NACOGDOCHES, Texas — UT Arlington lost to Texas St. 3-2 on Friday at Shelton Gym. The Mavericks won the first two sets 25-20 and 25-23 before dropping the final three 21-25, 14-25 and 10-15.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Mavericks moved in front 5-1 in the opening set behind two kills from
Sophia Krichev, an
Evyn Snook ace, a
Camryn McMinn kill and a block involving
Hana Aiana and
Lucy Tricco. Texas State worked back to a 6-6 tie and later built a 13-10 lead, but UTA answered through McMinn kills and a
Hana Aiana kill before consecutive India Bennett attack errors, the second blocked by McMinn, put the Mavericks ahead 16-14. After Texas St. tied it again at 16-16, McMinn's kill and two Texas St. attack errors pushed the Mavericks back in front 19-16, and UTA stayed ahead as the set tightened to 21-20. Krichev and Tricco delivered back-to-back kills from there, and two Bobcat attack errors closed out the Mavericks' 25-20 set win.
In the second set, UTA moved ahead 5-2 on a
Sophia Krichev kill from Tricco and early Texas St. attack errors, but Texas State came back to tie it 5-5 behind an Ashley Euston kill, a UTA attack error and a Brooke Bentke kill. The Mavericks built the margin back to 16-11 with kills from
Hana Aiana,
Evyn Snook and
Camryn McMinn and blocks involving Krichev, Tricco and Aiana before TXST scored five straight, including two Bentke aces, to tie the set at 16-16. After the teams traded points through 20-20, Snook put the Mavericks in front with a kill and a Bobcat attack error made it 22-20. Tricco's kill pushed the Mavericks to 23-21, McMinn added a kill for set point at 24-22, and after Texas St. got one back, McMinn closed the set with another kill for a 25-23 win.
After TXST opened the third set with an ace,
Sophia Krichev tied it with a kill from Tricco, and the Mavericks moved ahead 4-1 behind a block involving Krichev and Tricco and back-to-back
Evyn Snook aces. The Mavericks built the lead to 12-7 with
Mazi Smith scoring three kills in that stretch, but Texas State scored four straight to get within 12-11 before Snook's ace and Krichev's kill helped push the margin back to 15-11. The Bobcats later erased a 16-13 deficit with four straight points to go in front 17-16, and although
Hana Aiana and
Camryn McMinn helped UTA answer for an 18-17 lead, the set tightened again at 21-21 on Smith's kill and a Smith-Krichev block. Texas St. took the final four points from there, closing the set 25-21.
The Mavericks recovered from a 2-0 start to tie the fourth set at 2-2 on consecutive
Sophia Krichev kills from Tricco, and
Evyn Snook's ace put UTA in front 3-2. The set stayed even through 7-7 before Texas St. scored three straight points on an Ally Adair kill and back-to-back Peyton McKee kills to move ahead 10-7, and the visitors later stretched the margin to 16-10. The Mavericks got points from a
Camryn McMinn-
Hana Aiana block, a
Hana Aiana kill and a Smith kill during the middle of the set, but Texas State pushed the lead to 23-13 behind a McKee kill, an Ashley Euston kill and a Dylan Gilkey ace, then Euston recorded the final two kills to close the set 25-14.
Kills from
Sophia Krichev and
Camryn McMinn helped the Mavericks build a 4-2 lead to start the fifth set. Texas State moved in front 6-4 behind two Naara Tanco kills, a Mavericks attack error and an Anna Blaine service ace, and later led 8-5 after Janet Onuorah added a kill and an ace. Smith helped the Mavericks close the gap to 8-7 and the Mavericks were still within 9-8 after a Texas St. attack error, but Texas St. scored the next four points to stretch the lead to 13-8. The Mavericks got late points on an attack error and service error from the Bobcats, but ultimately, Texas State closed the set 15-10.
Game Notes
UP NEXT
The Mavericks will close the Texas Challenge by playing host, Stephen F. Austin on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 2 p.m. CT.
--#BuckEm--
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