ARLINGTON, TEXAS --- The UT Arlington women's volleyball team used the lethal offensive combination of
Brianna Ford,
Briana Brown and
Jalie Tritt to sweep Louisiana Tech 25-17, 25-17, 25-22 and claim the UTA Classic championship on Saturday night inside the College Park Center.
With the win, UTA (6-0) has jumped out to the program's best start in 19 seasons, tying the 2004, 1983, 1981 and 1976 teams for the third-best start in its 50+ year history. The only two teams with better openings are the 1987 and 1973 teams, which both opened 7-0.
The Mavs, who also swept Presbyterian 25-11, 25-12, 25-21 earlier on Saturday behind a career-best 11 kills from
Sophie Ocampo, won all nine sets over the weekend and have won 10 consecutive dating back to their five-set win over Air Force last weekend.
"This was a very efficient weekend for us," UTA head coach
J.T. Wenger said. "Our hitting efficiency through the last two days has been fantastic. Our setters are putting us in good spots, and our middles are working hard to create some seams. It was definitely a weekend we can be proud of."
Ford, who registered 40 kills while hitting .305 with 25 digs and four blocks over the weekend, was named the UTA Classic MVP. Tritt, who tallied 34 kills and hit .274 with 21 digs, and Brown, who had 33 kills, hit .342 and totaled eight blocks with double-digit terminations in each match, were both named to the all-tournament team.
UTA Classic All-Tournament Team
Brianna Ford - UT Arlington (MVP)
Briana Brown - UT Arlington
Jalie Tritt - UT Arlington
Allison Palmi - Incarnate Word
Annamarie Alvarez - Incarnate Word
Lauren Albrecht - Louisiana Tech
Kinsey Bailey - Presbyterian
Although she wasn't on the all-tournament team,
Alli Wells totaled 48 digs over three matches, including a season-high 20 against Louisiana Tech. In doing so, she eclipsed 1,700 in her career, and she has 10+ digs in five of six matches this season.
In the finale, Tritt registered a career-best 18 kills at a .316 clip while adding 10 digs, a team-high three blocks and an ace. It was her second double-double of the season and the third of her career. Ford added 14 kills and nine digs while hitting .256. Brown smacked down 12 terminations at a .474 clip.
Mollie Blank helped the offense hit .319 as a team with a match-high 43 assists along with seven digs. It was her third outing this year with 40+ distributions as she fell just two shy of matching her season high.
Kortney Puckett hit .364 and added six kills, four digs and two blocks while
Alyssa Duran chipped in nine digs.
The duo of Brown and Ford combined for five kills to open the match, and Ford added an ace as the Mavs jumped out to a 6-3 lead. A 5-0 run that was capped by a trio of kills from the duo of Tritt and Ford pushed it to 17-9. Moments later, Wells secured her 1,700th career dig on set point as UTA produced the eight-point win.
The visiting Bulldogs jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the second set, but a 3-0 spurt that included a termination from Puckett pulled the Mavs within one. Moments later, an ace from Tritt capped another three-point run to give UTA a 10-9 lead. Although Louisiana Tech responded with the next two points, a 4-0 rally from UTA gave them the lead for good.
Brown and Tritt had back-to-back terminations for an 18-13 lead, and then Tritt produced back-to-back slam downs for a 21-14 margin. The lead became as many as eight twice down the stretch before Brown's kill gave the Mavs a two-set lead.
A back-and-forth battle in the third set saw Louisiana Tech capture a pair of one-point leads, including 21-20 following a UTA attack error. From there, though, the Mavs scored four straight and five of the final six points of the match, which was clinched with Ford's 14th kill.
With the win in Saturday's finale, UTA is now 9-2 all-time against Louisiana Tech with eight-consecutive victories in the series.
Gallery: (9-2-2023) VB vs Presbyterian
MAVS BREEZE PAST PRESBYTERIAN
On the flip side, UTA's opponent in the opening match, Presbyterian, meant a first-time matchup for the Mavs, who cruised to a straight-set victory.
Ford (four kills, three digs), Puckett (one kill, two blocks) and Blank (11 assists, two digs and a block) only played the first set as UTA cruised to a 25-11 victory. In fact, Blank's block was of the solo variety - the second of her career.
Ocampo, a redshirt freshman, starred in the final two sets. While recording her first double-digit kill performance, the outside hitter hit an astounding .733 with a team-high 11 kills, three digs and a pair of blocks.
Brown, who now has double-digit kills in every match this year, added 10 kills, a team-high three blocks and a dig.
Several freshmen made an impact, as well.
Alexis Bull had a season-high six kills at a .556 clip with two blocks and two digs.
Evyn Snook had season-bests in kills (5) and digs (6) while
Samantha Glenn added three digs and an ace.
Sophomore setter
Sophie Skinner also had a solid performance, registering 22 assists, six digs, two kills and a pair of aces over the final two sets. Wells had a match-high 12 digs and finished third on the team in assists with four.
Ava Burroughs, who started both matches, totaled three blocks and four kills on the day.
NOTES
With the victory, head coach
J.T. Wenger achieved his 97th career victory as he continues his march toward becoming one of six coaches in program history to reach the century mark, joining Mary Ridgway (254, 1976-81), Diane Seymour (211, 2004-16), Lisa Love (199, 1982-88), Janine Smith (180, 180-137) and Jody Conradt (111, 1973-75).
The Mavs hit .394 against Presbyterian and .319 against Louisiana Tech, which was the first time UTA has produced back-to-back matches with a .300+ hitting percentage since .365 and .317 performances against Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina, respectively, Oct. 25-27 in 2019. On top of that, the team improved to 18-1 when hitting at least .300 in the
J.T. Wenger era.
NEXT UP
The Mavs will be back in action next weekend in the Sooner State against Central Arkansas, Tulsa and Oral Roberts as part of the Tulsa Invitational.
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