TACOMA, WA (09.12.15) - The UT Dallas volleyball team just missed sweeping through a weekend at the Puget Sound University Tournament, instead seeing a six-game win streak snapped in the tournament's final game.
After winning its first three games - including a 25-23, 25-21, 25-11 sweep over Linfield (OR) Saturday morning - UTD dropped a tight four-set match to Pacific Lutheran Saturday afternoon. UTD fell to the Lutes, 21-25, 25-23, 26-28, 21-25.
Comet junior
Holyn Handley was named the Tournament MVP while teamates
Kayla Jordan and
Michelle Toro were also named to the All-Tournament Team.
The Comets (now 7-2) return from their trip to the Pacific Northwest to open American Southwest Conference play at East Texas Baptist Tuesday evening. The Comets travel to Hendrix and Rhodes Colleges next weekend in Arkansas and Tennessee.
UTD def. LINFIELD (OR) 25-23, 25-21, 25-11Toro again led the way for the Comets with a 10-kill effort as UTD outscored Linfield, 36-32 on kill attempts. UTD hit .182 for the match while holding Linfield to .045 behind 6.0 total blocks. Handley and freshman Krysten Schott added eight kills each.
Abbie Barth and
Fayna Zeng combined for 34 digs in a defensive effort for the Comets while
Emma Wallbrown and Jordan were credited with six block assists each.
PACIFIC LUTHERAN def. UTD 21-25, 25-23, 26-28, 21-25The Comets kept things close in all four sets, but were only able to hold off the Lutes (5-3) in the second set. UTD trailed most of the first set before falling, 25-21; and led most of a 25-23 win in the second set. In the third set, UTD managed a 24-23 lead before PLU finished with a 5-3 run. In the final set, the Comets had worked back to a 17-17 tie after trailing early, and turned a 23-19 deficit into a two-point game late before the Lutes scored the final two points to finish off the match.
Handley led the way for UTD with 22 kills while Toro and Schott each added 13. In the four-set match, Jordan added 54 assists to her school-record totals.
UTD hit just .158 as a team while PLU connected at a .257 pace. The Lutes blocked 9.0 UTD shots while UTD had just 6.5.
