San Antonio, Texas – The fourth-seeded UT Dallas Women's Volleyball team used late runs to take the final two sets to pull out a 3-1 win over fifth-seeded Pomona-Pitzer at the NCAA Regional quarterfinals hosted by Trinity University on Friday afternoon.

Set scores were 25-18, 25-27, 25-17, 25-21 as the Comets were able to earn the win in four. The loss ends Pomona-Pitzer's season at 20-9 after qualifying for its first NCAA Tournament in 16 years. UT Dallas improves to 31-8 and will move on to the regional semifinals tomorrow against the winner of the match between Cal Lutheran and Hardin-Simmons.

The Sagehen chances were dealt a blow with leading hitter Allie Frappier (6.05 kills per set, which leads the nation) not at full strength. Frappier sat for almost the entire third set while trying to loosen up on the bench, and had six kills in the early part of the fourth set to help give Pomona-Pitzer a five-point lead, but was forced back off the floor late in the set when the Comets pulled away to clinch the match.

The first set was tight early, but the Comets used a 6-0 run to turn a 5-4 Pomona-Pitzer lead into a 10-5 advantage. The Sagehens crawled back to within 12-10, but the Comets withstood the rally and built the lead back to 18-12 on back-to-back blocks from Taylour Toso and Blake Johnson.

Pomona-Pitzer got off to a quick start in the second set on two straight kills from Ellen Yamasaki, and led 8-5 before a 5-0 UT Dallas run put the Comets in front 10-8 and forced a timeout. The Sagehens didn't let the Comets pull away this time and took the lead back at 18-17 on a Frappier kill. UT Dallas led 24-23 with a chance for a 2-0 lead, but the Sagehens fought off the set point with a Samantha Cahill kill, and with the score tied 25-25, Michelle Schultz (pictured, photo by Brendan Maloney) and Frappier had back-to-back kills for a 27-25 win to level the match at a set apiece.

The third set went to UT Dallas 25-17, as Frappier went to the sidelines early in the set and did not return. Pomona-Pitzer was still within 19-17 late in the set, but the Comets closed out with a 6-0 run, keyed by three kills from Blake Johnson to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

Frappier had back to back kills in the fourth set to put the Sagehens ahead 15-11, and an attack error stretched the lead to 16-11 and forced a UT Dallas timeout. The Comets ran off the next three points, before Frappier contributed to a black to give Pomona-Pitzer a 17-14 lead, but she was forced back to the bench soon after. A kill from Schultz broke a 19-19 tie and gave the Sagehens a 20-19 lead, but the Comets ended on a 6-1 run to wrap up the match.

Frappier finished with 17 kills in 48 attempts, giving her over 500 on the season (507), making her only the second player in school history to reach that milestone, joining Joanne Nielson, who had a school record 540 in 1990. Schultz added 10 kills and 20 digs for the Sagehens, while senior Beth Smilkstein had 22 kills in her final collegiate match. Toso had 17 kills to lead a balanced offense for the Comets, which also placed Abbie Barth (13), Johnson (12) and Meredith Crawford (12) in double figures.   
 
Pomona-Pitzer was making its first NCAA Division III Tournament appearance since 1997, when it faced neighboring Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.