ARLINGTON – The UT Arlington volleyball team returns to the College Park Center this Friday and Saturday to take on Louisiana and ULM.  The Mavericks will take on Louisiana at 6 pm on Friday and ULM on Saturday at 6 pm.
 

HOW TO FOLLOW
Opening Serve	Opponent	Match Coverage
Friday, 6 pm	vs Louisiana (6-4, 1-1 SBC)	ESPN+ | Live Stats
Saturday, 6 pm	vs ULM (5-12, 1-1 SBC)	ESPN+ | Live Stats
UTA Match Notes | ULM Match Notes

 
UTA NOTES

• Transfer Kainah Williams has been a force at the net this season.  The senior leads the Mavericks and ranks 6th in the Sun Belt with 0.97 blocks per set. That number is currently the highest the Mavs had had in two seasons.
• Brooke Townsend enters this weekend with 943 career kills, just 57 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 29th in the nation with 4.93 digs per set.
• Jessica Stancliff has paced the Mavericks in six matches this season with 245 total assists.  Her 6.28 assists per set average is the 9th best in the Sun Belt this season.
• After having just 11 kills through her first four matches played, Briana Brown has turned it on over the past five matches, registering 55 kills (2.89 k/s) - the second most on the team in that span.
• The Mavericks as a team rank in the Top 20 in the NCAA in two categories - digs per set and attacks per set.  UTA ranks 16th in the country in digs per set (17.58) and 21st in the country in attacks per set (37.80).
• In Sun Belt home opener weekends, JT Wenger is 6-3 in his career. Last season he went 2-1 against Little Rock. In the first match of the weekend, Wenger is a perfect 4-0 for Sun Belt Conference home openers. (Little Rock - 2020, 3-0 | ULM - 2019, 3-1 | A-State - 2018, 3-2 | Troy - 2017, 3-1)

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 - LOUISIANA

• The Mavs hold an 18-8 record against the Ragin' Cajuns, but have lost 7 of the last 10.   Since joining the SBC, Louisiana holds an 8-7 lead in the series.

SERIES HISTORY - ULM

• The Mavs hold a 54-3 record against ULM and has won 12 straight. During that streak, seven of the wins have come from a sweep. Only 15 UTA wins in the series have not been sweeps - only one has gone 5 sets. 

PRIDE NIGHT

• UTA is celebrating Pride Month on Oct. 1 as they face Louisiana at the College Park Center. Campus and community partners will be present with informational tables about Pride Month and LGTBQ+ history, and special free giveaways including Pride Month UTA Volleyball t-shirts. For discounted Pride Night game tickets click here.

UTA BEATS CANCER

• Your UTA volleyball team has once again partnered with the Moncrief Cancer Institute in their fight against breast cancer!
  
  Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women in the United States and you can join our fundraising efforts in a variety of ways such as buying the official UTA Beats Cancer t-shirt or donating to our official team page at Moncrief.com/UTA.
  
  UTA Athletics will be fundraising throughout the season and during the designated home events, with proceeds benefiting local cancer patient and outreach platforms in Arlington through the Moncrief Cancer Institute.
  
  The overall fundraising goal for the 2021-22 academic year is $11,500! .

UP NEXT

• The Mavericks will play a home and home series next Thursday and Saturday against Sun Belt travel partner, Texas State. UTA will be on the road on Thursday and host the Bobcats on Saturday for the in-state rivalry.

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.