DENTON, Texas (Nov. 7, 2026) – A five set thriller put the exclamation point on an amazing senior day in Kitty Magee Arena.
To close out the regular season, the Texas Woman's volleyball team defeated UT Dallas in five sets.
TWU (11-16, 8-9) recorded their first win in program history against UTD (14-12, 10-7). After falling in the first two sets, the Pioneers stormed back to reverse sweep the Comets.
The win capped off a great celebration for the Pioneers for Senior Day, as TWU celebrated five seniors who left an incredible impact on the Pioneers:
Lorena Gómez,
Kaia Lydia,
Sydney Garrison,
Alyssa Rojo and
Trinity Blackwood.
Across the five sets, the Pioneers recorded 57 kills and hit .249 – their sixth highest hitting percentage of the season. TWU held the Comets to hitting just .174 on the afternoon. The Pioneers, on their way to completing the comeback, dominated the defensive response, as TWU finished the match with 11 blocks – their seventh match with double-digit blocks.
PRIME PERFORMERS
- Charlise Smith led the offensive attack for the Pioneers with 19 kills on .349 hitting, as she only committed one error on the afternoon. It marked her eighth match this season with 10 or more kills. Blackwood and Teagan Hill both finished with nine kills each.
- Allie Watson dished out the most assists in the win, finishing the match with a career high 26 assists. Additionally, she recorded a career high 15 digs in the win.
- Gómez added 19 assists in the win, marking her 25th match this season with 10 or more assists and eighth straight match with 15 or more assists.
- Teagan Hill led the way for TWU on the block with two solo blocks and six block assists. Blackwood also added five block assists to the stat line.
- Four Pioneers finished with double-digit digs. Rojo and Garrison each finished with 17. Watson added her 15, and Nia Johnson finished with a career high 12 digs.
KEY MOMENTS
- Set 1: UTD opened the match with an efficient attack, recording 15 kills with only four errors on a .355 hitting percentage to control the opening set. Despite TWU keeping it close through 12 tie scores and six lead changes, their low .118 attack percentage allowed UT Dallas to pull ahead for the 25–21 victory.
- Set 2: UTD maintained their offensive rhythm by posting another 15-kill performance with a strong .306 hitting percentage. TWU committed fewer errors but couldn't keep pace with the UTD attack, leading to a matching 25–21 set win for the Comets to take a 2-0 match lead.
- Set 3: TWU rebounded by elevating their offense to 15 kills while forcing eight attacking errors from UTD, which dropped the Comets' hitting efficiency down to .094. Capitalizing on six tie scores and three lead changes, TWU secured the set 25–22 to extend the match.
- Set 4: The Pioneers dominated offensively with a match-high .387 hitting percentage while committing just a single error on 31 attempts. In set four, the Comets struggled to find answers, hitting just .070 with nine errors, allowing TWU to comfortably take the set 25–19 and force a decisive fifth set.
- Set 5: TWU played flawless offensive volleyball in the tiebreaker, posting nine kills without a single attack error on a .346 hitting percentage. UTD recorded five attack errors in the final frame, allowing the Pioneers to finish a wire-to-wire 15–9 set win to complete the match comeback.
-PIONEERS-
