RICHARDSON, TX (11.11.16) - The No. 4-ranked UT Dallas volleyball team has advanced to the regional semifinals of the NCAA Division III National Tournament for the second straight season after a 3-0 win over Whitworth University Friday to close opening day of the Dallas Regional.
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
The Comets (now 31-2) matched the school record for victories in a season with a short 25-20, 25-13, 25-19, win over the Pirates (now 21-6). UTD will next face No. 25 Hendrix in the regional semifinals at 4 p.m. Saturday at the UTD Activity Center. The two teams met earlier this season with the Comets winning a 3-0 decision.
Friday night, UTD got off to a slow start but finished the night hitting .265 as a team as senior outside hitter
Abbie Barth collected 11 kills and and 18 digs. Senior
Holyn Handley added nine kills while freshmen
Dylan Brinkman and
Lauren Schilling each had seven kills.
The Comets hit just .175 in the opening set as they had to hold off Whitworth for a 25-20 decision to grab a 1-0 lead. UTD managed just 12 kills in the set, with Handley and Barth each recording three, as the Pirates hit just .023, collected 11 kills to 10 errors in the stanza.
UTD exploded in the second set, however, amassing 15 kills to just one error, hitting .424 as a team in a 25-13 romp of the Pirates to take a commanding 2-0 lead. Barth collected six kills in the set while Schillig had five and three blocks.
The Comets closed out the only sweep of the opening round with a 25-19 win in the third set. UTD hit .227 with Brinkman leading the way with five kills while Handley and senior
Michelle Toro each adding three put-aways.
UTD improved to 3-4 all-time in the NCAA D-III National Tournament, picking up its first-ever sweep in the event. The Comets also opened the 2015 event with a win over Whitworth (3-1).
In other action on the opening day, No. 7 Southwestern knocked off No. 19 La Verne, 3-2, before No. 8 Colorado College upset No. 3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 3-1. Southwestern and Colorado College will open play on Saturday with a regional semifinal match at 1:30 p.m. Hendrix opened the tournament with a 3-1 win over No. 12 Trinity.
