At the Halfway Mark

The UT Arlington Mavericks volleyball team, the only team sport in the fall for the University, is having a better-than-expected year as it sits 12-7 on the year and 4-3 in the Western Athletic Conference. In the preseason poll, UTA was selected eighth. They now sit in a tie for fourth with Grand Canyon. 

In first is UTRGV (picked 7th in preseason), with a 6-0 WAC record, 17-4 overall. Utah Valley (2), fresh off a 3-1 win over UTA and SFA in Utah, is second at 5-1, 11-7. The loss drops SFA (5) to third at 6-2, 18-3. UTA and GCU (3) are the last teams with a winning record in the standings, with GCU at 10-8 overall. 

UTA picked up a few surprising wins in the first half, with a 3-2 win over GCU on the road. They picked up two more road wins at Abilene Christian and Tarleton. ACU is 12th overall at 2-5 while Tarleton is 11th at 3-5. Those wins also carried a winning streak that started in non-conference play to a total of nine.

The loss that disappointed me most was at College Park Center to California Baptist 3-1. It was such a wacky match. UTA and CBU went toe-to-toe in set one, ending in a UTA loss 29-27. UTA dominated in set two, 25-13, evening it up. CBU then flipped the scrip, with a 25-18 set three win. It looked like another close one to start the fourth but ended in an identical 25-18 match loss, ending the longest winning streak since the early aughts.

I thought the loss to an inferior team in the standings and RPI rankings would light a fire under the Mavs in the next game against Grand Canyon, especially considering how tight the first match was on the road. However, there were similarities to the CBU match as UTA picked up a tight first set, 25-22, before dropping the second by the same score. A flat performance in the pivotal third set saw a 25-18 loss. In the do-or-die third, UTA again lost by three, dropping the match 3-1. 

To say an 0-2 home stand was disappointing was an understatement. Considering the defending tournament champions and pre-season runner up were awaiting a visit by the Mavs, picking up one win would have been crucial. After a lop-sided first set, giving the Wolverines a 1-0 lead, UTA won a close second set by two. The final two sets were close, but the Mavs fell short by two in each set for the loss. It was a better overall performance, but it was also a better overall opponent.

Seattle, on the other hand, is not a better overall opponent. A road trip to the winless Redhawks, who are last in the standings as well as preseason predictions, was just what the doctor ordered. A 3-0 sweep ended the losing streak and upped the conference record a game above .500. 

Briana Ford has been the offensive machine for the Mavs. The sophomore is second in the conference in kills with 249, second in points with 304.5 and fifth in kills per set at 3.28.

Setter may be a harder position, because a great setter with below average hitters won't record the assists that an above average setter with excellent hitters would, or a team with outstanding blockers leading to blocks and attacks errors of the other teams kill attempts. But regardless of that, freshman setter Sophie Skinner is holding her own at the position, fourth overall in the WAC in assists with 548, fifth overall in assists per set at 7.72.

Defensively, Alli Wells is fourth in digs at 318 and fifth in digs per set at 4.18. Kortney Puckett is sixth in blocks per set at 1.02 while Meredith Fisher is tenth at 0.97.

UTA is one of five teams out of 13 in the WAC to have a player in the top ten in each of those categories. 

UTA as a team is also top five in most statistical categories: blocks (1), opponent hitting percentage (3), hitting percentage (4), service aces (4), digs (5), kills (8) and assists (10). It's hard to tell what is the missing ingredient. Other than age and experience, as I mentioned last post about this team, they seem to be doing well in most respects. I suspect next year will be a bit special, should everyone stay together.

Looking over the remaining schedule, there's some doozies and some good opportunities for wins. UTA has matches against @ UTRGV (10-29) and SFA (11-5) that are great chances to move up in the standings, but against stiff competition. Texas teams Abilene Christian and Sam Houston in College Park Center are promising as they are near the bottom of the standings. After that, there are toss ups which will make or break where UTA ends up. @ NMSU 3-3 (10-27), Utah Tech 3-4 (11-10) and Southern Utah also 3-4 (11-12) are all within a match of the Mavs. UTA has the benefit of the home floor for most of the toss ups.

Regardless of where the team ends up, the team has been fun to follow to this point. For Maverick faithful, it's nice to be respectable in volleyball again.