PHOENIX, Ariz. --- The UT Arlington volleyball team (8-4, 0-0 WAC) will look to continue their winning ways this weekend by heading west to matchup against Grand Canyon University (7-5, 1-0 WAC) on Saturday at 3 p.m. inside the Antelope Gymnasium. It will not only represent the start of conference play for the Mavs, but it will be the program's first WAC regular season match in 10 years.
 

UT ARLINGTON VOLLEYBALL INFORMATION
Match	UT Arlington (8-4, 0-0 WAC) at Grand Canyon (7-5, 1-0 WAC)
Date | Time	Saturday, Sept. 24 | 3 p.m.
Location	Antelope Gymnasium | Phoenix, Ariz.
Live Stats	Stat Broadcast
Streaming	ESPN+ ($)
Tickets	Grand Canyon ticket office
Game Notes	UT Arlington

 
GOING STREAKING
With six consecutive victories, including successful outcomes in eight of the past nine to conclude non-conference play, UT Arlington has matched the program's longest winning streak under the direction of sixth-year head coach J.T. Wenger. Last year's team won six straight from Oct. 31 to Nov. 19 while the 2018 team won six straight between Aug. 31 and Sept. 15.

BACK IN THE WAC
UT Arlington volleyball returns to the WAC this weekend following a nine-year stint in the Sun Belt Conference. The Mavericks, who spent one season in the WAC in 2012, finished 5-13 in conference play and lost in the opening round of the conference tournament to Utah Tech that season. This year, UTA was voted to finish eighth in the preseason poll and Saturday afternoon's match will be the first regular season WAC tilt for the program since defeating Louisiana Tech on Nov. 15, 2012.
 

WAC PRESEASON POLL
1.	New Mexico State (6)	135
2.	Utah Valley (5)	129
3.	Grand Canyon (1)	127
4.	Sam Houston (1)	99
5.	Stephen F. Austin	95
6.	California Baptist	90
7.	UTRGV	86
8.	UT Arlington	54
9.	Tarleton	50
	Utah Tech	50
11.	Abilene Christian	37
12.	Southern Utah	32
13.	Seattle	17

AN OFFENSIVE FORCE
Brianna Ford, an Amarillo, Texas native, has led UT Arlington to an 8-4 start this year behind a superb overall performance. The third-year standout is averaging career-bests across the board – kills per set (3.18), hitting percentage (.247), aces per set (0.16), digs per set (2.57), blocks per set (0.86) and points per set (3.92). Among individuals, she ranks among the top five in the WAC in total points (2nd, 192), points per set (2nd, 3.92), total kills (3rd, 156), kills per set (5th) and total attacks (5th, 405). She also ranks eighth in total blocks with 142. Overall, she has notched seven double-doubles this year, which pushes her career total to a team-best 18. She has eight matches with 10+ kills and eight with 10+ digs. Award-wise, she became the program's first-ever WAC Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 12, was named the MVP in both the UTA Invitational and UTSA Invitational, and she earned a spot on the UTA Classic all-tourney team.

AMONG THE NATION'S BEST
As a team, UT Arlington ranks among the nation's top 75 in total blocks (17th, 127), blocks per set (29th, 2.59), opponent hitting percentage (36th, .162), total digs (56th, 720) and service aces (58th, 81). Among those categories, the Mavs also lead all WAC teams in blocks per set, opponent hitting percentage and total blocks.
  
TOWNSEND ASCENDS CAREER KILLS LIST
Fifth-year senior Brooke Townsend became the 19th Maverick to reach 1,000 kills last year and is now approaching the top 10 of the program's all-time list, currently tied for 12th with Amanda Aguilera (1,164, 2008-11). She produced a season-high 16 kills in the Sept. 3 win over Providence and followed that up with 15 against McNeese on Sept. 9. This past weekend, she notched two more double-digit performances en route to UTA Invitational all-tournament team accolades. Her 1,164 career total ranks 54th among all active NCAA Division I players, and she is 65th in career sets played with 429.
 

UTA CAREER KILLS
1.	Heather Hoy	1,787	1994-97
2.	Ana de Oliveira	1,729	1985-88
3.	Amber Pack	1,578	1999-2002
4.	Qiana Canete	1,505	2014-17
5.	Valeria Whitfield	1,490	1990-92
6.	Caley Smith	1,416	2001-04
7.	Judith McGill	1,407	1983-86
8.	Trisha Walker	1,344	1997-2000
9.	Chris Rudiger	1,330	1986-89
10.	Teresa Ogden	1,251	1982-83
11.	Fannie Burton	1,245	1991-94
T12.	Brooke Townsend	1,164	2018-Pres.
T12.	Amanda Aguilera	1,164	2008-11
14.	Shari Parks	1,148	1984-87
15.	Zhanelle Geathers	1,132	2014-18

 
DIGGING UP THE CHART
Alli Wells added 39 more digs this past weekend and has ascended her way to 13th all-time among the program's career leaders in that category, just behind Caitlyn Cooney (1,384, 2012-15). Despite having her 26-match streak of consecutive double-digit digs snapped against New Orleans on Sept. 16, the fourth-year libero ranks 25th in career digs per set (4.46) and 41st in total digs (1,379) among all active NCAA Division I players. This year alone, Wells ranks 53rd nationally in total digs (205), 65th in service aces (20) and 94th in digs per set (4.18). She also earned a spot on the all-tournament team in the UTSA Invitational.
 

