ARLINGTON, Texas --- The UT Arlington volleyball team (2-4) split a pair of matches on the final day of the UTA Classic on Saturday inside the College Park Center, opening with an 18-25, 26-24, 28-26, 23-25, 15-11 win over Providence (4-2) before concluding with a 25-20, 25-17, 25-22 loss to North Texas (3-4).
 
"It was a long day of volleyball," UT Arlington head coach J.T. Wenger said. "I think we showed some grit (in the opener) and possibly a little bit of fatigue (in the finale). Overall, it was a good weekend for us, a good day."
 
The Mavericks got several big performances in a thrilling, come-from-behind victory over Providence. Brooke Townsend and Jalie Tritt led the team with 16 kills apiece, and Brianna Ford nearly produced a triple-double with 10 kills, 12 digs and eight blocks. Tritt and Ford were named to the UTA Classic All-Tournament Team.
 
After dropping the first set, UTA fought off a set point in the second and finished with a 3-0 run - capped by a double-block from Tritt and Meredith Fisher - to tie the match. In the next frame, Providence led 21-17 and 24-21, but the Mavs scored three straight before fighting off another set point. Ford then slammed home a successful attack before a Providence attack sailed out of bounds for a 2-1 lead.
 
In the fourth, Providence led 10-3. UTA fought back and led 23-22 but the Friars scored three straight to force a deciding set. Down 11-10, the Mavs reeled off the final five points of the match, highlighted by a kill apiece from Tritt, Ford and Ava Burroughs, who then teamed with Ford for the match-clinching double-block.
 
Townsend hit .333 and added six digs and four blocks (one solo). With her performance, the fifth-year student-athlete surpassed Jessica Bowlin (1,096, 1995-98) for 15th place on the program's career list. Including her three kills against North Texas, she sits at 1,109 overall.
 
Defensively, Alli Wells also made history with her match-high 22 digs, along with three assists and two aces. It was the third-consecutive match with 20-plus digs for the libero, who surpassed Heather Hoy (1,275, 1994-97) and Shari Parks (1,276, 1984-87) to move into 15th place on the career digs list in the finale against North Texas. She sits at 1,291.
 
Ford, meanwhile, tallied her third consecutive double-double in the win over the Friars, while Alyssa Duran (season-high 11) and Tritt (9) combined for 20 digs. Sophie Skinner notched a season-best 39 assists along with seven digs, as well.
 
In the loss to North Texas, Tritt led UT Arlington with 14 kills, a .385 hitting percentage, nine digs and a pair of blocks. The freshman concluded the weekend with four consecutive matches with double-digit kills and at least nine digs. Wells contributed a match-high 17 digs while Skinner added 26 more assists.
 
In the finale, North Texas captured the first two sets and held 5-0, 12-6 and 14-9 leads in the third. The Mavs fought back and took a pair of one-point leads late, but the Mean Green concluded the match with three straight points.
 
Next Up
UTA will be back in action next weekend at the UTSA Invitational. On Friday, they'll face USF and McNeese at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., respectively, before concluding the weekend against UTSA at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
 
2022 UTA Classic All-Tournament Team
Jalie Tritt, UT Arlington
Brianna Ford, UT Arlington
Treyaunna Rush, North Texas
Aleeyah Galdeira, North Texas
Mackenzie Taylor, Providence
Kayla Grant, Providence
Celeste Vela, Texas A&M-Commerce
 
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