Frantz has 16 Kills, Mavs Fall to Bearkats
October 3, 2009
HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Sophomore Tara Frantz matched a career-high 16 kills and sophomore libero Alicia Shaffer recorded a career best 25 digs during UT Arlington’s 25-20, 14-25, 18-25, 23-25 loss to Sam Houston State on Saturday evening at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum. The win was Sam Houston State’s (11-10, 3-1 SLC) 10th at home this season and the Mavericks (6-10, 2-2) fall to 0-5 on the road and have now lost two straight matches.
“Sam Houston really picked things up emotionally in sets two and three and we didn’t,” UT Arlington head coach Diane Seymour said. “We just didn’t play consistently well enough to stay in the match.”
Amanda Aguilera finished with a double-double (11 kills, 12 digs), Emily Shearin led the Mavericks with a .286 hitting percentage and had seven kills, three aces, three digs and three blocks while Raegan Daniel notched her team-leading eighth double-double (40 assists, 10 digs) of the season.
Frantz matched her career-high 16 kills that she recorded earlier this season in a five-set loss to Oklahoma. Shaffer’s 25 digs are the most by a Maverick this season.
“I think Alicia did a great job in the backcourt,” Seymour said. “She passed extremely well and that is a good thing because we needed to do better in that area after not passing well against Lamar last night.”
UT Arlington grabbed the opening-set victory 25-20, after taking advantage of 12 Sam Houston State errors, which included 10 attack errors. Frantz and Christy Driscoll led the way for UTA with three kills each and Aguilera chipped in two kills.
Neither team led by more than three points until the Bearkats recorded three straight attack errors and Aguilera posted her second kill of the match to give the Mavericks a 19-15 advantage. Sam Houston State cut the Mavs’ lead to two points (21-19) before Frantz, Daniel and Bianca Sauls tallied kills to give UTA set point, 24-19. Following a Bearkats’ kill, Driscoll put down a kill to give the Mavericks the first-set victory.
The momentum the Mavericks gained with the first-set victory was soon lost as Sam Houston State started the second frame with a dominating 13-2 lead. The Mavs would cut the Bearkats lead to eight points on four occasions but could never close the gap as SHSU evened the match at a set apiece with a 25-15 set victory.
Frantz led the Mavericks with five kills in the second set while Aguilera and Shearin added a pair of kills each. Aguilera also notched two service aces in the set. Sam Houston State limited their miscues with only three errors (two serving, one hitting) in the set.
The Mavs hung close with the Bearkats for most of the third set. After a Shearin kill brought the Mavs within one point, 16-17, Sam Houston State finished the set on an 8-2 run – as both Maverick points during the run came off SHSU errors – as Sam Houston State grabbed a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-18 win.
Frantz nailed down five kills for the second straight set while the Bearkats stayed steady matching their 15 kills from the second set.
The final set belonged to the Bearkats early on as SHSU ran off to a 9-1 lead. Slowly but surely the Mavericks got back into the set and eventually tied the score at 14, following a 10-3 run that included four UTA kills.
Sam Houston State jumped back ahead 20-15, but the Mavericks wouldn’t give in as they fought back and tied the score at 23. But two straight kills by Carli Kolbe ended the match, 25-23, as the Bearkats picked up their 10th win at home this season.
UT Arlington will complete its three-match road trip next week with a 6:30 p.m. first serve against Texas State on Friday, Oct. 9, in San Marcos, Texas, at Strahan Coliseum.
For more information on Mavericks Volleyball check out their new official website @ http://www.utamavs.com/sports/