UTA CAREER DIGS
1.	Alicia Shaffer	2,033	2008-11
2.	Ashley Smith	1,921	2003-06
3.	Amber Pack	1,887	1999-02
4.	Jessica Bowlin	1,728	1995-98
5.	Qiana Canete	1,626	2014-17
6.	Judith McGill	1,623	1983-86
7.	Torie Dacus	1,564	2004-07
8.	Ana de Oliveira	1,550	1985-88
9.	Trisha Walker	1,455	1997-00
10.	Dani Johnson	1,446	2004-07
11.	Chris Rudiger	1,413	1986-89
12.	Caitlyn Cooney	1,384	2012-15
13.	Alli Wells	1,379	2019-present
14.	Katie Weismiller	1,370	1983-86
15.	Caley Smith	1,318	2001-04

 
BLANK REACHES MILESTONE
Third-year setter Mollie Blank notched her 1,000th career assist against North Dakota on Aug. 27. She enters the Grand Canyon match with 1,072, and her double-double against Texas A&M-Commerce on Sept. 2 (38 assists, 13 digs) gave her 15 career double-doubles.

SOLID PRESENCE
Alyssa Duran, a third-year defensive specialist, recorded back-to-back matches with double-digit digs to finish up this past weekend, including a season-best 15 in the come-from-behind win over Lamar University in five sets. She has three matches with double-digit digs this season.

STUFFING IT
Meredith Fisher and Brianna Ford have each surpassed 100 career blocks this year.
 
Fisher reached 100 career blocks just this past weekend while becoming the first Mav in six years to total at least 10 blocks in a match. In the win over Lamar, the fourth-year standout produced 10 blocks to help her team rally for a five-set victory while pushing her all-time total to 107. She also recorded nine blocks in the team's season opener and is averaging a WAC and career-best 1.18 blocks per set this year, which is nearly twice her previous career best (0.56, 2019).  
 
Ford reached the milestone in the team's season opener and has pushed her total to 140 through 12 matches. In fact, she has 42 this year, which is already 72 percent of her career-best total of 58 from all of last year.
 
AWARD-WINNING SUCCESS AT HOME
The Mavs have tallied a 5-1 record at home behind strong individual performances in the UTA Classic (Sept. 3-4) and UTA Invitational (Sept. 16-17).
 
In the UTA Classic, the duo of Brianna Ford and Jalie Tritt was named to the all-tournament team. Ford, who produced a pair of double-doubles over the three matches, totaled 31 kills, 31 digs and 14 blocks. Tritt, who is in her rookie campaign, totaled 42 kills, 28 digs, seven blocks and three aces. She notched at least nine digs in each of those outings, as well. This past weekend, Ford was named the MVP of the UTA Invitational after averaging 3.08 kills and 3.17 digs per set while adding four aces, six blocks and four assists. On top of that, she notched her seventh double-double of the season, as well as the 18th of her career. Tritt also added another all-tourney selection with 2.5 kills, 1.9 digs and 0.7 blocks per set while Brooke Townsend earned an all-tourney nod, too, with back-to-back double-digit kill performances.

BACK-TO-BACK
For just the second time in program history, UT Arlington has produced back-to-back conference freshman of the week awards behind the play of Jalie Tritt (Sept. 19) and Sophie Skinner (Sept. 12). Tritt helped the Mavs capture the UTA Invitational championship by averaging 2.5 kills, 1.9 digs and 0.7 blocks per set. In the opening win over New Orleans, Tritt hit .500 with eight kills, a season-high 12 digs and three blocks. She concluded the weekend with 13 kills, six digs and four blocks in a come-from-behind, five-set victory over Lamar.
 
SKINNER CONTINUES TO ASCEND
Week-by-week, rookie Sophie Skinner continues to solidify herself as one of the team's most important players. This past weekend, the Hot Springs, Ark. native tallied at least 31 assists in all three matches, including her third with 40-plus this season. That came following a weekend in San Antonio where she earned UTSA All-Tournament team and WAC Freshman of the Week recognition behind a season-best 45 assists against South Florida as part of back-to-back 40-plus assist performances that also included her first career double-double. Overall, she's registered 322 assists, 66 digs, 16 kills and 11 aces this year.
 
Skinner competed in the Under Armour All-America Game this past December, which recognizes the most skilled high school players in the country. She was named MVP among the 24 players selected to participate.
 
EXPERIENCE RETURNS
The Mavericks have three players who scored over 270 points last season (Briana Brown, Brooke Townsend, Brianna Ford), returning 76 percent of their total points from a season ago overall. Furthermore, two all-conference selections from a season ago in Briana Brown (First Team All-SBC) and Alli Wells (Second Team All-SBC) are back, as well as former All-SBC selections in Brooke Townsend (2019, 2020) and Brianna Ford (2020).

NEW FACES
The Mavericks brought in four new faces to the program this season – Sophie Ocampo (Humble, Texas; Kingwood HS), Jalie Tritt (Little Rock, Ark.; Episcopal Collegiate School), Ava Burroughs (Quitman, Texas; Quitman HS), and Sophie Skinner (Hot Springs, Ark.; Fountain Lake HS). Three of the four have seen significant action this year while Ocampo will redshirt.
 
FORD SPENDS 20TH IN EUROPE
Brianna Ford spent her 20th birthday in Europe as she participated in the 2022 Global Challenge in Croatia, helping lead her team to a 1st place finish and being named to the all-tournament team.
 
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