer from Northeastern who enrolled at UTA for the 2020 spring semester, will have three years of eligibility with the Mavericks. She joins the squad after sitting out the entire 2019 season. As a freshman (2018) at Northeastern, the Fort Worth native played in 27 matches and 96 sets for the Huskies. She hit .173, tallied 320 kills and averaged 3.31 kills per set, to lead the team and rank sixth in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). She also recorded 51 digs and 26 total blocks as a freshman.

UTA's freshmen include Kortney Puckett (Bentonville, Ark./Bentonville West HS), Brianna Ford (Amarillo, Texas/Randall HS), Briana Brown (Whitehouse, Texas/Whitehouse HS), Simara Peyton (North Richland Hills, Texas/Richland HS), Alyssa Duran (El Paso, Texas/Franklin HS), Mollie Blank Mansfield, Texas/Mansfield HS).

ESPN+
UTA recognizes the importance of a quality broadcast experience for fans and supporters of the program with no spectators allowed at the CPC this volleyball season. Because of that – for the first time in department history – all home matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+. That is the same platform all home men's and women's basketball games have appeared on the last couple of years; for additional information or to subscribe to ESPN+, visit espnplus.com.

COLLEGE PARK CENTER GAMEDAY INFO
In an attempt to create as much of a 'bubble-like' atmosphere to protect student-athletes, coaches and staff from UT Arlington and opposing teams – NO FANS, other than two (2) direct family members of current UTA volleyball student-athletes, will be permitted at home volleyball matches inside the College Park Center this year.
 
Masks are required at ALL TIMES while in the arena.

SBC PRESEASON POLL
UTA volleyball landed one representative on the 2020 All-Sun Belt Conference Preseason Team it was announced by the league office on Wednesday afternoon. Junior Brooke Townsend, a 2019 Second Team All-Sun Belt selection, was named to the 12-person team, as voted on by the coaches.

Last season, Townsend appeared in 34 matches and hit .247 with a team-best 413 kills, 166 digs and 63 total blocks. She ranked in the top-110 in the nation in total kills and points (455). The Bastrop, Texas native ranked seventh in the Sun Belt with kills per set (3.20), while also ranking fifth in the SBC in both total kills and points (455). She tallied 5+ kills in all 34 matches and racked up double digit kills on 24 occasions. Townsend picked up a career-high 26 kills at Houston (Aug. 31) and totaled 5+ digs on 16 occasions, including a career-best 15 vs. Georgia Southern (Oct. 11). She also registered 20 multi-block performances, highlighted by a career-high five blocks vs. Troy (Oct. 19).

The preseason poll has defending champion Texas State as the favorite to win the West Division with all 10 first-place votes and 69 points. Coastal Carolina picked up nine first-place votes and 69 points to finish as the East Division favorite, ahead of Troy's three first-place votes and 60 points. UTA earned 53 points to finish in second place behind TXST in the West Division.

FOLLOW THE MAVS
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