Box Score THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Whitworth got out to a fast start in its NCAA Division III first round match with 14th-ranked Texas-Dallas, but the Comets rallied for a 19-25, 25-22, 25-15, 25-17 victory over the Pirates on Friday night at California Lutheran University.
UTD, seeded second in the Thousand Oaks Regional, improves to 31-2 and advances to play the winner of a match between host CLU and Colorado College on Saturday afternoon. Seventh-seeded Whitworth's season came to an end with a final record of 19-8.
The Pirates played one of their best sets of the season in the opening frame. Whitworth hit .353 as a team with 16 kills and only four errors in that first set. The Bucs steadily pulled away after leading 17-16. Haley Vick had four kills in the set for Whitworth.
The second set began the momentum swing toward UTD. The Comets would pull ahead by three of four points before Whitworth would rally close. The Pirates took their final lead of the match at 18-17 on a kill by Cassandra Mendoza. But UTD closed the set on an 8-4 run.
The third set was all Comets. UTD finished the frame with 18 kills and only one error for a blistering team hitting percentage of .567. Whitworth fell behind 6-1 and could never recover.
The Pirates tried to regroup in the fourth and final set. A kill from Lauren Budde pulled Whitworth to within 14-13. But UTD would not be denied, outscoring the Pirates 11-4 the rest of the way.
"We started well by serving tough and taking them out of a rhythm offensively," said Whitworth head coach Kati Bodecker. "But UTD adjusted. They started passing better and running their middle. We couldn't stop her and we struggled defensively. I was proud of how we fought. We kept trying to work through our struggles and never gave up."
Nicole Leonard finished with a team-high 15 kills in the final match of her career. Mendoza added 12 kills, while Brenna Bruil tallied nine kills and was in on two blocks. Maddye Dinsmore dished 42 assists and had 13 digs in her final match as a Pirate. Whitworth hit .203 as a team.
Holyn Handley powered her way to 26 kills for the Comets, while Michelle Toro added 12. UTD finished the match with a team hitting percentage of .324.
Click here for Whitworth's post-match press conference.
