MAV SPIKERS WIN 27-30, 30-14, 30-22, 30-24

A season that loomed like a dark cloud, finishes with a silver lining

Ellen Murray racked up 14 kills to lead UTA to a four-game win over Nicholls State Saturday.
 
Ellen Murray racked up 14 kills to lead UTA to a four-game win over Nicholls State Saturday.
  

Nov. 12, 2005

Final Stats

After losing 21 of their first 25 matches, the UTA Mavericks finish the season with a pair of wins. Saturday's four-game win over Nicholls State (1-17, 1-16) might not seem like much, but it is a steppingstone of better things to come in 2006.

"There were a lot of positives to take out of (this weekend's play)," said UTA Head Volleyball Coach Diane Seymour. "It gives us some momentum and let us know we are improving as we head into the off season."

While the night was a send off for seniors Ashley Van Antwerp and Melissa Marek, the night was also a coming out party for sophomore middle blocker Ellen Murray.

The Arlington native shared team-high honors with 14 kills and hit an impressive .481 attack percentage. She also shared team-high honors with five block assists.

"Ellen has had a remarkable season," said Seymour. "Her development has been amazing and she gives us a person to fill Marek's spot. When she signed, we thought she was a player who wouldn't play much for a couple of years, but she was a person with tremendous upside. The way she has elevated her play (this season) has been unbelievable."

UTA (6-21, 4-14) squandered a four-point lead in game one as Nicholls went on a 6-1 run midway through the game to take a 24-19 lead after an error by Van Antwerp.

After losing game one 30-27, the UTA took control of the match.

A dominating 30-14 game saw the Mavs hit .423 for the game and force 11 NSU attack errors for a minus-.024 percentage. Murray and Marek had three kills each.

UTA won game three 30-22. Again, the Mavs' defense did not crack from the barrage of attacks by NSU hitters Aaliyah Muhammad and Atina Porter who went a combined .006 with four kills, three errors on 15 attempts.

UTA rallied from a 16-7 deficit in game four to win, 30-24.

 

 

UTA forced Nicholls into 10 attack errors during the rally as the Mavs' front line had five stops.

For the match, three Mavs had double-digit digs led by Morgan Rogers (15), Ashley Smith (13) and Van Antwerp (11). Marek ended her career with 10 kills and Emily Nedderman had 45 assists.

NOTES: Van Antwerp finished her career 16th on the all-time career kills list with 927