ABILENE, Texas – McMurry University Volleyball held its home opener in front of a raucous crowd on Tuesday night, but were unable to sustain the energy in a competitive 3-0 sweep to UT Dallas in American Southwest Conference action.

McMurry (2-5, 1-2 ASC) came out of the gate strong with a back-and-forth set against last year's regular season conference champion, but UT Dallas (4-5, 2-0 ASC) would steal momentum with a 25-23 win in the first set. The momentum remained on UTD's side through the final two sets.

Despite the loss, the War Hawks had nine players record a kill, led by Kaylie Vasil with 11 on 19 attacks for a strong .421 percentage. She also had a team-high 13 digs for the double-double. The Comets had a 42-30 advantage in kills, led by Allison Owen with 15.

UT Dallas 3, McMurry 0 (23-25, 17-25, 20-25)

Summary: The War Hawks were able to utilize some early service aces, powerful blocks and strategic kills to win over the crowd. Though UTD earned the win, McMurry led in service aces, 5-3. Outside of Vasil's fifth double-double in seven games this season, the team had contributions from Madison Cuellar with five kills, eight digs and a service ace. Bri Garcia also had a noteworthy performance with a team-high four blocks and five kills. Myranda Salcedo led with 16 assists.

Set 1: UTD took an early 5-1 lead, but a service error to end the run and a service ace on the other side by Adile Leal ignited the crowd. The War Hawks remained within three points the rest of the way, tying the set 12-12 before finally taking a 16-15 lead. At 21-20, the teams traded points and found themselves tied at 23. UTD would get a kill from Jaryn Towery and an attack error to steal the first set.  

Set 2: Looking to level the score, the War Hawks led most of the way in the second frame until a 7-0 run erased a one point lead and made it 21-15 in favor of UTD. Tyler Richardson ended the run with a kill, but UTD scored three more points with two kills and an ace to set up set point. McMurry stayed alive on a kill from Vasil, but a service error ended hopes of a comeback. UTD had a game-high 15 kills in the set.

Set 3: The Comets jumped to a 5-0 lead in set three, but McMurry battled back to make it 7-5. From there, UTD regained control by winning eight of the next nine points and would go on to win 25-20 to end it. McMurry did have a spurt halfway through to pull within five, then later scored three points in a row on kills from Addyson Tiffin and Megan Martinez and a service ace from Leal. At 23-19, UTD found two more kills before McMurry could crawl back into it.

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The War Hawks remain at home on Thursday, Sept. 16 for a 6 p.m. tip against Schreiner. For spectator protocols, click here.