Instant Classic

The UT Arlington Mavericks volleyball team is not only the Western Athletic Conference regular seasons champs, but the Tournament champs after Saturday's win against Grand Canyon University in the championship game.

It was a memorable weekend, one that would likely have an impact on the top ten moments entry, UTA competed in an instant classic in the championship match. It culminated three days of intense volleyball at College Park Center, and not just in matches involving UTA. 

The Mavericks opened the weekend against Abilene Christian in the one/eight seed match. Continuing the sweeps from the prior two matches of the year, UTA swept the Wildcats, winning 25-17, 25-18, 25-14. It was the exact dominant performance the average fan would expect from the first game or match of any sports tournament featuring the same seeds. It showed to me UTA was ready and came on a mission. 

However, after the first round was complete, I became very apprehensive.

I mentioned in the last volleyball post, that despite California Baptist's 7-21 overall record, I was very nervous about the Lancers in the conference tournament. They played better volleyball and the players were healthy. That fear proved true as the Mavs would need five sets to claim the victory. 

In what would be a familiar pattern, the Mavericks lost set one and it wasn't even close, 25-16. Full disclosure, I was only able to follow along on stat tracker as I had a high school basketball game to attend. The building also had bad reception, so social media was difficult to use.

In typical Mav fashion, they won set two, 25-18. All year, the Mavs are 25-6 in the second set. UTA limited Cal Baptist to six kills, the lowest for the match and a negative hitting percentage. 

However, the Lancers followed their worst set with their best hitting percentage in set three, leading to a 25-15 CBU win. I was worried that my CBU fear was coming true and UTA's perfect WAC run was about to end when it mattered most. The Mavs needed to win both the next sets.

I was able to get home around this point and see that the fourth set was shaky. There were several times in the WAC tournament that UTA's opponent used late runs to get ahead and this was another example. After a 21-18 lead, CBU grabbed a lead off a 4-0 run. Freshman outside hitter Sjakkie Donkers stopped the run with a kill, then UTA briefly retook a one-point lead. They traded a couple of points before CBU scored another ace, one of ten on the evening. Facing match point, UTA came with redshirt sophomore outside hitter Sophie Ocampo, who has been in the middle blocker role of late, up the middle for a set tying kill, staving off a season ending point. A CBU error gave UTA a lead and graduate student outside hitter Brianna Ford did her typical attack to get the Mavs even at two sets. UTA won 27-25.

In set five, the dramatics continued as the two teams traded points and small runs leading to a 10-9 Lancer lead. Just as impressive to me is Lancer coach Branden Higa's use of the challenge as he called a timeout, then successfully challenged a call for the lead. That woke the Mavericks up as they claimed the last six points of the set to claim the match. Donkers had three of the kills in that stretch for a 15-10 win.

There were several points in the match that UTA could have folded. They didn't. They just weren't done. That looked like championship caliber volleyball. But it was also against the fifth seed.

On the opposite side of the bracket, the team (and the whole University for that matter) that the entirety of the WAC dislikes advanced to the championship game. Grand Canyon defeated Seattle and Utah Valley to play in the championship match on Saturday.

There's a great recap here from UTAMavs.com. Normally I recap briefly with the understanding that they have a better summary after every athletic event, but this one was much more in depth than normal. If ESPN actually cared about volleyball, this one would be replayed quite often. It was no doubt an instant classic.

This match was almost a mirror repeat of the previous match against CBU. UTA lost the first set, though at 25-20, it was closer than the first from CBU. UTA had a 19-15 lead but could only grab one point to the ten for GCU. It was the first time all year that I saw UTA fade in back-to-back matches in one set. That tends to happen in the postseason.

The second set continued the tight pattern in the beginning of each set the previous two days. In a repeat of the first, UTA had a 19-15 lead. This time, the Mavs went on a 6-2 run to close it out and even the match at two.

The third was back and forth with GCU attempting to take a dynamic lead but never getting it past three. The Mavs finally broke free with five unanswered for a two-point lead. A neck and neck pace then ensued with neither team breaking free from the other. That is to say, at 19-19, the 'lopes used a 6-1 run to end the third set with a 2-1 lead.

