ABILENE, Texas – Head Coach J.T. Wenger and the UTA volleyball team (11-7) will return to play this weekend as they travel to Abilene Christian to take on the Wildcats to open their spring campaign. The Mavs and Wildcats will play two matches – one on Friday (6:00 PM) and one on Saturday (2:00 PM).

GM1 | UTA (11-7) vs. ABILENE CHRISTIAN (0-0)
When: Friday, Jan. 29 | 6:00 P.M.
Where: Abilene, Texas | Teague Center
Live Stats

GM2 | UTA (11-7) vs. ABILENE CHRISTIAN (0-0)
When: Saturday, Jan. 30 | 2:00 P.M.
Where: Abilene, Texas | Teague Center
Live Stats

UTA NOTES
- This season, the Mavericks lead the league in digs per set (18.96/set), while also ranking No. 3 in the conference in assists (12.04/set) and kills (13.12) and No. 5 in hitting percentage (.194).
- Brooke Townsend leads the team in kills (186) and kills per set (3.10) kills per set, which ranks No. 10 in the Sun Belt. Townsends 186 kills ranks 15th nationally.
- Defensive Player of the Year Alli Wells ranks 2^nd in the nation in total digs (435) and third in digs per set (6.40). Her digs per set numbers puts her at the top of the Sun Belt leader boards.
- The Mavericks will be without two-sport athlete Michaela Wright this spring as she finishes her season with the women's basketball team. Wright currently leads the team and has the 13^th most blocks in the nation (62).
- The Mavs picked up their first win over a nationally ranked opponent in the J.T. Wenger era, defeating #11 Texas State 3-0 to end the fall regular season.
- Kylee Kapp and Mollie Blank register 5.29 and 5.05 assists per set, respectively
- UTA is 9-1-1 against the Wildcats dating back to 1973 – the lone match to end in a tie. This is the first meeting between the two teams since 2016, when ACU won their lone match in the series in five sets.
 
KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | ABILENE CHRISTIAN
- Abilene Christian is coming off a 7-19 season in 2019.
- The Wildcats return their kills leader from a season ago in junior Lindsey Toney.
- ACU held an attack percentage of .190 a season ago, while opponents hit .248 against them.
- The Wildcats ranked second in the Southland Conference in blocks per set, but lost their leading blocker, Lorin McNeil.

2021 SPRING SCHEDULE
UTA is scheduled to play 7 non-conference matches this spring beginning Jan. 29 and ending March 6.  Six of the seven will be on the road, with the home match coming March 5^th against Big 12 and DFW foe TCU.

Jan. 29-30: at Abilene Christian (Abilene, Texas)
Feb. 5-6: at Tarleton State (Stephenville, Texas)
Feb. 11: at North Texas (Denton, Texas)
March 5: vs TCU (College Park Center)
March 6: at TCU (Fort Worth, Texas)


FOLLOW THE MAVS
For the latest news on UTA Volleyball, log on to UTAMavs.com or stay connected to the Mavs on social media. Follow the Mavericks on Twitter @UTAMavsVB, on Instagram @UTAMavsVB and on Facebook at Facebook.com/UTAMavsVB.