TYLER, TX (10.17.17) - Despite a four-set loss at rival Texas-Tyler Tuesday night, the No. 22-ranked UT Dallas volleyball team still holds a one-match lead over the Patriots in the American Southwest Conference East Division standings.
The Comets (18-5, 12-3 ASC) locked up a share of the ASC East crown over the weekend with three victories as the league's second crossover tournament of the season, but needed one more win in their final two outings to secure the division title outright and earn the right to host the ASC Tournament next month.
UTD's final league match is slated for next Tuesday, Oct. 24, when the Comets host LeTourneau at 7 p.m. at the UTD Activity Center. With a win over the YellowJackets, or a UTT loss that same night at East Texas Baptist, the Comets would host the ASC Tournament for the third time in four seasons and seventh time in program history, Nov. 2-4.
The host Patriots (18-6, 11-4 ASC) opened the match with two close wins, 25-22 and 25-18, before UTD would bounce back with a 25-16 victory in the third set. UTT took an early lead in the fourth set before the Comets rallied late to force ties at 20-20 and 21-21. The Patriots then rolled off three straight points on three consecutive kills by Brianna Bellehumeur to grab a 24-21 advantage. UTD held off the first match point after a Patriot hitting error, but UTT completed the upset with a kill by Reighanna Guzman.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
The Comets ended the night with a .247 team hitting percentage, compared to .208 by UTT, and collected 11 blocks, but could not overcome six service errors and six ball handling errors.
The win by the Patriots was just sixth in the 30 all-time meetings between the two league rivals. The Comets had a six-match winning streak against UTT going in to Tuesday's match.
KEY PERFORMERS
Freshman
Alana Geymer continues to have a hot hand for the Comets, finishing the match with 13 kills while
Alex Nolan added 12 kills, 10 digs and four blocks.
Jillian Via added eight kills and a team-high 15 digs.
NEXT MATCH
The Comets will take a break from ASC play over the weekend with three matches at the Wisconsin-Oshkosh Invitational in Oshkosh, Wis. UTD will face both Illinois Wesleyan (5:30 p.m.) and Wisconsin-Stevens Points (7:30 p.m.) Friday before facing Wisconsin-Whitewater (9:30 a.m.) Saturday.
