RICHARDSON, TX (10.10.17) - The No. 22-ranked UT Dallas volleyball team used a season-high 10 service aces and hit over .400 for the first time this season as the Comets cruised past East Texas Baptist Tuesday night in American Southwest Conference play.
The Comets avenged their only ASC East Division loss of the season by sweeping ETBU, earning a 25-6, 25-11, 25-19 victory over the Tigers. UTD finished the match hitting a season-best .427, just shy of a program record.
UTD got off to a hot start, earning a 25-6 win in the opening set. The Comets hit .524 as a team in the set, getting three kills each from
Sydney Riordan and
Alana Geymer. UTD picked up its first five aces in the stanza, three coming from serving specialist
Aimee Wilhelm.
The Comets continued their strong play into the second set, picking up two more aces in a 25-11 win over ETBU.
Emma Wallbrown had five kills and both of UTD's aces in the set while Riordan added four kills. The Comets hit .433 as a team.
UTD capped off the sweep with a 25-19 victory, rallying past the Tigers for the win. The Comets' only two-point deficit of the night came when ETBU took a 6-4 lead early in the stanza, but UTD later grabbed a 9-8 advantage on a Wallbrown kill and never looked back. The Comets hit just .368 in the third set as Geymer led the way with five kills. Wilhelm, Wallbrown and
Alex Nolan each picked up a service ace in the set.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
The Comets' .427 hitting percentage was the highest by the team since the 2013 season when UTD hit a school-record .468 in a sweep of Mississippi College. UTD has had at least eight services aces in five matches this season and has now had 19 aces over the past two matches. The Comets are currently averaging 1.38 aces per set on the season.
KEY PLAYERS
Wallbrown and Riordan each finished with a match-high 11 kills while Geymer had nine kills and
Lauren Schilling added eight kills. Setter
Caroline Shecterle led the offense with 28 assists (9.3 per set) and
Alyssa Porter had four blocks. Wilhelm and Wallbrown each had four aces, matching the high by a Comet this season.
UP NEXT
The Comets (15-4, 9-2 ASC) will take their four-match winning streak on the road this weekend as they compete in the second of two ASC Crossover Tournaments. UTD will travel to Abilene Friday and Saturday, facing three program's from the ASC's West Division. On Friday, the Comets will face Howard Payne at 10 a.m. on the campus of McMurry. On Saturday, UTD will play Concordia Texas at 10 a.m. at McMurry before visiting Hardin-Simmons at 5:30 p.m. later that day.
