STEPHENVILLE, Texas – The UT Arlington volleyball team defeated Tarleton State in five sets Friday night 26-24, 25-19, 21-25, 21-25, 15-11. It marks the third straight match that the Mavericks have gone to five sets. The Mavs move to 13-8 overall, while the Texans drop to 1-6.
 
Brianna Ford finished with a career and match-high 23 kills. Brooke Townsend finished second on the team with 16 kills, while adding 12 digs to finish with her fifth double-double of the season. Simara Peyton also finished with double-digit kills, ending the evening with 11 kills. Mollie Blank paced the match with a career-high 53 assists. Alli Wells led the team in digs, while also earning four service aces.

SET 1 | UTA 26, TSU 24 | UTA LEADS 1-0
The Mavs came out firing in the first set. With the set tied at two, the Mavericks went on a 6-0 run to force a Texan timeout. After the Mavericks took a 14-6 lead, the Texans battled back to tie the match at 16. The Texans took a 24-22 lead and looked to close out the set, but the Mavericks had other plans as they scored four straight to take the set.

SET 2 | UTA 25, TSU 19 | UTA LEADS 2-0
Set two was a battle from the start as the largest lead either team could get was two points. With the Texans leading the set 18-16, Brianna Ford sparked a 9-1 run to end the set as the Mavericks went on to win the second set 25-19.
 
SET 3 | UTA 21, TSU 25 | UTA LEADS 2-1
The Texans jumped out to an early four-point lead using a 5-1 run after the set was tied at 2-2. With the Texans still leading at the 10-6 mark, the Mavericks battled back to make it a one-point game at 16-15.  The Texans finished the set strong, winning 25-21, holding off a late rally by the Mavericks.

SET 4 | UTA 21, TSU 25 | MATCH TIED 2-2
The Texans controlled the fourth set early on, but after taking a 13-12 lead, the Mavericks used four straight kills to take lead 16-13. With the Mavericks leading 21-20, the Texans rattled off five straight points to take set four and force a decisive fifth set.
 
SET 5 | UTA 15, TSU 11 | UTA WINS 3-2
UTA took over momentum in the early going of the final set, taking a 6-3 lead off a Briana Brown kill. The Texans cut the lead to one at 10-9, but the Mavericks used a 4-0 run to come within one point of clinching the match. Tarleton scored back-to-back points, but Kortney Puckett ended the set and match with a kill.

UP NEXT
The Mavericks will finish their series against Tarleton tomorrow (Saturday, Feb. 6) at 1 p.m. at the Wisdom Volleyball Gym in Stephenville.

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