RICHARDSON, TX (11.04.17) - The UT Dallas volleyball team claimed its third straight conference title Saturday night with a 3-0 win over University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in the "if necessary" game of the American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament, held at the UTD Activity Center.

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

With the ASC's automatic berth, the Comets will enter next week's NCAA Division III National Tournament with a 24-10 overall record, making their sixth trip to the event. UTD has now won five ASC titles, also claiming championships in 2008, 2009 to go along with 2015 and 2016. The NCAA D-III Volleyball Selection show is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. (Central) on Monday, Nov. 6, at www.ncaa.com.

After winning its first two matches in the ASC Tournament, UTD was forced into the "if necessary" game after dropping a dramatic five-set decision to the Cru earlier in the afternoon. In that game, UMHB outlasted the Comets, 15-25, 26-24, 24-26, 25-15, 15-11. After a two-hour break, the Comets responded with a 25-17, 25-22, 25-23, win over UMHB for the title.

Senior middle blocker Emma Wallbrown was named the Tournament MVP and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by two teammates, sophomore Caroline Shecterle and freshman Alana Geymer.

MATCH 1 - UMHB 3, UTD 2 (15-25, 26-24, 24-26, 25-15, 25-11)
The Cru forced the "if" game with a five-set win over the Comets earlier Saturday, avenging a three-set loss to UTD from Friday night. UMHB had battled back through the loser's bracket to set up the re-match of last year's ASC title match with a 3-1 win over Concordia Texas Saturday morning.

The Comets rolled to a 25-15 win over UMHB in the opening set, getting five kills from Alyssa Porter and four kills from Geymer, but the Cru responded with a tight 26-24 win in the second set to even the match. UTD took a 2-1 lead over the Cru with a 26-24 win in the third set, getting four kills each from Wallbrown and Jillian Via and six digs from libero Briana Tully. However, UMHB bounced back with a 25-15 win in the fourth set and held off the Comets, 15-11, in the fifth stanza to force the "if" game.

Wallbrown and Geymer each had 14 kills while Tully finished with a 26 digs. UTD hit .182 as a team in the loss, compared to .224 by the Cru.

MATCH 2 - UTD 3, UMHB (25-17, 25-22, 25-23)
The Comets needed one more match to claim a third-straight title, rolling to the three-set sweep over a tired UMHB squad, which played 12 sets on Saturday. 

Wallbrown knocked down a match-high 17 kills, hitting .419, while adding three blocks and an ace. Via added 12 kills and Geymer had 10 kills. The Comets out-blocked the taller UMHB team, 9-7, and hit .212 as a squad. The Cru hit just .149 in the loss.

After an even start to the opening set, the Comets would use a three-point run to turn an 8-8 tie in an 11-8 advantage midway though the stanza. The Cru would battle back, though, taking a 15-14 lead on a Comet error, but UTD answered with three quick points and never trailed again en route to the 25-17 win. UTD ended the set on a 7-0 run.

The Cru took an early lead in the second set, holding the advantage until UTD knotted the set, 22-22, on an Alex Nolan block. The Comets then used two more blocks to force set point and ended the match, 25-22, with a Via kill.

UMHB again controlled the majority of the third set, leading the Comets as late as 20-19 before UTD ended the match on a 6-3 run. Three straight kills by Wallbrown turned the one-point deficit into a 22-20 lead and the senior would ended the championship match with back-to-back kills.