GRAND RAPIDS, MI (11.14.19) - The UT Dallas volleyball team made an early exit from the 2019 NCAA Division III National Championship Thursday with five-set loss to No. 10-ranked Hope College in the opening round of the Grand Rapids Regional, held at Van Noord Arena on the campus of Calvin University.

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The Comets closed their 2019 season with a 24-5 record after falling to Hope, 23-25, 25-23, 17-25, 25-17 15-11, in the first match of the 64-team national tournament.

UTD got off to a strong start, taking the opening set against the Flying Dutch, 25-23, thanks to eight kills and four digs from Jillian Via. The Comets hit just .268 as a team in the opening set, but were able to limit Hope to just 15 kills to snag a 1-0 lead in the match.

Hope (now 23-7) controlled the second set, despite being out-hit by the Comets, and secured a 25-23 win to knot the match a set apiece. Via and Allison Owen each contributed four kills in the second set, but the Comets managed just a .222 hitting percentage, committing six errors for the second straight set.

The Comets bounced back tremendously in the third set, hitting an astounding .424 en route to a dominant 25-17 win. Alyssa Porter led a balanced UTD offensive attack in the third set with four kills while Owen and Via each had three kills as the Comets took a 2-1 lead.

The Flying Dutch would have a dominant set of their own, hitting .385 in the fourth stanza, taking a 25-17 win as well to again even the match. The Comets hit just .148 in the fourth with Madison Ball leading the way with three kills.

The Comets got in an early hole in the fifth set, trailing Hope 13-5  before rallying back. A kill by Via ended a four-point run by Hope and sparked a 6-1 surge by UTD before the match closed on a kill by Hope's Molly Ligon. UTD hit .294 in the fifth, compared to just .045 by Hope, with Owen have a team-best three kills.

Via led the Comets with 17 kills and 15 digs while Owen had 12 kills and Catherine Croft finished with 11 kills. Setters Sydney Fitt and Caroline Shecterle dished out 27 and 25 assists, respectively, while the squad finished with five blocks and six aces.

The Comets were making their seventh all-time appearance in the NCAA D-III National Championship.