ABILENE, Texas – The UT Arlington volleyball team will open up their 2021 season on Friday afternoon, playing two matches in the ACU Invitational. The Mavericks will take on Incarnate Word (12 pm) and Abilene Christian (6 pm) on Friday. The tournament will conclude on Saturday where the Mavs will take on UIW for a second time at 3 pm. All matches will be streamed on the WAC Network.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
vs. UIW | Friday, August 27, 12 p.m.
WAC Network | Live Stats
 
vs. ACU | Friday, August 27, 6 p.m.
WAC Network | Live Stats
 
vs. UIW | Saturday, August 28, 3 p.m.
WAC Network | Live Stats
 
UTA NOTES

• This will mark the 48^th season of UTA volleyball. The Mavericks have won over 1,100 matches during their time as a program.
• Sophomore libero Alli Wells cleaned up the preseason Sun Belt Conference awards, picking up Preseason Libero of the Year, Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, and Preseason All-Sun Belt Honors. This comes after being named Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-Sun Belt a season ago.
• Junior outside hitter Brooke Townsend also made some noise, picking up her second straight Preseason All-Sun Belt honor.  The Bastrop, Texas native will look to be named All-Sun Belt for a third consecutive season at the end of the year.
• 2020 All-Sun Belt members Brianna Ford, Briana Brown, and Brooke Townsend return in 2021. The three combined to score over 50 percent of the Maverick's points a season ago. Overall, UTA returns nearly 90 percent of their total points from a season ago.
• The Mavs return their top-five point scorers from a season ago. Along with Townsend, Ford and Brown, Simara Peyton (146.0 points) and Devon Martinka (131.0 points) return.
• Head Coach J.T. Wenger returns for his 5th season at the helm for Maverick volleyball. He has won 62 matches over his first four seasons and has three straight seasons with a record above .500.
• UTA is 3-1 in season openers under head coach J.T. Wenger and have won their last two season openers.
• The Mavericks were voted to finish second in the SBC West, trailing over Texas State in points.  Coastal Carolina received the most points and are the favorites to win the East.

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 - UIW

• This marks just the third time that the Cardinals and Mavericks have faced off with UTA winning the previous three matches in 2019, 2018 and 2014. This marks the first neutral site match between the two teams.
• The Mavs have swept UIW all three matches they've played.

SERIES HISTORY - ACU

• This will be the 14^th match between the Wildcats and Mavericks with UTA owning a 10-2-1 record in the series.
• The teams split last season's matchups, each taking one match in five sets.
• The last three matches between ACU and UTA have gone to five sets and three of the last five have gone to five sets dating back to 2012.

UP NEXT

• UTA hosts Tulsa, Sam Houston and North Texas for the UTA Classic at the College Park Center on Sept. 3-4.

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.