Box Score Foley, Ala. – The UT Arlington volleyball team used a five-set thriller to take down Georgia Southern (28-26, 25-22, 18-25, 18-25, 15-12) to advance to the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
 
Three Mavericks reached double-digit kills with Brooke Townsend leading the charge with 13Briana Brown (12 kills) and Brianna Ford (11 kills) both reached double-digit kills as well. Kylee Kapp and Mollie Blank paced the Mavericks with 23 assists and 22 assists, respectively. Blank added 10 digs to pick up a double-double.
 
Alli Wells led UTA with 20 digs, while Kaylen Beaty finished with 10.  Kainah Williams was a force at the net, finishing with five blocks, while Brianna Ford (4), Nya Blair (2) and Monica LaFleur (2) each had multi-block performances.

SET 1 | UTA 28, GS 26 | UTA LEADS 1-0
The wait was worth it as the first set of the tournament was an exciting one.  With 18 ties and seven lead changes, it wasn't until the 26-26 mark that the Mavericks were able to get the consecutive points needed to win, with a kill from Monica LaFleur and an error on the Eagles.

SET 2 | UTA 25, GS 22 | UTA LEADS 2-0
The Eagles started off hot, taking a 5-1 lead over UTA, but he Mavericks quickly responded. A kill from Nya Blair sparked an 11-1 run to put UTA up 16-8. The Eagles battled back within one point (22-21) which included a 5-0 run, but the Mavericks ended the set strong, winning three of the final four points to take a 2-0 lead.

SET 3 | UTA 18, GS 25 | UTA LEADS 2-1
Following a 5-0 run from the Mavericks to take a 9-5 lead, the Eagles turned the tide of the set with an 11-0 scoring run to go up 16-9. From there, the teams traded points with the Eagles eventually taking the set.

SET 4 | UTA 18, GS 25 | MATCH TIED 2-2
The Eagles got off to a 6-1 lead to start the fourth set before the Mavericks responded with a 5-2 run to pull it within two points. Despite the efforts, the Mavericks were unable to take over the Eagles, as Georgia Southern forced a fifth set after duplicating the score from set three.
 
SET 5 | UTA 15, GS 12 | UTA WINS 3-2
It was a back-and-forth battle in the fifth set, but a 4-0 run by the Eagles to give them a 12-10 lead appeared to give them the cushion and the momentum. However, a kill from Kainah Williams started a 5-0 run from the Mavericks to secure the win.

UP NEXT
The Mavericks take on the winner of (1E) South Alabama and (5E) Georgia State tomorrow (Saturday, Nov. 20) at 4 p.m. in the semifinals of the SBC Tournament at the Foley Event Center.

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