ARLINGTON – The UT Arlington volleyball team will take on Texas State in a home and home series this week. The Mavs will travel to San Marcos on Thursday, Oct. 7 for a match at 6 p.m. before returning to Arlington on Saturday, Oct. 9 for a second matchup with the Bobcats in the College Park Center.
UTA NOTES
- Transfer Kainah Williams has been a force at the net this season. The senior leads the Mavericks and ranks 4th in the Sun Belt with 1.00 blocks per set.
- Brooke Townsend enters this weekend with 958 career kills, just 42 shy of becoming the 19th Maverick to enter the 1,000 kill club.
- Not missing a beat from last year, Alli Wells picked right where she left off. The sophomore ranks 16th in the nation with 5.28 digs per set.
- Alli Wells hasn't just been a force on defense this year, the CoVID sophomore sits at 920 career digs - just 80 away from becoming the 22nd member of the 1,000 dig club.
- Monica LaFleur is putting together one of the more impressive freshman seasons in Maverick history. Through 13 matches, she is hitting .285 - good for the 5th best hitting percentage by a freshman in program history.
- For a second time this season, and the fifth in her career, Alli Wells has been named the SBC Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 5). Wells finished with 58 digs against Louisiana and ULM - averaging 7.25 digs per set. In the three-set win over the Warhawks, Wells finished with 25 digs.
- The Mavericks currently rank in the Top 20 in the NCAA in two categories - digs per set and attacks per set. UTA ranks 15th in the country in digs per set (17.51) and 21st in the country in attacks per set (37.68).
- Jessica Stancliff has paced the Mavericks in six matches this season with 253 total assists. Her 6.17 assists per set average is currently the 10th best in the Sun Belt.
NEW FACES
- The Mavericks have 11 freshmen on their team - only three of which are first year players due to COVID-19 eligibility - defensive specialist Kaylen Beaty (Fort Worth, Texas; Boswell HS), outside hitter Lauren Staruch (Lake Orion, Mich.; Lake Orion HS), and middle blocker Monica LaFleur (Hartland, Wisc.; Arrowhead HS).
- Wenger brought in three transfers in the offseason – junior outside hitter Nya Blair (Grand Prairie, Texas; San Diego State), sophomore defensive specialist Emily Larson (Nashotah, Wisc.; UW-Green Bay), and graduate senior middle blocker Kainah Williams (Spring Branch, Texas; Liberty).
SERIES HISTORY - TEXAS STATE
- Last time out, the Mavericks swept Texas State in San Marcos, which ended a 31 match SBC winning streak for the Bobcats, gave UTA their first win over Texas State since 2014 and gave JT Wenger his first win over a nationally ranked opponent (No. 11). Overall, the Bobcats lead the series 44-43 with with 35 of their wins coming since the turn of the millennium.
UP NEXT
- The Mavericks will travel to Arkansas to take on Arkansas State (Thursday, Oct. 14) and Little Rock (Saturday, Oct. 16).
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