UTA Volleyball Plans to Build on Opening Weekend Success
By Lindsey Perkins Wade
Posted on September 02, 2015, September 02, 2015

Articles-UTA-Sports

After going 2-1 in the opening weekend of the 2015 season, UT Arlington plans to build on the strong start when it hosts North Texas on Wednesday night at College Park Center.

"It was really good for us to get to know everyone's personality and kind of see how people will step in and play in those positions," UT Arlington libero Caitlyn Cooney said. "We got off to a great start and things are looking up."

Cooney was one of two Maverick players to etch their name into UTA history. Cooney moved her way into 10th place in career digs by a UTA player, while setter Cassidy Wheeler also moved into 10th place in career assists.

Another bright spot for UTA this past weekend was the play of senior opposite Stacey Koch. Koch was instrumental in the Mavs success as she recorded a team high 40 kills to go along with a .562 hitting percentage. The impressive showing over the weekend was rewarded on Monday afternoon when The Colony, Texas native was named the Sun Belt Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week.

On the other side of the net from the Mavericks will be the Mean Green who opened up their season with a 1-2 record at the Missouri Tournament. Jumpstarting the UNT offensive effort will be 2014 Conference USA Player of the Year Carnae Dillard. Dillard registered a team-high 68 kills on her way to earning a spot on the Tiger Invitational All-Tournament team. Dillard wasted no time in making her presence known as she notched 24 kills in the Mean Green's season opener against Winthrop.

"You're not going to be able to stop Carne Dillard," UT Arlington coach Diane Seymour said. "You're going to try to limit her. We used to talk about this when we played Little Rock, if we could keep Edina Begic under 20 kills then we would have an opportunity to win the match. You're in the same boat with Dillard who put up 24 kills on opening night last week."

The matchup between UTA and UNT is set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. and will serve as a Blue Out for Maverick fans.

Tickets for Wednesday's game are available at UTATickets.com. The stream for Wednesday's matchup with the Mean Green will be available for free on UTAMavs.com.

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