The fourth set is where I thought UTA's season was over.,, again. This time, the early portion of the set was UTA's problem as GCU raced to a 10-5 lead. GCU's attack was just too dominant at the time for me to see a plausible way to go on a 20-13 run.

Needing to start something, three of the main offensive weapons came through in Donkers, outside hitter graduate senior Paige Reagor and Ford scored in back-to-back-to-back serves to cut into the lead. After two more GCU points, the Mavs had another spurt. The 5-1 run tied the match. College Park Center was going crazy. UTA was never able to gain the lead but kept it close. GCU had a three-point lead on three occasions, 19-16, 20-17 and 21-18. GCU was happy to keep trading as they were to that point, but UTA had other plans. Flipping the script, UTA got two kills and an uncharacteristic three GCU errors for a 5-0 run, thanks to the increased UTA pressure. The teams traded the remaining points and GCU staved off set point once with a UTA attack error, but sophomore outside hitter Evyn Snook, who erred on the prior attack, didn't need a second try to even the match at four.

I've watched volleyball for over twenty years. It is one of my favorite Olympic sports and I've watched a lot of college ball, not just UTA. There's no understatement that this may have been the greatest, if not greatest fifth set, I have seen. Would I say that if the outcome were reversed? Likely. It had a bit of everything and the drama was very high.

UTA started with a 2-0 lead and it looked like the ending of the fourth set carried over. However, that was short lived as junior outside hitter Tatum Parrot had two kills and a block as part of a 6-0 run. UTA got a quick two points before GCU got three more. At 9-4, things were looking bleak in the short race of the fifth set.

I have a personal perspective as a fan that victory is almost always near when your lead over the opponent is greater than the points needed for a win. GCU was at that point when they led 11-6, 12-8, 13-10 and 14-11. The first match point was held at bay by a Ford kill. It was a sight we've seen many times over the last few years. With a side out, a 14-12 score and a favorable rotation, sophomore libero Samantha Glenn started the first of what she hoped would be at least two serves. GCU set their offense just as they hoped but a combined block by Ocampo and Ford brought the Mavs within one at 14-13. Glenn served again and once again GCU fed Parrot, who avoided the block, but in doing so sent it wider than she likely was going for. It went to the feet of the Line Judge on the Mavs side. He jumped out of the way and signaled the ball landed in. GCU immediately started storming the court in celebration of their perceived win but the up judge immediately overruled the call and said it was out, giving the point to the Mavs.

GCU coach Kendra Potts immediately challenged the call as expected. The replay clearly showed it was close, but definitely out. After the correct call, CPC erupted and the game was fresh at 14-14. Like the day before, UTA staved off match point. But this time, it was three in a row. 

With Glenn still serving, GCU changed tactics and gave it to someone else besides Parrot. It didn't fool Ocampo and Snook, who blocked the attack. The Mavs now had their own match point. Glenn, whose cool serves got UTA to this point, did it again and GCU matched UTA for a few rallies. Finally, Ford received the pass from graduate student setter Mollie Blank and saw Parrot and another 'lope readying for a block. Instead of forcing it and hitting as hard as she could, Ford finessed the ball off Parrot's stretched arm and it landed on the GCU side for the final point. UTA won the fifth, the match and the WAC's auto-bid to the NCAA tournament off that kill.

Ford and Parrot both had 25 kills to lead the match, while Reagor had 13, Donkers notched 12 and Snook hit ten. Blank had an incredible 56 assists, 31 better than GCU's leader. GCU led UTA in blocks, 15 to 8 and aces, 12-6. That kept them in the game as UTA led the way offensively. Donkers led all in digs at 26 while Ford had 16, Blank 13 and Glenn had 12. UTA outdug GCU 83 to 64.

Blank and Donkers earned all-tournament team honors and Ford earned the most valuable player of the tournament. I'm sure it will sit well next to the regular season award of the same name.

Part of what made that match so memorable wasn't just the play, the rally or the replay of the call that could have ended the match. but it was the opponent. There was a rival/not-a-rival feeling between GCU and New Mexico State, the two premier athletic departments of the WAC for most of the years UTA was in the Sun Belt Conference. NMSU fans showed annoyance towards the 'lopes and were always happy to beat them. 

