LAFAYETTE, La. — UT Arlington defeated Louisiana 3-2 on Friday, winning 25-21, 22-25, 17-25, 25-23, 15-12. The Mavericks trailed by two late in the fourth set before taking the lead and winning the final two sets, 25-23 and 15-12.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Ragin' Cajuns scored the first two points of the opening set, but the Mavericks answered with seven straight behind
Lily Hopkins' serving, including a Hopkins ace, consecutive
Sophia Krichev kills from
Lucy Tricco and another Hopkins ace for a 7-2 lead. UTA still led 14-9 before the Ragin' Cajuns pulled within 14-13, and after
Mazi Smith stopped that stretch with a kill, Louisiana later tied the set at 15-15 and again at 17-17.
Evyn Snook put the Mavericks back in front with three kills during a run to 20-17, and
Hana Aiana's kill made it 21-18 before the Cajuns cut the margin to 22-21.
Emilee Sikora delivered kills for the final two Mavericks points before
Sophia Krichev and Smith combined on the closing block to finish a 25-21 set win.
The Cajuns held an 8-5 lead after a Marlee Ervin kill, but the Mavericks worked back behind kills from Smith,
Sophia Krichev and Sikora to stay within 10-8. The Mavericks moved in front during a five-point stretch that included an
Evyn Snook kill, two Ragin' Cajuns errors and a bad set, putting UTA ahead 13-11. The Mavericks stretched the advantage to 17-13 on a Sikora kill, a Smith-
Sophia Krichev block and a Krichev kill, then later led 21-17 after
Camryn McMinn's kill from Hopkins. ULL answered with five straight points to take a 22-21 lead, and after
Hana Aiana tied the set at 22-22, Louisiana scored the final three points to take the set 25-22.
After a service error gave the Mavericks their first point and the Cajuns later led 4-1, attack errors by Emily Williams and Sarah Schnell brought the Mavericks within 4-3. ULL scored the next three points to make it 7-3 and, after a
Sophia Krichev kill, used kills by Williams and Harley Krause along with aces from Marlee Ervin and Kennedy Gustafson to build a 12-6 lead. Sikora's kill brought the Mavericks to 12-7, but the Ragin' Cajuns took the next three points for a 15-7 advantage, and two Ervin attack errors made it 15-9 before Ervin's kill and two
Evyn Snook attack errors made it 18-9. The Mavericks got late kills from Sikora,
Camryn McMinn and
Hana Aiana, but the Cajuns reached set point at 24-16 on an Aiana attack error and closed the set 25-17 on Lindsey Henry's kill from Rhyan Miciotto.
The fourth set stayed tight into the middle stages before ULL turned an 11-10 lead into an 18-11 advantage, using Sarah Schnell and Marlee Ervin kills around a series of Mavericks errors. A Cajuns service error and
Hana Aiana's block got the Mavericks back to 13-18, and after ULL made it 19-13, UTA scored four straight on a Harley Krause attack error, two Sikora kills and a
Samantha Glenn ace to get within 19-17. A Glenn service error made it 20-17 Cajuns, but Sikora added kills on both sides of a
Sophia Krichev-
Camryn McMinn block to tie the set at 20-20; after Louisiana went back in front 21-20, two Louisiana attack errors and another McMinn-Krichev block pushed the Mavericks ahead 23-21. The Cajuns tied it at 23-23, but McMinn's kill gave the Mavericks set point and
Evyn Snook followed with a kill from
Isabella Camacho for the 25-23 set win.
UTA started the fifth set with three straight points, using a
Sophia Krichev-
Camryn McMinn block, a Cajuns attack error and a Krichev kill from
Isabella Camacho to move ahead 3-0. Louisiana worked back from an 8-5 deficit, getting two Mavericks attack errors during a three-point stretch to tie the set at 8-8 before Sikora answered with a kill from Hopkins for a 9-8 lead. Camacho then served the Mavericks through four straight points, including an ace, as the Mavericks pushed the margin to 13-8. ULL cut the gap to 13-11 and later 14-12, but McMinn put down kills for the Mavericks' final two points to close out the set 15-12.
Game Notes
- Sophia Krichev led the game with seven blocks and a .400 hitting percentage.
- Emilee Sikora finished the game with 13 kills on a .360 hitting percentage.
- Lucy Tricco ended the game ranked second in assists with 23.
- Evyn Snook accumulated 13 kills, four digs and totaled 13 points.
UP NEXT
UTA will close out the Ragin' Cajuns Classic, playing Mississippi State tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 19 at 11 a.m.
--#BuckEm--
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