PHOENIX, Ariz. --- The UT Arlington volleyball team (9-4, 1-0) opened their new era in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in thrilling fashion as the Mavs produced a 25-21, 21-25, 25-21, 14-25, 16-14 win over Grand Canyon (7-6, 1-1) inside the Antelope Gymnasium on Saturday.
 
Briana Brown saved her best for the final set as the third-year outside hitter registered six of her seven kills, all of which came after Grand Canyon had taken a 6-5 lead. Behind her play, the Mavs hit .647 in the final set alone to produce the program's seventh-consecutive victory, which is now the longest streak in the J.T. Wenger era. They've also won nine of the past 10 overall.
 
"It was another great team win for us," Wenger said. "We had solid performances from numerous players, which propelled us to earn that win. We kept our poise in a tough environment, which was great to see for our program."
 
The matchup was the first athletic contest in the WAC for any UT Arlington program in 10 years after a nine-year run in the Sun Belt. The Mavs were selected to finish eighth in the preseason coaches poll while Grand Canyon was picked third after advancing to the WAC championship game last year.
 
Brianna Ford registered her eighth double-double of the season with a team-high 13 kills along with 13 digs, three blocks (one solo), one ace and one assist. Jalie Tritt and Brooke Townsend each contributed 10 kills while the duo combined for 10 digs and four blocks. Simara Peyton also played a large role in the victory as she notched a season-high nine kills at a .500 clip along with two blocks.
 
Sophie Skinner helped lead the offense with 37 assists, 10 digs and two kills in what was her second double-double of the season. Mollie Blank also added eight assists - seven in the crucial fifth set - off the bench. That duo combined for 11 assists in the final set as UT Arlington hit .647 with 12 kills over 17 attacks.
 
Defensively, Alli Wells produced a match-high 22 digs. It was her 32nd career match with 20-plus digs, including her fifth of the season. On top of that, she continued to inch her way up the program's career list, moving past Caitlyn Cooney (1,384, 2012-15) and becoming the 12th Mav with 1,400-plus digs. Next up for her is Chris Rudiger (1,413, 1986-89).
 
With her 10 kills, Townsend broke a tie for 12th place on the program's career list with Amanda Aguilera (1,164, 2008-11). Next up is Fannie Burton (1,245, 1991-94).
 
Meredith Fisher, who joined Kortney Puckett with two blocks apiece, closed out the opening set with a kill as UT Arlington scored four of the final six points. That stretch also included a key ace from Kaylen Beaty.
 
The Mavs continued their momentum in the second set, jumping out to a 15-9 lead. Grand Canyon responded with four straight points, however, and evened the match up by scoring 16 of the set's final 22 points. The third set saw another strong start for the Mavs, who got a kill from Peyton to take a 7-2 lead. Grand Canyon bounced back to take a 14-13 lead, but a pair of kills from Tritt, another from Peyton and an ace from Alyssa Duran keyed a 4-0 run. The set was won, however, behind a 6-1 run after the Antelopes tied it at 19 apiece. Tritt started the spurt with a kill and an ace on back-to-back points, and Peyton finished it off by scoring the final two points on successful attacks.
 
Grand Canyon responded by dominating the fourth set, jumping out to a 10-5 lead and leading by as many as 12 late to set up a thrilling fifth set that featured 10 ties, three lead changes and a combined .576 hitting percentage.

The Mavs struck first, scoring four of the first six points, capped by another kill from Peyton. Grand Canyon then took a 6-5 lead, but Brown began her run with a kill to tie it, and Wells followed with an ace. Each team then exchanged points over the set's next 10 points, capped by the 13th kill from Ford for a 12-11 lead. That's when Brown tallied four kills over the match's final seven points, including back-to-back terminations after the Antelopes scored two straight to tie it at 14.
 
UT Arlington is now one of just four undefeated teams in the WAC along with UTRGV (2-0), Utah Valley (2-0) and Abilene Christian (1-0). The Mavs will be back in action Thursday at Abilene Christian at 6 p.m. before concluding the road trip at Tarleton on Saturday at 1 p.m.

WAC Volleyball Results - Saturday
Sam Houston 3, Stephen F. Austin 2
UTRGV 3, Tarleton 1
Southern Utah 3, Utah Tech 1
UT Arlington 3, Grand Canyon 0
Utah Valley 3, Seattle U 0
N.M. State 3, California Baptist 0
 
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