GEORGETOWN, TX (11.10.17) - The UT Dallas volleyball team opened its third straight trip to the NCAA Division III National Tournament with a stunning first-set win over No. 6-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, but eventually drop a 3-1 decision in Friday's opening round.
The Comets had their season come to an end with a 24-11 overall record, falling to C-M-S, 22-25, 25-23, 25-15, 25-23, at the Robertson Center on the campus of regional host Southwestern University.
Freshman Alana Geymer led the Comets with 15 kills, along with five blocks, while Sydney Riordan finished with nine kills.
Trailing 21-17 in the opening set, the Comets would close out the stanza with an 8-1 run, culminating with Geymer's fifth kill of the set for the three-point victory. UTD hit .211 as a team in the set, compared to .068 by the Athenas, while the undersized Comets managed five blocks in the frame.
The Comets hoped their momentum would carry over into the second set, however UTD would hit just .109 as C-M-S knotted the match with a 25-23 victory. The Comets clawed within a point late, 22-21, on an Athena error and later pulled back within a single point, 24-23, on a Jillian Via ace. But, the Athenas ended the set with a kill by Shelbi Stein, her sixth of the set.
C-M-S (26-5) dominated the third set, hitting .226, while the Comets hit negative, committing 11 errors and collecting just 10 kills in the 25-15 loss. Geymer would finish the set with four kills while Riordan had three kills.
The Comets nearly forced a decisive fifth-set before falling to C-M-S in a close 25-23 decision to end the match. After the two teams traded leads early in the set, UTD would grab a 15-12 advantage on a Miranda Mendez ace. The Athenas rallied back to take a 19-18 lead on a UTD error, forcing a Comet timeout.
UTD came out of the break with a kill by Alex Nolan to even the set, 19-19, and would even take a late two-point lead, 22-20, on a kill by Emma Wallbrown. But, C-M-S used a Stein kill, followed by a Comet error to cap a 4-1 run and set up match point. After UTD's second timeout, the Athenas clinched the match on a second straight Comet error.
The Comets ended the match hitting .108 as a team with 12 team blocks, compared to just seven by the higher-seeded Athenas. Lauren Schilling had six blocks while Geymer, Wallbrown and Nolan each contributed five blocks. Mendez led the Comets with 20 assists while libero Briana Tully finished with a match-high 24 digs.
C-M-S got a match-high 16 kills from NCAA D-III West Region Player of the Year Margaux Arntson, leading three Athenas in double digits. C-M-S hit .203 as a team.
