ARLINGTON, Texas --- Brianna Ford exploded for a career-high-tying 25 kills to lead the UT Arlington volleyball team (14-5, 3-3 WAC) to a 25-15, 25-13, 25-23 win over California Baptist (10-7, 3-3) inside the College Park Center on Saturday afternoon.
 
In doing so, Ford fell one shy of the program's overall three-set kill record but established a new rally-scoring era UTA benchmark. The only two players with more were Amber Pack and Trisha Walker, who each had 26 against McNeese over two separate games in the 2000 season.
 
Furthermore, Ford not only matched her career high she established against Sam Houston on Oct. 22, 2022, but she also produced 11 digs while hitting .561 for her eighth double-double of the season and the 34th of her career.
 
The Amarillo native pushed her career termination total to 1,063, which moves her past Jackie Bennett (1,047, 1985-88) for 18th place on the program's all-time list.
 
In addition to Ford's play, the Mavs got seven kills apiece from Paige Reagor and Evyn Snook, who hit .438 and .429, respectively. Those three were integral in a .418 team hitting percentage, resulting in just the third instance of the J.T. Wenger era that the Mavs eclipsed the .400 milestone as a team, joining a .420 finish at ULM on Oct. 28, 2017 and a .402 outing against South Florida on Sept. 9, 2022.
 
Guiding the offense was Mollie Blank, who finished with a match-high 41 assists. It was her seventh outing with at least 40 this year and the ninth of her career.
 
As a team, the Mavs totaled six aces, led by two apiece from Ford and Kortney Puckett, who also led the team in blocks with five. Reagor and Ford added three blocks apiece, while Reagor tallied the lone solo block.
 
For Puckett, it was the sixth time this season and the 18th outing of her career with at least five blocks.
 
Defensively, Alli Wells continued her fine play as the graduate libero tallied a match-high 14 digs, which was her 16th of the season with double-digits, and she now sits just seven shy of reaching 100 such performances in her career.
 
With her tally, Wells pushed her career dig total to 1,914, which moves her eight shy of passing Ashley Smith (1,921, 2003-06) for second on the program's all-time list. Alicia Shaffer holds the top spot with 2,033 from 2008-11. Furthermore, Wells is now ninth among active players at the NCAA Division I level in career digs.
 
With the victory, UTA elevated themselves into a tie with California Baptist for fifth place in the WAC standings, just behind Abilene Christian (4-2). Coincidentally, the Mavs will host the Wildcats on Thursday inside the CPC.
 
The Mavs utilized a 12-2 run to close the opening set after CBU had scored four of the first five points and were knotted at 13 apiece with UTA, who kept the momentum going with four straight and 10 of the first 12 in the second set while cruising to a two-set lead. In the final set, the Mavs trailed 14-11, but used a 7-1 run to open up an 18-15 lead. A back-and-forth finish was punctuated by a left-side termination off the block from Ford.
 
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