ATLANTA, Ga. – The UT Arlington volleyball team dropped a five-set thriller to Georgia State on Friday night, 25-26, 25-20, 25-17, 16-25, 12-15.
 
UTA was led by Briana Brown (15 kills) and Brooke Townsend (10 kills), both finishing with double-digit kills. The Mavericks were paced by Mollie Blank (20 assists) and Kylee Kapp (16 assists). Kapp also finished with a double-double, ending with 15 digs.
 
Alli Wells led the Mavericks defensively with 16 digs. Kaylen Beaty finished with a career-high 14 digs.  Monica LaFleur led the Mavs at the net with four blocks, while Briana Brown (3 blocks) and Brianna Ford (3 blocks) both finished with multi-block performances.

SET 1 | UTA 24, GSU 26 | GSU LEADS 1-0
After falling behind 9-6, a kill from Devon Martinka sparked a 4-1 run that allowed the Mavericks to tie the match. Still tied at 17, the Panthers utilized a 5-0 run to before an attacking error put the Mavs back on the board. UTA fought back, tying the set at 24, but the Panthers picked up the final two points to take set one.

SET 2 | UTA 25, GSU 20 | MATCH TIED 1-1
The Mavericks controlled the set from the beginning, using an early 4-0 run to take a 7-2 lead.  The Panthers cut the deficit to two points, but the Mavs opened things up again with a 7-1 run to take an 18-10 lead. A 6-1 Georgia State run closed the gap to three, but Monica LaFleur ended the momentum and helped secure the Maverick set win.

SET 3 | UTA 25, GSU 17 | GSU LEADS 2-1
UTA used two large runs to take a commanding double-digit lead 13-3. The Panthers rattled off eight straight to cut the lead to two, but Briana Brown stopped the run with her 10^th kill of the match. A 4-0 run by the Mavs put the set out of reach and gave the Mavericks a 2-1 lead.

SET 4 | UTA 16, GSU 25 | MATCH TIED 2-2
After the Mavericks took a 7-3 lead early on, the Panthers battled back and tied the set at nine. From there it was all Georgia State as the Panthers used a 10 -2 run to put the set away.
 
SET 5 | UTA 12, GSU 15 | GSU WINS 3-2
The Panthers jumped out to an 11-4 lead before the Mavericks responded with a run of their own. Kainah Williams sparked an 8-1 run to tie the set at 12. However, the Panthers took the final three points to take the set and the match.

UP NEXT
The Mavericks will take on Georgia Southern on Sunday at 11 a.m. (CT) in Statesboro.

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