RICHARDSON, TEXAS (08.16.22) - The defending American Southwest Conference champion UT Dallas volleyball team has been projected to finish second in the league this fall, according to the league's preseason poll released Tuesday.
FULL ASC RELEASE
The Comets collected two of the 18 first place votes in the balloting of the league's head coaches and directors of sports information, earning a total of 143 points. Last year's regular season champion and tournament finalist Mary Hardin-Baylor earned the nod as league favorite with 160 points and 16 first-place votes.
In addition, senior outside hitter
Catherine Croft and junior setter
Emma Sevening were among the 18 student-athletes listed as ASC Preseason Players to Watch this fall. Croft was an All-Conference First Team selection in 2021 after hitting .201 with 3.14 kills, 2.22 digs, 0.34 blocks and 0.44 service aces per set. Sevening was second on the squad with 297 assists (4.24 per set) and served up 21 aces to go with 99 digs.
The Comets went 18-10 in 2021 with a 13-4 ASC mark, finishing second during the regular season. UTD knocked of UMHB in the ASC Championship finals in four sets on the Cru's home floor for its seventh league title. The Comets went on to defeat Christopher Newport before falling to Emory in the Second Round of the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.
The 2022 season will feature the debut of
Zach Villarreal at the helm after spending the last 18 years as the assistant coach. He becomes just the second head coach in school history, replacing
Marci Allison who started the program with Villarreal in 2004. Allison stepped down from coaching to move into an administrative role within the UTD Athletics Department.
Villarreal returns 13 letterwinners from last season's championship squad. Along with Croft and Sevening, All-Conference performers
Abby Jones and
Rachel Baxter return. Jones, a senior outside hitter/libero, averaged 2.11 kills and 3.21 digs per set last year. Baxter, a junior libero, led the Comets with 4.56 digs per set.
Other returners include junior setter/defensive specialist
Izzy Sundquist, junior DS
Hannah Paine, sophomore S/DS
Mikayla Cho, sophomore DS
Maria Serb, senior middle blocker
Karle Lynde, junior outside hitter/right side
Jaryn Towery, junior MB/RS
Lydia Knollmeyer, senior OH/RS
Madison Ball and junior MB/RS
Erin Rogers.
They will be joined by newcomers
Ash Munoz (S),
Kenzie Howton (OH/DS),
Aidan Ballard (OH/RS),
Lauren Johnson (MB),
Gabi Engels (OH/RS) and
Alli Paveglio (MB/RS).
The Comets open the 2022 slate at the SU Invitational in Georgetown on September 2-3, where they will face Augsburg, George Fox and Southwestern (Texas). That is followed by the prestigious East-West Challenge in Atlanta against Cal Lutheran, Washington-St. Louis and Tufts September 9-10.
UTD commences ASC play on September 13 at LeTourneau and opens the home schedule with a Gold Match versus Howard Payne on September 23. October 7 will be the annual Dig Pink match against East Texas Baptist and Senior Day/Alumni Day will be held October 15 when the Comets host LeTourneau.
All home matches will be broadcasted on Comet Vision and will feature live stats.
