RICHARDSON, Texas - The UT Dallas volleyball team defeated Howard Payne 25-18, 25-14, 25-27, 25-18 in American Southwest Conference action at the UTD Activity Center Friday night.

With the win, the Comets (7-11, 6-3 ASC) secured their spot in the 2023 ASC Championship Tournament beginning November 9. They currently sit in third place.

In the first set, UTD jumped out to a 5-0 lead and led the entire way. They hit .389 on 16 kills and were led by sophomore middle blocker Lauren Johnson's six kills on six attempts. The Comets went up 2-0 in sets before the Lady Jackets (10-9, 4-6 ASC) eked out a close third frame. The game featured 16 ties and nine lead changes. UTD finished the match 7-2 run in the fourth set.

For the match, the Comets hit .288 on 58 kills, nine aces, 76 digs and eight blocks. HPU hit .116 with 38 kills, eight aces, 60 digs and seven blocks.

UT Dallas Notes
- The Comets improve to 23-1 all-time against the Lady Jackets with 23 consecutive victories.
- Senior outside hitter Erin Rogers hit .424 with 17 kills and five digs.
- Johnson finished with 13 kills and tied her career-high with five blocks. She also hit .476.
- Freshman middle blocker Laura See added 10 kills and three blocks.
- Bailey Schievelbein had 19 digs and four blocks defensively.
- Stella Ballew came up with six kills on the right side.
- Senior libero Rachel Baxter had 15 digs while freshman Mari Hernandez added 12.
- Emma Sevening posted a double-double of 25 assists and 10 kills with two aces. She also moved into fifth place on UTD's career assists list with 1,384.
- Izzy Sundquist had 21 assists, seven digs and three aces.

Howard Payne Notes
- Brooke O'Neal led the Lady Jackets with eight kills.
- Brylee Awbrey had five kills, 18 digs and four blocks.
- Riley Brittan was responsible for 32 assists and 11 digs.
- Libero Kassiday Johnson added 10 digs.

Up Next
UTD will face Sul Ross State at 1 p.m. Saturday in the Activity Center. The six Comet seniors will be honored before the match.