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By Michael Hill | SPECIAL to KBEC Sports
ARLINGTON – After the first two series of the season were postponed and rescheduled due to positive COVID-19 cases, the UT Arlington volleyball team competed this past weekend and finally had players eligible for Sun Belt Conference weekly awards. One of those just so happened to be a 2019 Waxahachie High graduate.
The Mavericks ultimately took three-of-the-four SBC weekly honors this week, as Briana Brown was named Freshman of the Week, Waxahachie’s Alli Wells earned Defensive Player of the Week and Brooke Townsend picked up Offensive Player of the Week honors.
The trio helped lead UTA to a 3-0 start after their season-opening series sweep at Little Rock. The Mavs opened SBC play 3-0 for just the third time in program history (2013, 2016) and the first time under head coach J.T. Wenger.
Wells, a Waxahachie graduate and UTA sophomore, recorded 81 digs in the three matches over the weekend. Her weekend was highlighted by a career-high 33-dig performance in the season’s first match.
Wells smashed her previous career-high dig total of 16, set against Idaho State on Sept. 14, 2019. She appeared in 24 matches during her freshman campaign, recording 114 digs and double-digit digs on five occasions.
Brown showed out in her first collegiate action. The freshman tallied 10 kills and four blocks in her collegiate debut and helped the Mavericks secure the sweep with a career-high and match-high 26 kills in the series finale on Saturday afternoon.
Townsend recorded double-digit kills in all three matches and recorded double-doubles in two of the three. Her three service aces in Saturday’s win tied her career-high.
UTA will be back in action this weekend (Oct. 16-17) when they welcome Arkansas State to College Park Center for a 3-match set. First serve for the home opener is set for 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 16, followed by match two at 6 p.m. The series finale will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17.
FOLLOW WELLS AND THE MAVS
For the latest news on UTA Volleyball, log on to UTAMavs.com or stay connected to the Mavs on social media. Follow the Mavericks on Twitter @UTAMavsVB, on Instagram @UTAMavsVB and on Facebook at Facebook.com/UTAMavsVB.
