RICHARDSON, TX (09.26.17) - In a battle of the two top teams from the American Southwest Conference's East Division, the No. 20-ranked UT Dallas volleyball team climbed to the top of the standings with a sweep of rival Texas-Tyler Tuesday night in front of a raucous crowd.

The Comets were victorious in all three closely contested sets as UTD bounced the Patriots, 25-21, 25-23, 25-23, to win its sixth match in seven outings. Each set had the potential to go to either team as the two ASC East giants traded blows all night. 

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

UTD had its worst hitting performance of the night in the opening stanza, yet pulled off the 25-21 win to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Down 18-17 late in the set, the Comets go on a 6-1 run, capped by a Miranda Mendez kill, to take a 23-19 advantage. UTD finished the off the set with an Emma Wallbrown kill, her fourth of the frame.

The Comets fell behind UTT early in the second before taking a 13-12 lead on Lauren Schilling kill. UTD used a 4-0 run to take control of the set and never again trailed in the stanza, despite a late surge by the Patriots. UTT knotted the match three times late in the set, but the Comets would take a 2-0 lead after back-to-back Patriot errors to end the set.

UTD again chased the Patriots early in the third set only to regain composure midway through the stanza. Alana Geymer's kill gave the Comets their first lead of the set at 16-15, but UTT would not go away quietly. After seven late ties, the Comets would use a kill by Geymer and a Patriot error to take their first two-point lead of the set at 24-22. The match then ended on a Sydney Riordan kill.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
After 15 straight road or neutral matches to start the season, Tuesday's match was the first at home for the Comets this season. UTD has now won ten consecutive home openers and are now 12-2 all-time its first home matches of the season since the program's inception in 2004.

The Comets hit just .180 in the opening set, ironically their largest margin of victory (25-21) in the sweep of rival UTT.  UTD would hit .325 in the second set and .267 in the third stanza. The Comets ended the night hitting .252 as a team, compared to .138 by the Patriots.

After Tuesday's win, the Comets are tied atop the ASC East standings with UT-Tyler, both now at 6-2.

KEY PLAYERS:
Three Comets topped double-digit kills in the victory with Lauren Schilling and Alana Geymer each contributing 13 kills while Alex Nolan added 12 kills.  Wallbrown had nine kills and finished with a match-high five blocks. Libero Briana Tully finished with a match-best 14 digs.

UP NEXT:
The Comets (12-4, 6-2 ASC) will take more than a week off before returning to the court when they host Belhaven on Friday, Oct. 6. Match time is 7 p.m. at the UTD Activity Center.