MISSOULA, Montana --- The UT Arlington volleyball team dropped a pair of matches to UC Davis (21-25, 25-11, 25-21, 25-23) and Montana (25-12, 25-19, 25-20) to open the season at the Ellesyn Invitational inside Dahlberg Arena on Friday.
 
The Mavs will be back in action on Saturday against North Dakota at 11 a.m., which will conclude their participation in the event. UTA returns to Arlington for their home debut next weekend.
 
In the opener against UC Davis, Brianna Ford led UTA with nine kills, five blocks and a pair of digs while eclipsing 100 career blocks in the process. Brooke Townsend and Briana Brown each added seven kills and combined for nine digs.
 
Sophie Skinner got the start in her first collegiate match, leading the team with 17 assists along with six digs and two aces. Meredith Fisher had a huge game at the net, leading all players in blocks with eight. Defensively, Alli Wells led the team in digs (16) while also finishing first in aces (5) and second in assists (5).
 
As a team, UTA produced three solo blocks and 20 block assists while registering eight aces.
 
After a tough opening set against Montana, UTA battled late in the second set against the host school, winning six of the final eight points and carrying that momentum into a back-and-forth final set. Townsend and Fisher even teamed up for a block to pull the Mavs within 20-19, but the Grizzlies closed the match strong on their home court.
 
Ford (8) and Brown (7) combined for 15 kills in the nightcap. Fisher chipped in six kills and a pair of blocks while Jessica Stancliff distributed 10 assists. Wells produced her second consecutive match with double-digit digs (12) to open the season while adding five assists. Townsend and Ava Burroughs each added three blocks.
 
Mollie Blank, who entered the day needing 26 assists to reach 1,000 for her career, totaled a consistent five assists in each match and enters Saturday just 16 shy of the milestone.
 
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