ABILENE, Texas -- The UT Arlington volleyball team fell to Abilene Christian in the quarterfinals of the WAC Volleyball Championship in a five-set thriller (25-19, 27-25, 25-19, 25-20, 11-15) on ACU's home turf of Moody Coliseum. The defeat concluded the Mavericks' 2025 campaign.
 
The match opened evenly at 1-1 before ACU put together a three-point run to take a 4-1 lead, prompting a Maverick timeout. UTA responded with a small push of its own, fueled by kills from Camryn McMinn and Alexis Bull, to cut the deficit 8-4. After falling behind 12-5, the Mavericks used their second timeout and later put together a four-point run to pull within 18-11. However, with steady offense from the Wildcats, ACU closed out the first set, 25-19.
 
Mavericks started set two on a strong note, using a four-point run to turn a 2-3 deficit into a 6-3 lead. ACU answered with a four-point run of its own, capitalizing on a pair of UTA attack errors and two kills from Audrey Beaver. A second Wildcat timeout scoring spurt (7-7 to 10-7) prompted a Maverick timeout. UTA responded with another solid 3-0 run to pull within three at 14-17, forcing ACU to call timeout. The Mavericks continued to chip away, cutting the deficit to 20-22 with strong swings from Tritt, Bull and key blocks from Sophie Ocampo. ACU reached set point at 24-21, but UTA fought back to tie it at 24-24 with balanced offense and defense and ultimately, taking set two, 25-22.
 
The third set opened evenly before UTA put together a four-point run to take an 8-5 lead. Abilene Christian answered with two kills from Hadlee Welch and Ashlee Edmiston to tie the score at 8-8. The Mavericks took their first timeout once ACU took the lead, 9-8.
ACU then seized momentum with an eight-point scoring run, turning an 8-6 deficit into a 13-8 advantage and prompting UTA's second timeout. The Mavericks responded with kills from McMinn and Hana Aiana, along with a block from Hana Aiana and Ocampo, cutting the deficit to 22-19 and forcing an ACU timeout. However, three late UTA errors closed out the set, giving ACU the 25-19 win.
 
UTA opened the fourth set strong, jumping out to a 5-2 lead. Both teams traded points through the middle of the frame, keeping the score tight all the way to 13-13. The Mavericks then put together a steady rally to build a 20-14 advantage. UTA maintained control late, though ACU cut the deficit to 23-19, prompting a Maverick timeout. Two key kills down the stretch helped UTA close out the set, 25-20, evening the match at 2-2.
 
The final set opened with Abilene Christian jumping out to a 4-1 lead, prompting UTA to take its first timeout. The Wildcats continued to build momentum, extending the advantage to 6-1 and forcing the Mavericks to burn their final timeout. With the Wildcats leading 11-6, ACU took its first timeout of the set. The Wildcats reached match point at 14-9, until UTA lifted the score with three kills, 11-14, prompting a ACU timeout. ACU took set five 11-15, winning the game 3-2.
 
Game Notes
» Jalie Tritt led the game with 20 kills, 52 attacks and 22 points.
» Mira Ledermueller led the game with 47 assists.
» Hana Aiana led the game with nine blocks.
 
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