Campus News

VOLLEYBALL: UT Dallas rallies to defeat ETBU in five games

MARSHALL, Texas (10/23/09) – After staring down undefeated rival Texas-Dallas in the first two games of Friday’s home finale in Ornelas Gym, ETBU blinked just enough over the final three games to allow the Comets to escape with a wild 11-25, 19-25, 25-18, 25-17, 15-12 win over the Lady Tigers.

ETBU (16-9, 12-4) has already locked up its ninth straight bid to the ASC Championship Tournament the first weekend in November, but the Lady Tigers will enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed in the ASC East Division. UT Dallas (19-0, 14-0), ranked No. 11 in the nation this week, will host the tournament as the East Division champion.

The Lady Tigers had everything going their way in the first two games, including a blitzkrieg attack in the first game that saw ETBU dominate the action on the way to a 25-11 win. When the Lady Tigers took a 2-0 advantage with a 25-19 win in game two, ETBU had pushed the Comets to the brink of their first loss of the season.

But UTD responded to take the next two games, pulling away in tight games both times. ETBU grabbed an 8-6 lead in game five, but the Comets responded with nine of the next 13 points to complete the comeback win.

Kourtney Adams and Mary Morgan Swanson finished with 20 kills apiece for ETBU, with Jane Hays adding 12. Dana Hilzendager led UTD with 16 kills followed by Kyleigh Irish with 13.

The Lady Tigers will play at Texas-Tyler Tuesday in ETBU’s final conference game of the regular season, and ETBU will then close out the regular season with four matches in the Southwestern University Tournament in Georgetown next weekend.