RICHARDSON, Texas — St. Edward's volleyball continues to apply pressure in the Lone Star Conference race, serving a season-high 14 aces and putting three attackers in double figures to sweep UT Dallas 25-15, 25-20, 25-23 on Tuesday.
The victory marked the Hilltoppers' seventh sweep of the season, their most since recording 10 during the fall 2021 campaign. St. Edward's has won five of its past six matches, improving to 12-9 overall and drawing even with UT Dallas at 7-4 in conference play.
KAYLEN LEMBCKE followed Saturday's career-high 22 kills with another personal best, serving six aces to complement 10 kills on .353 hitting. MIA CLAY led the attack with 17 kills on .469 hitting, and KELLI FORDING added 13 kills on a .321 clip.
St. Edward's paired its aggressive serving with an efficient attack, hitting .304 and holding a 44-28 advantage in kills. ALTHEA MORRIS orchestrated the offense with 37 assists and supplied four aces, while Fording added three and GISELLE OJEDA one.
The Hilltoppers were equally steady receiving serve, surrendering just one ace. Ojeda led the defense with 12 digs, BELLA BRICENO added seven, and BEA ANGELES contributed five.
St. Edward's established control immediately, scoring the first three points and leading throughout the opening set. The Hilltoppers limited UT Dallas to .077 hitting while finding points through several rotations.
Morris helped stretch the lead with an ace during a late serving run, then Fording delivered consecutive aces to bring St. Edward's to set point, and Lembcke finished the opener with a kill.
The Comets found more offensive rhythm in the second, producing 11 kills against just one error, but the Hilltoppers answered with their most efficient set of the match.
St. Edward's put down 17 kills on .433 hitting, repeatedly ending rallies before UT Dallas could build momentum. The Hilltoppers sided out on 80 percent of the Comets' serves, building a 23-15 cushion before closing out the set.
UT Dallas made its strongest push in the third, erasing an early deficit and moving ahead 15-13. Clay and Fording provided the response, combining for 15 of St. Edward's 18 kills in the set.
Trailing 17-15, the Hilltoppers used a Comet service error, a Clay kill, and a Fording ace to reclaim the lead. Lembcke later delivered her sixth ace, and Clay followed with another kill to stretch the advantage to 22-19.
The Comets stayed within reach, cutting the margin to one on three occasions down the stretch. Each time, St. Edward's answered. Clay supplied a kill for a 23-21 lead, and Fording delivered the Hilltoppers' final two kills to complete the sweep.
Clay finished the third with nine kills on .444 hitting, while Fording added six. Lembcke's six aces surpassed her previous career high of four against Texas Woman's earlier this month.
Fording's performance brought her to 950 career kills, leaving her 50 from 1,000. Morris finished the night with 2,563 career assists, putting her 26 away from passing Sara Tyler for fifth in program history.
UT Dallas falls to 11-9 overall and 7-4 in conference play.
