FOLEY, Ala. – Brianna Ford posted 13 kills, 10 digs and three blocks to lead UTA to a 3-1 (25-15, 22-25, 25-20, 25-17) win over Georgia Southern in Sun Belt Volleyball Championship pool play Thursday night in the Foley Sports Complex. 

Despite finishing 1-1 in Pool B, the Eagles see their tournament come to an end no matter the result of tomorrow's match between Troy and UTA. Georgia Southern would need Troy to defeat UTA to set up a 3-way tie at 1-1 but would then lose the first tiebreaker of set win percentage to the Trojans.

Eagles of the Match
Chamblee Russell finished the match with 18 kills, four digs and a block, while Baylor Bumford collected nine kills and two blocks. Mya Wilson posted eight kills, and Rebekah Farthing tallied a match-high 21 digs. Madison Brown finished the night with 38 assists, 13 digs and a pair of blocks.

Key Moments 
Trailing 1-0 in the match, the Eagles were down 12-4 in the second set before answering the bell behind the serving of Farthing and Landon Jones. Russell put down six kills, including three in a row at one point, in a monstrous 16-4 run for Georgia Southern (5-10). An Alli Wells kill brought UTA to within a point at 23-22, but Bumford and Russell recorded consecutive kills to give the Eagles the set, 25-22.

The third set saw 13 ties and six lead changes before UTA (11-6) took control late. Trailing 15-14, the Mavs used a 10-3 run to open a 24-18 lead. The Eagles fought off two set points with a block by Lauren Hager and Bumford followed by a Bumford kill, but the Eagles hit it wide after a long rally as UTA took the set 25-20.

Stat of the Match
UTA posted 11.5 blocks and 65 digs to hold Georgia Southern to .117 hitting in the match. The Mavs hit .278.

Quotables from head coach Chad Willis
"It was a tough loss tonight against a solid UTA squad. We did some really nice things on both sides of the ball throughout the match, but unfortunately, gave up some runs in key stretches that we couldn't really dig out of. I'm proud of our effort and the energy we came out with—especially coming off the battle last night with Troy. This week has been a great learning experience for our group and one that has absolutely moved us forward as we continue to build and pursue excellence on and off the court!"