TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

BELTON, TX (11.6.14) - The red-hot UT Dallas volleyball team crused past Hardin-Simmons, 3-0, in the opening game of the 2014 American Southwest Conference Tournament, disposing of the four-time defending champion Cowgirls, 25-14, 25-15, 27-25.

INTERVIEW WITH UTD'S TAYLOUR TOSO

The third-seeded Comets (20-9) will next No. 2 seed East Texas Baptist in the double-elimination tournament at 5:00 p.m. Thursday evening in Mary Hardin-Baylor's Mayborn Campus Center. The win was UTD's eighth consecutive over an ASC opponent. The Comets have won nine of their last 10 matches.

UTD cruised past the Cowgirls (9-17), who have won the last four ASC titles, in the first two sets, but had to rally from set point in the third to claim the sweep. As a team, the Comets hit .271 in the match, out-dueling HSU, 45-33, in kills and posting an 11-7 advantage in total blocks.

Both Holyn Handley and Meredith Crawford tallied double-digit kills while libero Bethany Warner had 17 digs and setter Kayla Jordan was credited with 40 assists.

The Comets trailed the Cowgirls, 6-1, to open the first set, but tied HSU up, 8-8, before finishing on an 18-6 run for the 25-14 win. In the second set, the Comets jumped out ahead. After HSU got to within two at 7-9, UTD finished things with a 16-8 run to claim a 25-15 win.

The two teams traded leads in a tight third set. After the Comets went up 22-20 late, the Cowgirls rallied for four straight points to go up, 24-22. But UTD managed to tie the score at 24-24, then Taylour Toso gave UTD a late lead with a kill. After another tie at 25-25, Michelle Toro put down a kill and then teamed with Jordan on a block to finish the set and match with a 27-25 win.