SMU Volleyball Defeats Georgia Tech
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DALLAS (SMU) – Abbey Bybel scored 13 kills and had 12 digs to lead SMU (3-1) to a 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-17) win over Georgia Tech (2-2) in Moody Coliseum Friday night to start the SMU Doubletree Classic. Avery Acker also recorded her third double-double of the season with 36 assists and 12 digs.
SMU completed the sweep with a 25-17 win in the third set, overcoming an early four-point deficit for the victory. Georgia Tech led 10-6, but the Mustangs rallied for a 10-1 run to take a 16-11 lead. The Yellow Jackets couldn’t recover from the sting, and SMU stretched the lead to as many as nine points in the final set of the match.
Morgan Heise had 18 of SMU’s 61 digs in the match, and the Mustangs hit .241 as a team, while holding Georgia Tech to a .111 attack percentage. Caroline Young had 10 digs, giving SMU four players with at least 10 in the defensive category. Young also had five kills and five digs, and Janelle Giordano finished with nine kills and five blocks. Cailin Bula reached double digits with 10 kills.
The Mustangs went on a 6-2 run to take a 16-10 lead, and held off a late charge by the Yellow Jackets to take the first set 25-19. SMU led by seven, 21-14, but Georgia Tech cut the lead to four, 22-18. The Mustangs then
scored three of the next four points for the win. Bybel had five kills in the set, and Acker had 13 assists and five digs for the Mustangs.
SMU took a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-16 win in the second set. Georgia Tech took a two-point lead early, and led 7-5 before the Mustangs went on a 6-1 run to take an 11-8 lead. SMU pushed the lead to 15-9, and the Yellow Jackets never got within four points the rest of the set. The Mustangs took advantage of solid defense in the set, holding Georgia Tech to a -.023 attack percentage and finished with 6.0 blocks and 22 digs.
The Mustangs take on Texas Southern Saturday at 12:30 p.m. in Moody Coliseum. SMU concludes action in the SMU Doubletree Invitational against Oklahoma tomorrow night at 7 p.m.
