ARLINGTON, Texas — UT Arlington defeated West Georgia 3-2 (23-25, 25-22, 25-20, 24-26, 15-11) on Thursday at College Park Center. UTA finished with 64 kills and a .210 hitting percentage, while holding West Georgia to 53 kills and a .142 mark.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UTA used a West Ga. service error and kills by
Camryn McMinn and
Hana Aiana to erase a 6-3 deficit and move in front 7-6 in the opening set. West Georgia. later went back ahead 14-12, but
Mazi Smith's kill brought UTA within one before
Isabella Camacho served a four-point stretch that included an
Evyn Snook kill, a block by
Emilee Sikora and Aiana, and a Sikora kill for a 17-14 lead. West Ga. tied the set at 19-19 and again at 22-22, and after Snook put the Mavericks back up 23-22, Valiree Schmus answered with a kill to even it at 23-23. Maddy Kirmer followed with a kill, and West Georgia closed the set on a block by Grace-Blythe Cornett and Kirmer for a 25-23 finish.
UTA built an early 3-1 lead behind kills from
Evyn Snook and Smith and a block by
Hana Aiana, but West Georgia pulled even at 3-3 and kept the set tight through the middle stages. West Georgia moved ahead 9-8 and later 17-16, but UT Arlington answered the second deficit with a
Dixie Nessl kill and a block by Smith and Nessl for an 18-17 advantage. UWG tied the set at 19-19 before Snook's kill and
Samantha Glenn's ace gave the Mavericks a 21-19 edge, and the Mavericks closed the set with kills from Smith, Snook and
Camryn McMinn, including McMinn's finish for a 25-22 win.
Camryn McMinn helped UTA erase a 7-4 deficit with three straight kills to tie the third set at 7-7, but UWG answered with five of the next six points and led 12-8. A McMinn kill started a six-point UT Arlington run, and
Lily Hopkins served the next five points as a Nessl block, a Smith kill and a Nessl/
Evyn Snook block helped UTA move in front 14-12. After Brooke McCall ended the run, Snook and
Hana Aiana added kills to push the margin to 16-13, and UTA later moved ahead 20-15 with a Snook kill, a
Hana Aiana block and a West Georgia attack error. UTA reached set point at 24-17 on consecutive Nessl kills and another West Georgia attack error, and after West Ga. scored three straight, McMinn closed the set with a kill for a 25-20 win.
UTA built a 7-1 lead in the fourth set, with Smith and
Evyn Snook putting down kills in the opening stretch before
Hana Aiana capped it with a kill from
Erica Dellesky. The lead reached 15-10 on a Snook kill, but the Wolves scored four straight points and later tied the set at 16-16 on Giorgia Mandotti's service ace. After Desha Van Veldhuizen's ace gave West Ga. an 18-17 lead and the visitors moved ahead 21-19, the Mavericks came back to lead 22-21 on a Snook kill and consecutive West Ga. attack errors. Snook's kill put UWG back up 23-22 and Aiana's kill made it 24-23, but Brooke McCall delivered consecutive kills for West Ga. before a UTA attack error ended the set at 26-24.
UTA went up 2-0 on
Evyn Snook's kill and a West Georgia attack error, but West Georgia moved in front 6-4 after kills by Maddy Kirmer, Valiree Schmus and Brooke McCall. After a service error, UTA took three points on
Hana Aiana's serve, with
Camryn McMinn tying it at 6-6 before Dellesky and Nessl combined on a block for a 7-6 lead and a Brooke McCall attack error made it 8-6. West Georgia came back to tie the set at 9-9, but McMinn's kill from Dellesky put UTA ahead 10-9, and Hopkins served four straight points that included a Nessl kill, a Smith-Nessl block and a Snook kill for a 14-9 edge. West Georgia extended the set with two points, but Smith finished Dellesky's assist for the final kill in UTA's 15-11 set win.
Game Notes
- Evyn Snook led the game in points with 19.5.
- Freshman Dixie Nessl was the hitting leader of the game with a hitting percentage of .333.
- Erica Dellesky led the game in assists with 45.
UP NEXT
UTA will remain at the College Park Center for their next conference match, Thursday, Oct. 1, against Little Rock, which also headlines as Western & FSL Night.
--#BuckEm--
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