Nov. 6, 2014

UTA Match Notes  | UALR Match Notes  | USA Match Notes 

UT Arlington (21-6, 11-4 SBC) vs UALR (21-4, 15-0 SBC)
Friday, Nov. 7 | College Park Center
Mavericks lead all-time series 8-6
Live Stats | Live Video (Subscription)

UT Arlington (21-6, 11-4 SBC) vs South Alabama (10-14, 5-9 SBC)
Sunday, Nov. 9 | College Park Center
Mavericks lead all-time series 4-1
Live Stats | Live Video (Subscription)

By Paul Watley | UTAMavs.com

ARLINGTON, Texas - On the heels of the program's best season since 2006, UT Arlington's Taylor Story has been a key cog for the Mavericks improved play in 2014.

Story's play has shown great improvement since last season as the defensive specialist has jumped from 0.15 digs per set during the 2013 season to 2.70 digs per set this year which is the third highest on this year's squad. While one reason for the improved numbers comes from Story seeing more time on the court, the Plano native felt that having a full year with the Mavericks under her belt played a big role in her improvement.

"Being with the team for a full year and getting to know everyone and feeling more confident and comfortable within my area has definitely helped," Story said. "Focusing more on one area in playing the back row and focusing on digging and serve receiving as well as being a vocal person on the court has helped me improve."

While Story's time on the court may be limited due to playing defensive specialist, UT Arlington coach Diane Seymour has been impressed by the senior's ability to provide an impact in her time on the court.

"She stepped into that role of what Megan Casey did a year ago and has handled it really well and been a positive impact for the three rotations she is out there which is something that's really hard to do," Seymour said.  "It's hard to provide an impact for your team when you are in for three and then gone, but she does a good of it because the people around her are confident that she has the right information."

While the strong showing this season may have shocked outsiders, Story mentioned that the Mavericks' first twenty win season since 2006 didn't come as a surprise.

"I was expecting it," Story said.  "You could tell we were going to be a strong team in the summer and in the spring."

With all that the Mavericks have accomplished this season, Story continues to look forward and hopes that the team can go far beyond twenty wins.

"Hitting the twenty win mark will be something to remember," Story said. "I'm also looking forward to seeing us pull ahead of that mark and hit something bigger than that."

Prior to attending UTA, the Plano native attended Stetson University where she saw action in 110 sets during her freshman and sophomore seasons. The experience with the Hatters in addition to Story's hard work this past offseason put the 11th year head coach at ease with Story on the court.

"She came from a different university where she got to play some and last year she played some spots for us and did a good job in those roles," Seymour said. "She worked really hard this past offseason so I felt she was going to be the consistent player we needed."

Story and the Mavericks will face the Sun Belt leading UALR Trojans on Friday, Nov. 7 with the match slated to begin at 6:30 p.m.

Quick Hits

- Amanda Welsh has continued to climb up the UTA All-Time charts as she registered two service aces this past weekend. The Austin native currently sits at 102 aces which is tied for 14th place in Maverick history, just two aces short moving into 13th.

- Caitlyn Cooney's 536 digs this season (7th most in UTA history) have helped contribute to the junior libero's climb up the Maverick all-time charts as Cooney currently sits 15th in career digs with 1,249. The Houston native sits just 26 digs shy of moving into 14th place, passing Heather Hoy who played for the Mavericks from 1994-97.

- Defense has taken a step up for the Mavericks when playing in front of their home crowd this season. When playing at College Park Center, UTA is showing improved numbers in blocks per set (+0.5), digs per set (+0.7), opponent kills per set (-2.7) and opponent hitting percentage (-0.071).

- The Mavericks used a team effort in their three-set sweep of South Alabama earlier this season as no UTA player reached double-digit kills. The Mavericks used a .259 hitting percentage to go along with seven blocks to claim the match in three sets.

- UTA has an average attendance of 556 at home matches this year which is the highest mark in the past ten years. The top four single-game College Park Center volleyball attendance records have been set this reason with the most coming when 1,251 fans attended the Mavs three-set sweep of Texas State.

- In the Mavs previous meeting with UALR this season, 73% of the Trojans kills were recorded by Edina Begic and Sonja Milanovic.

- UTA's Qiana Canete recorded 17 kills in the Mavericks four-set loss earlier this season to UALR. In addition to 17 kills, the Copperas Cove native also registered 18 digs.