Volleyball team wins ASC Championships

Comets unseat top-seeded Mary Hardin-Baylor for ASC title, advance to second round of NCAA D-III championships for the fourth time

The volleyball team concludes their year with an 18-10 overall record, after winning the program’s recordsetting seventh ASC Title and advancing to the second round in the NCAA D-III championships.

After an injuryladen first half of the season, the Comets battled their way into the second seed for the Conference postseason with an 8-for-10 October. They carried that momentum into the tournament, beating LeTourneau 3-0 and advancing to the finals against top seed Mary Hardin-Baylor, who they unseated 3-1 for the conference title.

“From the beginning of the season we talked about how we must be resilient coming off of a quick turnaround we have never faced, still dealing with covid, a difficult schedule, injuries, etc.,” said Head Coach Marci Allison.

“We often spoke about being our best in November and that everything we faced prior to that was preparing us for now…after working so hard, there is a sense of relief, pride, and accomplishment.”

Allison attributed the team’s success at the conference championships to hard practice leading up to the tournament and a relaxed confidence once in-match.

“All day Friday they were loose and had a great time together. When we started our semi-final match vs LETU, one of our seniors (Allison Owen) stuff blocked LETU’s best hitter, that set the tone! Our team never looked back. Go - ing into UMHB, there were expected nerves to start, but once we settled in, they played very smart and took some intelligent risks that paid off.”

Another point Allison emphasized upon the tournament’s conclusion was that the conference title was just the team’s first goal, among many. The ultimate goal, Allision said, is always to continually achieve more for the program – and the NCAA D-III Championships provide that platform.

“We have spoken to this team about leaving their own legacy. In our program it’s not just about winning conference. We have done that. This team just set the record for most ASC [Volleyball] titles, so that’s a start! The conference championship is just a required stepping stone to what we want to do... we’re setting out to do more than 2016, ” Allison said.

The second-round exit from the NCAA tournament wasn’t the season’s conclusion that the Comets were looking for. However, in a post-game interview after UTD‘s 3-1 loss to Emory,

SEE CHAMPIONS, PAGE 8

BEN NGUYEN Managing Editor

The best and worst of esports today

The Smash team claims victory and the Overwatch Team makes playoffs in this week's best of five update!

Collegiate Smash Trophy is claimed yet again

Some connection issues here, some close fights there, but in the end, the UTD Smash team proves once again that they stand on top of the collegiate crew battles smash scene. With the lack of an "official" crew scene from CSL this semester, the Collegiate Smash Brothers league provided a good glimpse at some of the best crew teams in the coutnry, even if the online environment was less than ideal. Next semester has the potential for an in person version of the league, which promises more excitement and chances for the members of the Smash team to shine. Because a disconnect in the grand finals isn't exactly ideal...

Overwatch team qualifies for multiple playoffs

"Ain't gonna happen"? Looks like the Comets did make it happen instead. Though they lost to the overwhelming top team in Redbird Esports, the Comets toppled Northwood Esports, one of the best collegiate teams, in a 2-1 series. With a 9-1 record, they've qualified for the playoffs in the Collegiate Homecoming, and are expected to make a deep run to face off against either Redbird Esports or Northwood Esports in the later stages of the bracket. They've also got playoffs incoming for the NACE StarLeague as well.

VALORANT LANs continue to provide offline play

Another VALORANT LAN was held in conjunction with the VALORANT club at UTD, this time at the Rank 1 Gaming Cafe in Carrollton. While the game doesn't have a team at the university yet, the LAN events continue to attract a competitive crowd to play the game offline and have some sort of an offline competitive experience. With an attendance of about 20 players, there continues to be enough attendance to hold more VALORANT LANs in the future, while sitting in the waiting room for UTD to add a VALORANT team.

Rocket League team falls out at loser's finals

After a close 4-3 opening match against UNLV, the Rocket League team ultimately fell down to loser's after losing to Columbian College and then to UNLV in the loser's finals rematch. Unfortunately, this means that the team has been knocked out of the CRL season before the national playoffs, leaving the team to rest and prepare for the spring season. The Comets this year for Rocket League have been playing excellently, so it's unfortunate that we'll have to wait for another semester before seeing their cars hit the field once again.

Head Coach listing elicits general frustration

The program finally released the job listing to replace Greg Adler ... and it did not go over well in the collegiate space. With an initial listing salary of ~$42,000, and the responsibilities of a director in a coaching position, the listing sparked a conversation about proper compensation online and derision towards the listing. I'm working on a more nuanced piece about this issue, but it is frustrating to see the state of support for the program due to budgetary restrictions and other administrative red tape.