Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 RICHARDSON, TX (09.20.13) - The UT Dallas volleyball team made impressive work with a pair of three-set sweeps to open the first weekend of American Southwest Conference action.
In the opener, the Comets (8-5, 2-0) made quick work of Mississippi College, cruising to a dominant 25-10, 25-10, 25-11 win over the Lady Choctaws. The nightcap also only lasted three sets, but UTD had to take their game up a notch to pull out a hard-fought 26-24, 25-18, 25-22 win over former East Division rival UT Tyler.
After a 6-5 start to the season with a tough non-conference schedule, the Comets have now won six straight matches, and meet LeTourneau at 12 noon Saturday, followed by a 4 pm match with East Texas Baptist.
This year, the ASC volleyball schedule consists of a series of weekend mini-tournaments throughout the league. UTD is one of the schools hosting an opening weekend tournament.
UTD def. MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE 3-0 (25-10, 25-10, 25-11)
Abbie Barth and
Taylour Toso led a Comet power attack that put down 44 kills in a quick 25-10, 25-10, 25-11 victory over Mississippi College to open the four-match weekend tournament.
Barth was credited with 15 kills while Toso added 10 as the Comets cruised to a dominating win. The Comets hit a remakable .727 with only one attack error in the opening set and finished with a .468 hitting percentage for the match. The Choctaws (2-5), meanwhile, were able to come up with just 16 kills in the match with an .028 attack percentage.
The opening set set the tone for the entire match as UTD jumped ahead 17-5 right out of the gate and cruised to a 25-10 win. In the second set, the Choctaws were still within a couple of points at 8-6, but UTD finished on a 17-5 run to record another 25-10 win.
MC hung around in the final set, cutting the Comets' early lead down to 8-7 midway through the match, but then gave up another late run to UTD, which raced away with a 25-11 victory.
Kayla Jordan had 26 assists and three service aces for UTD, which scored eight times with the serve. The Comets spread around 34 digs and tallied a combined six team blocks. MC had just one block and two aces in the match.
UTD def. UT TYLER 3-0 (26-24, 25-18. 25-22)
Sophomore
Meredith Crawford took center stage in the nightcap with rival UT Tyler, pounding down 19 kills in another 3-0 win. This one, however, wasn't as simple as the Patriots (9-3, 0-1) forced the Comets to play at their best for the three-set win.
UT Tyler was in the middle of every match, keeping close to UTD throughout before the Comets pulled away at the end of each set. The Patriots, playing their first ASC match of the season, had lost just twice all year.
Barth and Toso were again major factors, combining for 22 kills, but it was Crawford who caught fire after converting on just four kills in the first match of the day. In 29 attack attempts, Crawford was stopped just twice and finished with a .586 hitting percentage for the match.
As a team, the Comets hit .317 while holding UTT to a .260 percentage by combining for seven blocks. Freshmen
Holyn Handley and
Blake Johnson combined for five assisted blocks and Johnson added two solos.
In the opening set, the Comets had to battle back after falling behind 16-18 late. The score was tied four times as late as 24-24, but Toso stepped up twice with kills to give UTD the lead before Barth broke the 24-24 tie with a kill. The freshman duo of Johnson and Handley then finished the first set with a combined block for the 26-24 win.
In the second set, the Comets again rallied from an early deficit to take a 14-10 lead. After the Patriots trimmed it to two (14-12), UTD stretched the lead with three straight points and held off UTT rallies late to claim the win. The Patriots got within 20-17, but a pair of Toso kills and a Handley ace capped off the 25-18 win.
The Patriots would not go quietly, though, storming out to a big lead early before UTD came back to tie the score at 10-10. The Comets moved out to an 18-15 advantage, but a pair of Patriot acess brought UTT back even at 18-18. After stretching out the lead to 22-19, the Comets had to withstand one more UTT rally. The Patriots closed to within 22-21 before UTD expanded the lead to match point at 24-21. The Patriots got back to within a pair before Crawford put the final exclamation point on the win with the set-winning kill, her 19th of the match.
