Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 ABILENE, TX (11.02.12) - The UT Dallas volleyball team, frustrated by a 3-0 loss to Mary Hardin-Baylor on the opening day of the American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament at Hardin-Simmons University, began a long climb back toward the ASC title game with a pair of elimination game wins over Schreiner and East Texas Baptist Friday.
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
UTD (26-6) sent Schreiner home with a convincing 25-23, 25-18, 25-14 Friday morning, then took care of familiar East Division foe East Texas Baptist with a 25-18, 24-26, 27-25, 25-21 victory Friday night. With the wins, UTD set a new school record for most wins in a season (26).
The Comets now advance to the semifinals of the tournament for a rematch against the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Saturday at noon. The winner of that match advances to the title game, but must defeat tournament host Hardin-Simmons, unbeaten in the tournament, twice to claim the crown.
The championship game or games are scheduled to begin at 3 pm in HSU's Mabee Complex.
UTD def. Schreiner 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-14)
The Comets knocked the Mountaineers from the double-elimination tournament with a convincing 25-23, 25-18, 25-14 victory in the second day's first match.
The Comets, who hit less than .100 in their opening-day loss, came out gunning Friday afternoon. UTD hit .256 for the match, including a 14-kill, 1-error performance in the final set. UTD also tallied nine blocks and had four service aces in the win. UTD put down 46 kills in the match with just 13 errors. In contrast, Schreiner (12-15) had 35 kills and commited 17 errors for a .140 hitting percentage.
Freshman
Abbie Barth led the way for UTD with 13 kills and 18 digs; while sophomore Taylor Toso hit. 375 with 132 kills. Freshman setter
Kayla Jordan picked up 37 assists. Seniors
Dana Hilzendager and
Halea Williams were each credited with three blocks.
Only the first set was close with UTD leading both the second and third sets from start-to-finish.
The Comets actually trailed early in the first set before tying the score at 6-6 and taking charge in a set the Mountaineers made much too competitive. Barth got off to a big start with three early kills and Toso gave the Comets an 18-12 lead bfore Schreiner started chipping back. With a 9-4 run, the Mountaineers cut the lead to 22-21 and stayed within one or two points until the end before a dump shots from Toso and
Meredith Crawford ended the set with a narrow, 25-23 win.
UTD used the momentum from the first set to jump out to an early 6-0 start, but again SU was back to within three at 10-7 after an early 3-0 run. The Comets, though, answered with a run that included two Hilzendager kills and a block to stretch the lead to eight at 17-9. UTD never let SU any closer than seven the rest of the way and posted a 25-18 win.
The third set began much the same way, but the Comets took an early lead at 13-5 only to see a 5-1 SU run cut the score to 14-10. From that point on, though, UTD was firing on all cylinders and pulled away with an 11-4 finish for the 25-14 win in the finale.
UTD def. East Texas Baptist 3-1 (25-18, 24-26, 27-25, 25-21)
To stay alive, the Comets had to get past a familiar foe to continue in the second elimination game of the day, tackling East Division runner-up East Texas Baptist. The two teams, who had split their regular season matchups, battled through every set before the Comets prevailed with a 3-1 win.
Both teams played an intense, even match, combining for 105 kills during the four-set marathon. UTD hit .178 for the match (54 kills with 24 errors) while ETBU was held to a .116 hitting percentage (51 kills and 31 errors). The two teams had a combined 39 blocks during the match.
Only in the first set did either team build more than a five-point lead and there were multiple ties and lead changes in almost every set. But in the opener, UTD came out with intensity, jumping to an early lead and taking a 13-8 advantage after a 5-1 run. ETBU got back to within five at 15-10, but five errors and a kill put UTD up 21-13 and the Comets held on for the 25-18 win despite a late Lady Tiger run. The Comets hit .286 for the first set with 10 kills.
After a sluggish start, ETBU went on the offensive in the second set. UTD started with a 7-2 run, but the Lady Tigers were right back in it, scoring eight of the next 11 points to get within 10-12. UTD again pulled away, building a 21-17 lead, but ETBU answered with a 4-0 run to tie the score at 21-21. After multiple ties and lead changes, ETBU pulled away to stay alive with a 26-24 win. The set was UTD's worst offensively, getting 15 kills, but tallying 10 errors along the way.
The third set was just as tight. There were six ties and three lead changes as ETBU took the early advantage this time, going on an early 8-1 run to take a 13-8 lead. But UTD answered with a 5-1 run of its own and tied the score at 14-14. The Comets finally took their first lead at 19-18 on a Williams/Jordan block, then had to rally from set point to tie the score at 24-24 with three straight points. Down 24-25, Hilzendager then finished off ETBU with three straight kills to nail down the 27-25 win.
UTD went up early in the fourth and final set, building a 10-5 lead, only to see the Lady Tigers rally to get within a point at 14-13. UTD then got a pair of Crawford kills and a Hilzendager block to pull back out to 18-13 and give themselves a five-point cushion late in the set. ETBU narrowed the gap down to 22-19, then reeled off two straight kills at match point before their final service opportunity went into the net to give UTD the 25-21 win.
UTD got a combined 39 kills in the set from Williams, Hilzendager and Barth. Williams also had five blocks while Barth contributed 24 digs. Jordan had a pair of aces to go along with 49 assists.
