Comet volleyball’s 2023 season came to an end on Nov. 8 with no. 5 standing in the American Southwest Conference.
The season started rough with a seven game losing streak, but through a trail by fire, the women’s team changed the competitive scene and attitude during the midseason and end semester, making for an impressive sports comeback leading into their ASC appearance. They placed 17 individual records this season as well as placing third in overall stats before the ASC tournament.
Freshman outside hitter Bailey Schievelbein proved herself an offensive powerhouse in her debut season for the Comets, scoring 259 kills by the end of the season. In one match alone, Schievelbein scored 27 kills against Howard Payne Sept. 23 with 27 kills. This cemented UTD’s victory in their first game in the ASC conference season, overturned the team’s losing streak and eternalized Schievelbein in the UTD Record Book for both the second most individual kills recorded overall and most kills recorded in a four-set match.
Freshmen libero Mari Hernandez was sixth in the ASC prior to the quarterfinals with 4.41 digs per set, most of which she recorded against Mary-Hardin Baylor on Sept. 30 with 30 digs. While a consistent game leader for digs throughout the season, she was there to continue the 19-year winning streak against LeTourneau and 18-year streak against Sul Ross State. By the end of the season, she was a team leader with 367 recorded digs.
The Nov. 8 game was the final match of the season, concluding the careers of six UTD seniors: Erin Rogers, Emma Sevening, Izzy Sundquist, Hannah Paine, Lydia Knollmeyer and Rachel Baxter.
In their time at UTD, Rogers served 251 kills, making 10th in the ASC, Sevening made 495 assists, landing her as sixth best in the ASC before quarterfinals and Sundquist made fifth in the ASC for service aces with an average of 0.40 per serve.
Some of the best games played this season included Sept. 22 against Sul Ross State for the first victory after an eight-game losing streak, the hotly contested Sept. 29 game against Concordia Texas, the Oct. 21 homecoming senior day game against the returning Sul Ross State and the last three invigorating games leading up to the ASC championship tournament. These were all hard-fought victories that showed off the best of the volleyball team and Comet spirit.
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