After what happened last year in all sports coupled with their unreplicable, borderline unethical, funding mechanism. I really dislike Grand Canyon University. It also comes from their fan base on social media. For a school that is winning at the level they have, with their budget outsizing anyone else's, many-to-most of their fans certainly have a chip on their shoulder and want to insult everyone else along the way. It even permeates their athletic department and coaches. I watched their volleyball coach last year, Tim Nollan, berate the UTA staff on press row when they didn't have stats printed out fast enough for him. I saw an interview of Bryce Drew complaining about officials after the two conference losses in basketball, rich coming from that program. There have been other, minor occurrences with other coaches that give the same vibe.

Well, the chippiness continued during the match as I witnessed Snook and Ford have intense stare downs with Parrot and Trista Strasser a senior middle blocker. I suspect several of the runs were fueled by that dislike. There were several GCU players that did the same.

The GCU sports information department has now carried that dislike over too. From the game report:

Parrott's diagonal smash landed and received a call that it was inbound from the line judge, as he was struck by the bounce. The Lopes rushed the court to celebrate what would have been a second consecutive WAC Tournament crown, but the first referee in the elevated stand overruled the call.

Had the call not been overturned by the referee, the ruling would have stood because UT Arlington did not have any replay challenges remaining.

Just wow. Reading that, the account is factually correct but implies the call should not have been overturned, that GCU was robbed. It was the correct call. Period. I would hate to be crowned the winners because the call was wrong. I want it earned. Period. The line judge missed it because it was at his feet and he didn't have the angle to properly see where the ball landed. The up judge did and had a great angle. The call should have been overturned. On that play, the officiating was great.

That game recap also quoted a GCU player who said they would not trade one player on their roster for anyone on UTA's. Athletic management or talent evaluation may not be in their future as GCU had zero player accolades and UTA beats them in most statistical categories, including the one that matters most, 3-0.

If the rest of the athletic season has this level of competition between these schools, it should be a fun year.

As for UTA, there were a lot of things that were really special about this year. And the fans showed up. For the first time in program history, the team averaged over 1,000 in attendance, 1,078 in the regula season to be exact. They showed for the conference tourney too, raising the average to 1,088. The 1,333 against ACU and the 1,318 against GCU were the fifth and sixth largest crowds in CPC history and ninth and tenth overall. For the quality this team produced, it was well deserved. 

Volleyball's trajectory has been on the rise regardless as far as attendance average. 2021, '22, '23 and '24 are all in the top ten average attendance seasons. Extending it out to the past decade, 2015, '16, '17 and '18 are also on the top ten list. 2019 is just outside and 2020 was a COVID-restricted attendance season. Eight of the top ten attended seasons have come in the last ten years.

As for the NCAA tournament, there are 19 other automatic qualifiers who have earned their spot. As of the RPI rankings released Monday, UTA is currently 45th out of 346.  That is one of the better marks I have seen in a while, if not the best. It's also one of the main tools to determine seeding in the upcoming tournament. While other factors are strength of schedule, which is not terribly high for UTA, strength of wins, again, not terribly high, and geographic convenience, meaning they won't send UTA to New York for a slightly better seed and send a Northeast team to Louisiana for a slightly lower one. 

19 conferences have determined a champion in some capacity to this point. Of those, three have a higher RPI than UTA: Arizona State (9), Western Kentucky (42) and Yale (37). Six others are close: Florida Gulf Coast (47), High Point (60) Loyola of Chicago (57), Texas State (54), Wichita State (65) and Wofford (67). The remaining ten are 25 spots or more lower: Chicago State (167), Cleveland State (109), Colgate (85), College of Charleston (91), Delaware State (205), Fairfield (143), Florida A&M (156), New Hampshire (146), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (84), and Western Michigan (79).

The Missouri Valley Conference, Ohio Valley Conference and Summit League crown their champion today. The Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten, Southeast Conference and West Coast Conference do not have a conference tournament and crown the regular season champ with the auto-bid. Same for the Big XII, but unlike the others, Arizona State is already the regular season champ. The remaining conferences will know their autobid at the end of the week.

First round of the NCAA tournament starts on December 5th. Selection show happens this coming Sunday evening. UTA's next opponent, the site and time will be determined then. At 29-2, UTA sure would like to get a favorable seed for at least one more win.