GEORGETOWN, TX (09.05.15) - The UT Dallas volleyball team improved to 4-1 on the season after sweeping a pair of matches on the final day of Southwestern University's Labor Day Tournament. The Comets added two more wins to their record with tight three-set victories over Whitworth College and Illinois Wesleyan University.

Michelle Toro paced the Comets with 27 kills on Saturday.

UTD def. WHITWORTH 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-19)

Toro led the way with 11 kills while Meredith Crawford chipped in 9 of the Comets' 36 kills on the day. UTD also ramped up its defense with seven blocks and 68 digs. Libero Abbie Barth had 31 digs while Toro was in on six blocks. Kayla Jordan was credited with 33 assists.

The first two sets of the match were extremely tight with UTD having to battle back to win both. In Set 1, the Comets finally took a lead at 16-15 and held on for the 25-23 win despite netting just nine kills in the set. That number improved in the second set with a 15-kill effort (.298) with just one error. Still, UTD trailed eight times by four points before turning a 16-20 deficit into a 25-22 win by finishing on a 9-2 run.

The Comets controlled the third set from the outset, building up an early lead and cruising to a 25-19 win. The Pirates struggled with 10 errors in the final set while UTD had 11 kills.

UTD def. ILLINOIS WESLEYANY, 3-0 (25-12,  25-20. 26-24)

The Comets jumped on Illinois Wesleyan immediately with a one-sided 25-12 Set 1 victory, but had to fight off the Titans for close wins in each of the final two sets. IWU had wins Friday over American Southwest Conference foes Hardin-Simmons and East Texas Baptist.

Toro and Crawford were again the catalysts, combining for 25 of UTD's 45 kills. The Comets were extremely efficient in their offense, committing just nine errors for a .295 hitting percentage.

In the opening set, the Comets had built a narrow 10-9 lead before going on a 5-0 run to go up 16-11. UTD then finished off the match with a 6-0 run for the 25-12 win.

The Comets then took a 13-8 lead to open the second set, but IWU was able to cut it to a two-point game (20-22) before UTD scored the final three points to take a 2-0 lead.

The third set almost got away from the Comets before they pulled out a 26-24 win to finish off the match. After breaking away from an early 11-11 tie, UTD had taken a commanding 22-15 lead before the Titans charged back with seven straight points to tie the set at 22-22. The Comets trailed 23-22 and were tied at 23-23 before Toro and Crawford finished off IWU with kills.