MOBILE, Ala. – The UT Arlington volleyball team (2-8, 0-1 Sun Belt) dropped their Sun Belt Conference opener to South Alabama on Friday night in straight sets, losing 19-25, 16-25, 22-25.
 
The Mavs hit .124 compared to South's .267 for the match. Briana Brown led all players with 10 kills, while Monica LaFleur added eight.  Jessica Stancliff paced the match with 20 assists.
 
Alli Wells led the Mavs with nine digs, while Brooke Townsend added seven.  Kainah Williams finished with a team-high four blocks.  Brianna Ford and Briana Brown each finished with two blocks. 

SET 1 | UTA 19, USA 25 | USA LEADS 1-0
Devon Martinka put the Mavericks ahead 9-8 with a kill, but that would be the last time UTA would hold a lead in the set.  The Jags answered with a 5-0 run to force a UTA timeout.  A 3-0 run out of the break closed the gap, but South Alabama came away with another 3-0 run to give themselves the breathing room to take set one.

SET 2 | UTA 16, USA 25 | USA LEADS 2-0
Trailing just one point following a Kainah Williams kills, the Maverick gave up an 5-1 Jaguar run that opened the match up to give South Alabama a 15-10 lead. Following the media timeout, the Mavericks came up with back-to-back points, but another large run – this time 7-1 – gave South Alabama a 22-13 lead.

SET 3 | UTA 22, USA 25 | USA WINS 3-0
The Mavericks played their best volleyball in set three, staying within two points the entire set. UTA utilized a 7-1 run midway through the set to take a 14-12 lead. However, the Jags responded with their own 5-1 run to retake a two-point lead. South would never relinquish the lead, going on to win 25-22.

UP NEXT
The Mavericks will travel to Troy to take on the Trojans tomorrow night (Sept. 25) at 6 p.m. at Trojan Arena.

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