RICHARDSON, TX (11.03.17) - The UT Dallas volleyball team will be playing for a third straight American Southwest Conference champion on Saturday after a stunning three-game win over regionally ranked Mary Hardin-Baylor Friday night in the winner's bracket final of the ASC Tournament, held at the UTD Activity Center.

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

The Comets (23-9) will next play at 2 p.m. Saturday against an opponent yet to be determined and will need just one more victory fo their third consecutive and fifth overall ASC crown.

UTD set the tone early in the contest on defense as libero Briana Tully had 15 digs in the opening set to help spark the Comets to a close 25-22 win. UTD had 30 digs in the set against the top hitting team in the ASC. The Comets limited UMHB to a .125 team hitting percentage. Jillian Via and Lauren Schilling each had four kills to propel the UTD offense.

The Comets then turned up the offense in the second set, hitting .354 as a team, committing just two errors in a 25-22 victory. Via finished with five kills in the set, without an error, while Emma Wallbrown added four kills. UTD had 25 digs in the set, along with four blocks.

UTD iced the three-set victory with a 25-23 win in the third stanza. The Comets hit just .088 as a team in the set, but held UMHB to just .023 as a team as the Cru made 11 errors in the two-point loss. UTD managed just 11 kills in the set as the two teams combined for 19 errors.

In other Friday action in the tournament, East Texas Baptist opened the day with a five-set win over Hardin-Simmons, eliminating the Cowgirls. Concordia Texas then elimianted Texas-Tyler with a 3-1 decision in the second contest of the afternoon. After UTD's win, CTX ousted ETBU in four sets.

The final day of the event opens at 11 a.m. Saturday with CTX meeting up with UMHB. The winner will then play UTD for the title.